Final answer:
Water's polarity and the hydrogen bonds it forms result in properties such as high heat capacity and high heat of vaporization, making it an excellent solvent and contributing to greater temperature stability. These properties are crucial for maintaining homeostasis and supporting biochemical and physical processes in living organisms.
Step-by-step explanation:
Water's polarity allows for the formation of resulting in many unique properties that are critical to maintaining life. For example, water is an excellent solvent because hydrogen bonds allow ions and other polar molecules to dissolve in water. Water's hydrogen bonds also contribute to its high heat capacity and high heat of vaporization, resulting in greater temperature stability. Hydrogen bond formation makes ice less dense as a solid than as a liquid, insulating aquatic environments. Water's cohesive and adhesive properties are seen as it rises inside capillary tubes or travels up a large tree from roots to leaves. The pH or hydrogen ion concentration of a solution is highly regulated to help organisms maintain homeostasis; for example, as will be explored in later chapters, the enzymes that catalyze most chemical reactions in cells are pH specific. Thus, the properties of water are connected to the biochemical and physical processes performed by living organisms. Life on Earth would be very different if these properties were altered—if life could exist at all.