Brief history of water...
In the 1780s it was realised that water wasn't an element, which consequently lead to William Nicholson electrolysing slightly acidic water in 1800. His results were Hydrogen and Oxygen gas given off with volume ratio of 2:1 which suggested the idea that water is 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen, however this couldn't be proved at the time due to controversy over the mass of each gas.
What makes water so special?
The main property of water is it's dipole nature due to the covalent bond between the 1 oxygen and 2 hydrogen ions. As a result of this each water molecule forms hydrogen bonds with 4 other molecules. (Oxygen forms 2 and each hydrogen forms 1) Due to this dipole nature and hydrogen bonds water has certain properties including surface tension, a cohesive nature, high specific heat capacity and high solubility which make it an essential part of life and nature. Surface tension in water arises as hydrogen bonds can't form with air at the surface so therefore the bonds between water at the surface are stronger as they only form sideways and downwards, this is useful in nature as it allows some water based creatures to sit on the top of the water and some creatures to run across water such as the Jesus Christ Lizard. Moreover due to the attraction between slightly positively charged hydrogen ions and slightly negatively charged oxygen ions water has a cohesive nature, this is important for water to move from the roots through to the xylem in the leaves. Thirdly water's specific heat capacity is again due to hydrogen bonds because they require high amounts of energy to break, this is essential as it means that large masses of water remain at a similar temperature all year round making them a good habitat for living organisms. Finally the dipole nature of the water molecule makes it easy for ionic compounds to dissolve in it. This is because ionic compounds for example sodium chloride have charge particles so are attracted to either the hydrogen or oxygen ion in the water molecule. This is essential as it means most chemical reactions in cells occur in water.
In the 1780s it was realised that water wasn't an element, which consequently lead to William Nicholson electrolysing slightly acidic water in 1800. His results were Hydrogen and Oxygen gas given off with volume ratio of 2:1 which suggested the idea that water is 2 parts hydrogen and 1 part oxygen, however this couldn't be proved at the time due to controversy over the mass of each gas.
What makes water so special?
The main property of water is it's dipole nature due to the covalent bond between the 1 oxygen and 2 hydrogen ions. As a result of this each water molecule forms hydrogen bonds with 4 other molecules. (Oxygen forms 2 and each hydrogen forms 1) Due to this dipole nature and hydrogen bonds water has certain properties including surface tension, a cohesive nature, high specific heat capacity and high solubility which make it an essential part of life and nature. Surface tension in water arises as hydrogen bonds can't form with air at the surface so therefore the bonds between water at the surface are stronger as they only form sideways and downwards, this is useful in nature as it allows some water based creatures to sit on the top of the water and some creatures to run across water such as the Jesus Christ Lizard. Moreover due to the attraction between slightly positively charged hydrogen ions and slightly negatively charged oxygen ions water has a cohesive nature, this is important for water to move from the roots through to the xylem in the leaves. Thirdly water's specific heat capacity is again due to hydrogen bonds because they require high amounts of energy to break, this is essential as it means that large masses of water remain at a similar temperature all year round making them a good habitat for living organisms. Finally the dipole nature of the water molecule makes it easy for ionic compounds to dissolve in it. This is because ionic compounds for example sodium chloride have charge particles so are attracted to either the hydrogen or oxygen ion in the water molecule. This is essential as it means most chemical reactions in cells occur in water.