Lesson 3.1.7.1

3.1.7.1 Properties of water in biology Quiz: AQA Biology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.1.7.1, Properties of water in biology: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Biology (7402), Unit 1: Biological molecules, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which property of water allows it to take part directly in condensation and hydrolysis reactions?

    • It has a high specific heat, which prevents the reaction from starting
    • It is a hydrophobic solvent that separates monomers from polymers
    • It acts as a catalyst that is recovered unchanged at the end of each reaction
    • It acts as a metabolite, being either released or used up in these reactions

  2. Why is water an effective solvent for many metabolic reactions?

    • It is a polar molecule, so it dissolves ionic substances and polar molecules
    • It is non-polar, so it dissolves lipids and other non-polar molecules
    • It has a high latent heat, which makes it able to dissolve any molecule
    • It is covalently bonded to all solutes, so it dissolves them completely with no exceptions

  3. Which property of water helps buffer organisms against sudden changes in temperature?

    • A high latent heat of vaporisation only
    • A high specific heat capacity
    • A high surface tension
    • A low specific heat capacity

  4. Which property of water allows evaporation to cool an organism with little loss of water?

    • A low polarity
    • A high latent heat of vaporisation
    • A high cohesion between molecules with no exceptions
    • A high specific heat capacity

  5. Which property of water supports continuous columns of water in plant xylem?

    • Its low density, which allows the water column to float upward through the xylem tubes of the plant
    • Its high specific heat capacity, which keeps the temperature of the xylem sap stable as water moves up
    • Its ability to act as a metabolite that is used up in the condensation reactions of the plant
    • Cohesion between water molecules, due to hydrogen bonding

  6. Which property of water produces surface tension where water meets air?

    • Adhesion between water and the air molecules with no exceptions
    • Cohesion between water molecules at the surface
    • The low latent heat of vaporisation
    • The high specific heat capacity of water

  7. What type of bond forms between adjacent water molecules?

    • Hydrogen bonds
    • Ionic bonds
    • Glycosidic bonds
    • Peptide bonds

  8. How much heat energy is required to evaporate 1 g of water at its boiling point, using a latent heat of about 2260 J/g?

    • 22.6 kJ
    • 226 J
    • 2260 J
    • 4.18 kJ

  9. How much heat energy is needed to raise the temperature of 100 g of water by 10 C, given a specific heat capacity of 4.18 J/(g C)?

    • 4180 J
    • 41.8 kJ
    • 2090 J
    • 418 J

  10. How much energy is needed to raise 250 g of water by 20 C, using a specific heat capacity of 4.18 J/(g C)?

    • 209 kJ
    • 20.9 kJ
    • 2.09 kJ
    • 4.18 kJ

  11. A mammal loses 5 g of water by evaporation from its skin. Using a latent heat of 2260 J/g, how much heat is removed from the body?

    • 1130 J
    • 11300 J
    • 2260 J
    • 22600 J

  12. In a plant, water is pulled up the xylem as water evaporates from the leaves. Which two properties of water are most important in this process?

    • Metabolic activity and high surface tension inside the cells with no exceptions
    • Polarity of the ions and the low density of the liquid
    • High specific heat capacity and low latent heat
    • Cohesion between water molecules and adhesion to the xylem walls

  13. A small insect walks across the surface of a pond without sinking. Which property of water explains this?

    • Surface tension, caused by strong cohesion between surface water molecules
    • Metabolic activity of the water, which supports the insect's weight
    • High specific heat capacity, which keeps the surface warm
    • High latent heat, which makes the insect float by evaporation

  14. A student says that because water has a high specific heat capacity, organisms do not need to regulate their temperature. Which evaluation is correct?

    • Correct, because the high specific heat capacity keeps all of the cells in the body at a fixed temperature
    • Incorrect, because water slows temperature change but organisms still need active regulation for their metabolic rates
    • Correct, because water absorbs all the heat from the body within a few seconds of contact with the skin
    • Incorrect, because water has a low specific heat capacity, so it cannot buffer the temperature of the organism with no exceptions

  15. Explain why water's polarity allows it to surround and separate ions in solution.

    • Water molecules form covalent bonds with every ion that dissolves in them
    • Water molecules are non-polar, so they are attracted to ions by van der Waals forces alone
    • Water molecules are charged and repel ions of the same charge, separating them
    • The partly positive hydrogen atoms and partly negative oxygen atoms are attracted to ions of opposite charge

  16. Explain how cohesion and adhesion together raise water in a xylem vessel against gravity.

    • Adhesion pushes water upward through the vessel, while cohesion pulls water into the roots from the soil in the plant
    • Cohesion keeps the water warm inside the vessel, which causes the water to expand and rise up the xylem tube
    • Adhesion binds water molecules to the air spaces in the leaves, so the water column rises as the air moves past
    • Cohesion holds the water column together under tension, while adhesion to the vessel walls helps prevent the column from breaking

  17. Explain why a high latent heat of vaporisation helps an organism to lose heat without losing much water.

    • Water has a high latent heat, so it stores heat and releases it back to the organism when the body is cold
    • Water evaporates only when the organism is very hot, so it loses no water at all at lower temperatures
    • Water evaporates slowly from the skin surface, so only a small amount of heat is lost during the process
    • Large amounts of heat are absorbed by each gram that evaporates, so only a small mass of water is lost for a large cooling effect

  18. Why do the properties of water allow it to be a stable environment for metabolic reactions?

    • It is a catalyst that speeds up reactions but never takes any part in the reactions that it speeds up
    • It maintains a steady temperature and provides a solvent in which reactions occur, while also taking part in reactions
    • It is a nucleotide that stores energy for the reactions and prevents any change of the temperature
    • It is a lipid that separates the reactants from the cytoplasm so that the reactions cannot take place

  19. A student claims that water is important in metabolism only because it is a solvent. Which evaluation is most accurate?

    • Incomplete, because water also takes part directly in condensation and hydrolysis as a metabolite
    • Inaccurate, because water is only a metabolite in reactions and has no role as a solvent for them
    • Accurate, because water acts as a catalyst in all of the metabolic reactions that take place in cells
    • Accurate, because water has no other role in metabolic reactions beyond providing a suitable solvent

  20. Why does water have a much higher boiling point than would be expected for a molecule of its small size?

    • Water molecules are charged ions, which need extra energy to separate from each other
    • Water molecules are joined by covalent bonds that must all be broken to boil it
    • Water molecules are large and heavy, so they need more energy to move apart
    • Hydrogen bonds between water molecules must be broken before the liquid can boil

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