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Water, substance composed of the chemical elements hydrogen and oxygen and existing in gaseous, liquid, and solid states. It is one of the most plentiful of compounds and has the important ability to dissolve many other substances, which was essential to the development of life.
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula H2O. It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, [c] and nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth 's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a solvent [20]).
There are 3 different forms of water, or H 2 O: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (steam). Because water seems so ubiquitous, many people are unaware of the unusual and unique properties of water, including:
Within the Earth's atmosphere and surface, the liquid phase is the most common and is the form that is generally denoted by the word "water". The solid phase of water is known as ice and commonly takes the structure of hard, amalgamated crystals, such as ice cubes, or loosely accumulated granular crystals, like snow.
EVAPORATION: when water is in a liquid state, it can evaporate into a gas or freeze into a solid. MELTING: If water is in a frozen state then you add heat, it melts and turns into a liquid again. CONDENSATION: When water vapor in the air condenses, it turns back into a liquid such as in the form of rain.
Solid water, or ice, is less dense than liquid water. Ice is less dense than water because the orientation of hydrogen bonds causes molecules to push farther apart, which lowers the density.
The open structure of ice that allows for maximum hydrogen bonding explains why solid water is less dense than liquid water—a highly unusual situation among common substances. Water undergoes various types of chemical reactions.