Water Has Many Exceptional and Useful Properties

Question

Water has many exceptional and useful properties.Which is the rarest property among compounds?
A)Water is a solvent.
B)Solid water is less dense than liquid water.
C)Water has a high heat capacity.
D)Water has a high surface tension.
E)Water has a high heat of evaporation.

Accepted Answer

The rarest property among compounds is that solid water (ice) is less dense than liquid water. This means that ice floats on liquid water, which is crucial for the survival of aquatic organisms during winter months when bodies of water freeze over. This property is due to the hydrogen bonds between water molecules that hold the molecules in a lattice structure in ice, which spaces them apart and makes ice less dense than liquid water. All the other properties listed (water as a solvent, high heat capacity, high surface tension, and high heat of evaporation) are important and unique properties of water, but they are not as rare or uncommon as the property of ice being less dense than liquid water.