Hydrogen bonds in oxygen- and nitrogen-containing molecules are very important in biochemistry because they influence reactions between such molecules and the structures of these biological molecules. The interaction between water and other molecules in which there may be an opportunity for hydrogen bonding explains such properties as solubility in water and reactions that occur with water as a solvent.
The term hydrogen bond doesn’t refer to an actual bond to a hydrogen atom, but to an overall interaction.
One environmentally important consequence of hydrogen bonding is that, upon freezing, water molecules are held in a solid form that’s less dense than the liquid form. The hydrogen bonds lock the water molecules into a crystalline lattice that contains large holes, which decreases the density of the ice. The less-dense ice — whether in the form of an ice cube or an iceberg —floats on liquid water. In nearly all other cases where a solid interacts with water, the reverse is true: The solid sinks in the liquid. So, why is the buoyancy of ice important? Ask ice fishermen! The layer of ice that forms on the surface of cold bodies of water insulates the liquid from the cold air, protecting the organisms still living under the ice.
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