Wat-er You Waiting For?

SOLVE-nt Your Problems Now!

Water Is the Universal Solvent That Supports Reactions:

- Water is known as the "universal solvent" because it dissolves more substances than any other liquid.

- Water is capable of dissolving all polar molecules and ionic compounds to form solutions.

- When there are more water molecules than solute molecules (as in nearly every solution), water's electrostatic interactions form a 3-D sphere of water molecules called a hydration shell around the solute (the substance that is being dissolved in the water). This allows for the solute particles to be dispersed or dissolved evenly in the water, and leads to the formation of a solution.

- And there is the solution to your problems! The formation of a solution is a vital quality that pertains to every living thing/organism because all chemical reactions that support life occur in water. This means that water's powerful ability to dissolve the substances and solutes that go through your cells and body keeps you problem-free and alive!

What Makes Water the Universal Solvent?

- Water molecules are polar.

- The two hydrogen atoms of water have a positive charge, whereas the single oxygen atom has a negative charge.

- This unique structure of oppositely-charged ends enables water to attract a wide variety of other molecules.

Dissolving Salt

The image below demonstrates how a water molecule's polarity (oppositely charged ends) is able attract common ions such as sodium chloride, and use its powerful hydration shells to disrupt the existing attractive forces that hold Na and Cl together to dissolve the substance.

So How Exactly Does the Universal Solvent Solve Your Problems? - Our Party Platform:

Strengthening Cells: Cells are filled with water. And what happens inside of our cells? Only some of the most important chemical reactions of life! Water's ability to dissolve many types of molecules in our cells allow the cells to use essential nutrients, minerals, and chemicals in biological processes.

Digestion Duty: The universal solvent has many duties and roles when it comes to digestion. Water helps dissolve and break down the nutrients and minerals from the food we eat to pass through the intestinal cell walls and unto the bloodstream to give us maximum energy and health. Additionally, water helps to dissolve soluble fiber - a key aspect of bowel health.

Waste Washer: Water acts as a solvent for many waste products in the human body, including urea, carbon dioxide, and some electrolytes that the body excretes. Some important roles water's solvent properties play in waste removal include:

Carbon dioxide: Animals and humans produce a lot of carbon dioxide, but have little use for it. However, the body would perish if it could not rid of its excess CO2. After some bodily processes, CO2 ends up in the blood, where it is unable to wreak havoc, as CO2 is easily dissolved in the blood's water.
Nitrogen: Humans do not have the ability to discharge nitrogen itself. This is a problem, because when nitrogen combines with hydrogen in the bloodstream, it forms the toxic substance ammonia. However, once again, water's solvent properties save the day! Ammonia combines with CO2 to form urea which dissolves very easily in the water of the bloodstream.

Metabolic Management: Several enzymes, coenzymes, and hormones that are necessary to break down in the body are dissolved with the help of water's solvent properties in watery body fluids in order to assist the reactions of other metabolites (amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals).

*These are only some of the vital functions that the universal solvent carries out in order to keep the human body and life healthy and strong. Just imagine how many problems and issues would arise if it were not for the amazing and powerful abilities and capacities of the universal solvent! Essentially, ALL OF LIFE REVOLVES AROUND THIS PROPERTY!

The Universal Solvent and the Human Body

The picture above demonstrates how water's ability to act as the universal solvent aids in many bodily processes and chemical reactions.

Our Possible Shortcomings

Water is able to dissolve almost every substance, but there are some substances that just don't bode well with water. Nonpolar substances which are hydrophobic (water-fearing) simply do not dissolve in water. Because nonpolar substances are held together by weak Van der Waals interactions while water molecules are held together through hydrogen bonds, the Van der Waals interactions are not strong enough to break the strong hydrogen bonds. Thus, the nonpolar substance cannot disperse in water.

Consequences:

- The body has difficulty digesting lipids (fats) which are nonpolar and are not water soluble