How does water play a vital role in sustaining life?

Water has many properties that make it an essential molecule within living things. One main property that water molecules have are hydrogen bonds. These are intermolecular forces that essentially allow water molecules to ‘stick’ together. This happens because the oxygen and hydrogen have partial charges on each atom. This charges are also known as delta charges and occur because of the uneven distribution of elections with an oxygen and hydrogen bond. So this property, where water molecules can stick together allows for processes like transpiration to occur in the xylem vessels of plants. Because as the water molecules at the very top of the plant gain energy from the sun and move upwards the hydrogen ones between the molecules means all the water molecules underneath are also ‘pulled’ up, we call these cohesive forces. So hydrogen bonds account for the cohesive nature of water. This cohesive nature can also be see on the surface of lakes/rivers. Where there is surface tension, this provides a habitat for insects such as pond skaters. Hydrogen bonds also account for the reason for ice being less dense that water in liquid state. As crystal lattices are formed when water solidifies giving it a lower density. This is important as ice floating to the top provides an insulating later, keeping temperatures appropriate for sea life during cold winters. Hydrogen bonds are also the reason why water has such a high specific heat capacity- provides stable habitat for marine life and high latent heat of vaporisation- an excellent property to allow efficient cooling mechanisms for animals in hot temperatures. Water is also provides an excellent transport medium due it’s polarity(again because of opposite delta charges mentioned previously) as it is a good solvent. It can dissolve other charges substances such as ions etc...