Life forms can keep relatively consistent interior temperatures because water has a high specific heat that makes them resistant to temperature changes. Water has a high boiling point due to its high specific heat and surface tension, which helps maintain its liquid for the majority of biological processes. Expansion upon freezing sustains life because Ice takes up more area than water because it expands (it is less dense). As a result, the ice floats on the water.
The specific heat capacity of a substance, also known as the massic heat capacity, is the heat capacity of a sample of the substance divided by the mass of the sample. Due to the thermal energy released by chemical processes within cells, specific heat aids in preventing organisms from overheating. When the outside temperature changes or rises, it aids organisms in maintaining a comparatively constant internal temperature.
Water crystallizes into an open hexagonal structure when it freezes, which accounts for the expansion that occurs. More room is there in this hexagonal lattice than in the liquid state. When water is cooled to a temperature of about 4 degrees Celsius, it begins to constrict as one would expect. It then gradually grows until it reaches the freezing point, at which point it freezes and expands by around 9%.
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