Evaluating Water's Physical and Chemical Properties

Steps:

• Statement 1 is correct: Water's high specific heat capacity (4.18 J/g°C) absorbs heat without large temperature changes, stabilizing environments.
• Statement 2 is incorrect: Water's latent heat of vaporization is high (2260 J/g), aiding mammalian cooling via evaporation, not low for cellular retention.
• Statement 3 is correct: Negatively charged ions attract the δ+ on water's hydrogen atoms, forming hydration shells for solubility.
• Statements 1 and 3 match option B; others include errors.

Why B is correct:

• Matches water's high specific heat (thermal regulation) and polar solvent behavior for ions (electrostatic attraction via δ+ hydrogen).

Why the others are wrong:

• A includes 4, which misstates hydrophobic effect—non-polar molecules cluster, not separate.
• C includes 2 and 4, both factually reversed on latent heat and hydrophobicity.
• D includes only 2, which incorrectly claims low latent heat.

Final answer: B