WATER

(WIX, 2016)

Uses and function of water...

A balance diet is not the only necessary part for keeping an animal healthy, it is also very important as part of each animals daily requirements and their overall nutrition. Water is the main component of healthy living cells within a body, without water an animal’s body may not properly function (PetMD, 2015).

Water is one of the most important nutrients within an animal’s body. Animals can survive many days without eating but if water was not supplied for a few hours they could die instantly.

It is considered to be the source of life and is important for all animals this is mainly due to it being a vital body fluid in which is essential for regulating the processes of digestion and transportation of both nutrients and excretion (Shukla, 2016). Water is necessary for an animal’s survival and makes up approximately 75% of the animals body weight.

Water has two main functions within an animal’s body. One is to regulate the animal’s body temperatures and the other is to assist with the transportation of nutrients around the body. Regulating the animal’s body temperature allows evaporation of water through sweating or panting (Dryden, 2008). This is because animals need to regulate their bodies accordingly to the envrionment they are living in.

Other functions include;

PH regulation

The acidity of compounds within the body or PH will determine whether acid or alkaline will take the status for the body. Acids and bases have an electrical charge and therefore require opposite materials in order to form a chemical bond which neutralizes the net charge (Smathers and O, 2016).

Hydrolysis and energy production

Hydrolysis is a chemical process (reaction with water) in which a molecules is split into two parts by the addition of a molecule of water. One segment of the parent molecule gain a hydrogen ion (H + ) which is from the additional water molecule. The other group collects the remaining hydroxyl group (OH - ) = H20 (Hydrolysis, 2015).

Digestion

Water forms a tough mucus lining layer that protects animal stomachs from the corrosive action of acid inside the body. Water passes directly into the intestine and stomach without needed to be digested. In addition to this saliva from the mouth consists mostly of water to help break down food (Smathers and O, 2016). water is also classified as a lubricant to aid digestion.

Sources:

Dietary sources;

Ingested water – is fluids that are drunk or eaten through the process of food
Metabolic water – is produced within the body by oxidation of protein, fat and carbohydrates. This then supplies the body with approximately 10% of the daily water requirements (Agar, 2001).

Did you know?

The daily water requirement in healthy animals in milliliters is approximately equal to its daily energy requirements in kilocalories (Agar, 2001)

Chemical properties:

Water is a substance that is composed of the chemical elements named: Hydrogen and Oxygen which exists in gaseous, liquid and solid formations and offers the formula of H20.

Water is known as chemically active, where it reacts with certain metals and metal oxides to form bases. With these certain oxides of nonmetals to then form acids. Water reacts with certain organic compounds to form a variety of products, e.g., alcohols from alkenes. Because water is a polar compound = this means it is a good solvent (Water, 2015).

Physical properties: tasteless and odorless liquid at room temperature and it has the ability to dissolve many other substances. The versatility of water as a solvent is essential to all living organisms. In small quantities water appears to be colorless, however water actually has a slight tinge of blue coloration which is commonly caused by slight absorption of light at red wavelengths (Zumdahl, 2015).