What type of bond attracts one water molecule to another?
A. An ionic bond
B. A peptide bond
C. A hydrogen bond
D. A covalent bond
E. A hydrolytic bond
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is C. A hydrogen bond.
A hydrogen bond is a type of weak interaction that occurs when a hydrogen atom covalently bonded to a highly electronegative atom (like oxygen or nitrogen) is attracted to another electronegative atom with a lone pair of electrons. In the case of water molecules, each water molecule consists of two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to one oxygen atom. The oxygen atom has a partial negative charge, while the hydrogen atoms have partial positive charges. This polarity makes water molecules attract each other.
In a hydrogen bond between water molecules, the positively charged hydrogen atom of one water molecule is attracted to the negatively charged oxygen atom of another water molecule. This attraction forms a weak bond known as a hydrogen bond. While hydrogen bonds are weaker than covalent bonds, they play a crucial role in many of water’s unique properties, such as its high boiling point, surface tension, and ability to dissolve a wide variety of substances.
Hydrogen bonding is also responsible for the structure of water as a liquid, where the molecules form a network, giving water its liquid state at room temperature. It’s this type of bonding that also explains why water expands when it freezes, as the hydrogen bonds cause the molecules to arrange in a less dense structure, making ice less dense than liquid water.
The other types of bonds listed are unrelated to the attraction between water molecules. Ionic bonds involve the transfer of electrons between atoms, peptide bonds link amino acids in proteins, covalent bonds involve the sharing of electrons, and hydrolytic bonds are related to the breaking of bonds in water.