ACTIVITY 4 - Water

What element make up water?

Water is made up of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. The formula for water is H2O.

The two elements the make up water are hydrogen and oxygen.

Is water an ionic compound or a covalent compound?

Water is a polar covalent molecule because the electrons spend more of their time around the oxygen atom because the oxygen atom has more protons acting as electron-magnets.

What is the shape of water?

The shape is "bent" (like a ^ or a V) with the atom of Oxygen at the "turning point" and the two atoms of hydrogen at the ends of the V or ^. This is because of the two lone pairs of negatively charged electrons that exist in the compound. They kind of push against each other so that in the end, the two atoms of Hydrogen are closer.

Why does water stick to itself?

This happens because H20 is a polar molecule. The charge on one part of the atom is negative and the other part is positive. So each of the water molecules is polar. As the molecules come near each other, they are attracted to each other. A positive and a negative charge attract. So the positive end of one water molecule is attracted to the negative end of another.

Why does water not stick to or mix with oil?

Water molecules are polar – they have a small positive charge at one end and a small negative charge at the other end, and they stick to each other. Oil molecules are non-polar – they have no charge. Because of this, oil molecules are more attracted to each other than to water molecules, and water molecules are more attracted to each other than to oil molecules