Why start with water? (Unit introduction, "Get Ready" and "Think")
Point 1 of 19 — Module 1 — The Hydrosphere on Planet Earth and the Water Cycle in NatureQuestion bank: 0 questions (0 with pictures)
01 0. Why start with water? (Unit introduction, "Get Ready" and "Think")
Every science lesson in this unit begins from one observation: Earth is the only planet in the solar system that we know has large amounts of liquid water on its surface, and Earth is also the only planet we know to be full of life.
Scientists who search for life on Mars, on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, or on planets around other stars always begin by searching for water.
The reason is simple: water is the medium in which the chemical reactions of life take place (you will study this in Module 5), it dissolves the substances that cells need (Module 2), it resists rapid temperature change (Module 3), and it can carry materials, gases and heat from place to place (Modules 1 and 7).
That is the answer to the book's "Think!" question: scientists look for water on other planets because wherever liquid water exists, the basic conditions for life as we know it may exist; water is important because it is the solvent, the reactant, the transport medium and the temperature stabiliser of living things.
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