These hydrogen bonds also give water many other unique properties as we shall see in a minute. The V-shape of the water molecule is also important because it allows for other configurations of water to be formed. Ice, for instance, has a very ordered lattice structure. Snowflakes have yet another shape. If you were to take some V-shaped paper clips and arrange them in any three dimensional pattern you can think of, you would probably have some idea of the variety of forms in which water can exist.
More substances dissolve in water than in any other liquid.
Note how water molecules can surround the positive sodium ion or the negative chloride ion, the common components of table salt. Around negatively charged atoms or molecules, water places the positive hydrogen atoms first. Look at the difference in the spacing between water and positive or negative atoms. Around the sodium atom, the positive hydrogen atoms are still free to bind with other atoms. However, in the case of chlorine, the packing of the atoms is tighter.