Water is universal solvent, facilitates chemical reactions both outside of and within living systems. Water is a universal solvent because it dissolves a great number of solutes. Ionized or polar molecules attracted to water are hydrophilic. Nonionized and nonpolar molecules that cannot attract water are hydrophobic . Water molecules are cohesive and adhesive.
Cohesion allows water to flow freely without molecules separating, due to hydrogen bonding.
Water rises up tree from roots to leaves through small tubes. Water has a high surface tension measured by how difficult it is to break the surface of a liquid. As with cohesion, hydrogen bonding causes water to have high surface tension. Unlike most substances, frozen water is less dense than liquid water. If ice was heavier than water, ice would sink and ponds would freeze solid.