Question

Water molecules exhibit a property which enables them to stick to each other. What is this property referred to as?

Answer 1

well, water is polar, enabling it to form hydrogen bonds. that is why this small molecule (only 3 atoms involved) that this high of a melting point.

if you look at other small molecules like NH3 (ammonia), you will find that their melting point is about 80 degrees below that of water. ammonia can also form one hydrogen bond per molecule. for water, that number is 2. you see how big the effect is?

for molecules that generally don't form hydrogen bonds, like methane (number of atoms: 5), the effect is even greater. methane melts at -182°C!