Which statement describes a chemical property of water

Question: Which statement describes a chemical property of water

Answer:

A statement that describes a chemical property of water is: “Water acts as a solvent for polar substances.” This statement is a general chemical behavior of water which is significant in numerous biological and environmental processes. The solvating power of water can be accounted for with the help of a chemical structure of water molecules. Molecules which are available in liquid water are polar; these are molecules that have both positive and negative charges though relatively small, in this case, hydrogen atom and oxygen atom respectively. This polarity permits water to draw and dissolve other polar materials like salts and sugars. For example, table salt (sodium chloride) dissolved in water by sodium chloride doesn’t react with water instead the water molecules themselves surround the ions and pull apart the positive sodium and the negative chloride ions. In the same way, when sugar is placed in a cup containing water, the water molecules surround and dissolve into the sugar molecules. This solvent property of water is important in the functioning of living systems because it helps in the transportation of nutrients within and wastes out of living organisms. In plants, it facilitates the transport of minerals from the soil up to the roots and in the aerial parts of the plant. In the human body, it acts as a medium for solving and passing substances in blood stream. Moreover, water’s weak solubility is essential in natural processes like sedimentary rock weathering and the creation of water storage reservoirs called aquifers. Knowledge of this chemical property of water is important for chemistry, biology as well as in environmental science.