Question

. Using complete sentences and YOUR own words, explain the importance of hydrogen bonds to at least one of the properties listed above. Your answer should have 2 parts and be in paragraph format: 1) Explain what a hydrogen bond is and 2) Explain how it enables water to demonstrate at least one of the properties above

Answer 1

A hydrogen bond is a weak type of force that forms a special type of dipole-dipole attraction which occurs when a hydrogen atom bonded to a strongly electronegative atom exists in the vicinity of another electronegative atom with a lone pair of electrons. These bonds are generally stronger than ordinary dipole-dipole and dispersion forces, but weaker than true covalent and ionic bonds. Hydrogen bonding enables water to perform surface tension.The distinction between molecules located at the surface and those deep inside is especially prominent in H2O, owing to the strong hydrogen-bonding forces. The difference between the forces experienced by a molecule at the surface and one in the bulk liquid gives rise to the liquid's surface tension (a molecule within the bulk of a liquid experiences attractions to neighboring molecules in all directions, but since these average out to zero, there is no net force on the molecule. For a molecule that finds itself at the surface, the situation is quite different; it experiences forces only sideways and downward, and this is what creates the stretched-membrane effect.)