It is the closest thing to a universal solvent. Water is very effective at transporting ions and dissolved nutrients in the human body. Water is not an effective solvent of organic molecules. Thus we do not dissolve in our own cell fluids. When water freezes, it assumes a very open structure and actually expands.
Most materials shrink when they freeze and sink in their liquid phases .
If ice sank like most frozen solids, it would accumulate at the bottoms of frozen lakes and seas. Most of the world's water would be ice. Expansion of ice in rocks is a powerful weathering agent. Covalent bonding holds people and other organisms together Metallic bonding holds civilization together Hydrogen bonding gives water its heat-retaining and solvent properties 4. Thus it is often possible to remove one cation and replace it with another.