One of the compounds that is characterized by its solid state (ice) is less dense than the liquid state (water), and therefore this makes ice sheets float on the surfaces of lakes during cold seasons (freezing degrees).
The layer of ice that floats on the surface forms a thermal insulator for the water at the bottom of the lake under the ice sheets, allowing organisms such as fish and plants to live during cold seasons without freezing. Were it not for this characteristic of the water compound (due to the hydrogen bonding property), living things would have died during the winter season , and thus life would not have evolved.
The next time you look at a slab of ice, remember that hydrogen bonding, which makes water atoms expand without breaking, is one of the reasons we exist today.
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