Water and Aqueous Solutions

Flashcards on the properties and importance of water and aqueous solutions in biological systems, covering topics from metabolism to homeostasis.

Aqueous Solution

Water with substances dissolved in it. It is a medium in which biological processes can occur.

Metabolism in Aqueous Solutions

Since aqueous solutions are liquid, both the water and solutes dissolved in it are free to move, and in some cases, react.

Chemical Reactions in Organisms

The reactants and products of most chemical reactions in living organisms are dissolved in water.

Nutrition and Aqueous Solutions

The reactions of both photosynthesis and digestion take place in aqueous solutions.

Growth with water

Cytoplasm is an aqueous solution, cells must absorb water by osmosis to increase in size.

Reproduction and Water

Sperm swim to the egg through water. Mammal fetuses are supported by water in the uterus.

Movement in Aqueous Environments

Aquatic organisms swim through water. Pumping of blood and sap transports substances dissolved in water.

Response to Stimuli and Nerve Impulses

Nerve impulses are the movement of dissolved Na+ and K+ ions. Hormone transport is in blood.

Excretion

Urine is an aqueous solution of waste products. Excretion of waste gases requires a moist surface.

Homeostasis

Blood plasma and tissue fluid are aqueous solutions that are regulated to form a stable and ideal internal environment for cells.