Water makes up 71% of the earth’s surface, with 96.5% of that amount contained in the world’s oceans.
The other elements that the world is made up of, according to Japanese buddhist and philosopher Godai, are wood, fire, earth and metal.
Water is a basic necessity for daily survival, and a person can only survive around three days without this essential source.
So, have you ever paused and wondered what water is made of? The amount of elements is surprising, which is why we’ve taken the liberty to break them down here.
What is water made of?
When breaking down what an element is made of, one usually starts with atoms, as everything is made up of atoms.
Furthermore, atoms are the smallest part of an element. They join together to form molecules. In essence, one drop of water has the capacity to contain billions of water molecules.
Water consists of three atoms, namely two hydrogen (H) atoms and one oxygen (O) atom. This explains why water is sometimes referred to as H20 – hydrogen (times two) and Oxygen.
Characteristics of water
Water can appear in three forms, namely liquid, solid (ice) or gas (vapor). Water is, in it’s unprocessed form, odorless and tasteless.
Liquid
Liquid water, which is fluid and wet, is the most common form of water that people use and consume daily. Liquid water is used for consumption, hygiene, and can also be used for hydraulic purposes.
Gas
Water in vapor-form is everywhere in the air. You see this, for example, when boiling water. This allows the water to turn into a water vapor from its liquid form – the cloud of steam that you see. This, in a nutshell, is also what the clouds in the air are.
Ice
In its solid form, water is known as ice. Ice forms when water freezes – which occurs at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
When water freezes, the molecules move further apart, which means that the ice is less dense in water. This causes the ice to float when placed in a liquid.
Sources
