Splash and Fun Park - Coming Summer 2009

In association with Mr. Rex's Backyard Adventure™, children will be able to cool themselves with a non-swim splash pad and water spraying dinosaurs. 

Want to learn about water?  Read below

"Water, Water, Everywhere"

By C.J. Horn

The water content of an actively growing plant can be as much as 95% of its live weight. That is why a person who seeks to learn about plants will spend some time understanding the properties of this substance. Dr. Donald DeYoung, in his book Weather and the Bible (Baker Book House, 1992) states, "The total amount of water on the earth is estimated at 336 million cubic miles. That is 70 billion gallons for every person alive."

What is Water?

Just as one sugar (glucose) molecule is composed of atoms of three different elements (see Good Science Botany Column, September 1997), so also is one molecule of water a combination of the atoms of two different elements. One molecule of water is composed of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. H₂0 is a quick way to symbolize the components of a molecule of water.

Molecules of water make up ice (solid state of water), liquid water, or water vapor (the gaseous state of water). Water vapor is constantly entering our atmosphere through a process known as evaporation.

When the liquid water in a plant exits the leaves in a gaseous state, one says it has evaporated. One may think of an evaporated substance as being no longer useful. For instance, a cup of water left in the sunshine will eventually disappear. However, the molecules of water in the atmosphere are as much a part of the world as they were while in the cup. They have entered the atmosphere in such small numbers they seem to "disappear."

This vaporization of water is an integral part of the water cycle. Most of the water that evaporates and returns to the earth by rain and snow is from the oceans.

Molecules in the Water Vapor

The water vapor (gaseous state of water) that enters the atmosphere through plants is made of tiny droplets similar in size to cloud droplets. Cloud droplets are not raindrops. Cloud droplets are composed of many molecules of water, yet are so light weight they must adhere to a structure on which they can "condense," in order to fall to earth as rain. The structures on which they adhere are particles such as sea salt, pollen and some times pollutants in the atmosphere.

How large is a molecule of water in relation to a drop of rainwater? To grasp the size difference, imagine a measurement of one yard: 36 inches. Then, imagine a similar measurement of one meter: 39.37 inches. A meter is equal to 1,000,000 microns. The smallest of raindrops (a "drizzle" raindrop) has a diameter of 1000 microns. That translates to the fact that one can place 1000 raindrops side by side and they will measure only one meter in width.

A raindrop is gargantuan compared to the size of the cloud droplet.

One raindrop is equal in size and mass to 1,000,000 (1 million) cloud droplets. Therefore one could place 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) cloud droplets side by side and the width would equal one meter.

Rain Drops at 11 MPH

A raindrop falls to earth with a terminal velocity of up to 600 centimeters per second. How then can one understand how fast a raindrop falls? Simple! Convert it to a speed everyone understands: miles per hour. One centimeter equals approximately 1/3 inch. Therefore, 600 centimeters per second is the same speed as 200 inches per second. Convert the inches to miles and the seconds to hours to get miles per hour. A mile is 63,360 inches in length; an hour 3600 seconds long. If a raindrop can travel 200 inches in one second, it can travel 720,000 inches in one hour, or a little over 11 miles per hour.

From Whence the Water?

Man can communicate with his voice. God’s voice can create. He spoke water into existence (Psalm 33:6-9) ex nihilo (out of nothing). Consider that all things are made from 100 basic elements. Hydrogen and oxygen are the elements in water. Where did all of these elements come from?

Creationists approach their various disciplines scientifically. They do not adhere to some wild fairy story of a God who tinkered in His celestial shop and came up with a world that He hurled into an already existing space on a random journey. Creationists believe the Genesis account that records the act of God creating all atomic matter, all the space in which matter resides, and the dimension of time through which space and matter move (Genesis 1:1).¹ The creation of the universe took place in an orderly fashion, the contemplation of which is satisfying to a scientific mind.

Genesis 1:2 records the fact of God’s energizing Spirit moved across a watery matrix that contained not only hydrogen and oxygen necessary to make water molecules, but also every other element known to man. God is the source that infused all matter with the atomic energies that men know and depend upon today. Man is the benefactor of God’s reliability and consistency when He designed what man calls "natural laws." These natural laws are so ingrained in man’s scientific expectations, he forgets they must have had an intelligent personal Source.

When God’s Spirit set the bounds of the forces of the universe, He engineered the workings of the negative and positive parts of atomic matter. Taking an elemental view of the subject, one can say that all atoms have both positive and negative charges. Specifically in reference to our subject, hydrogen (which is part of water) has one negatively charged particle and one positively charged particle. It is the intricacies of these attractions that cause molecules to form. Even the formation of molecules can be traced to the design of God. Two atoms of hydrogen are attracted to one atom of oxygen and create one molecule of water. All scientists whether they be creationists or evolutionists can only study and wonder at what they see. None can give a reason why these particles behave the way they do.

God divided the waters "above" from the waters "below" on the second day. And on the third day, He gathered the waters below into one place (the seas).²

Importance of Water in the Life of a Plant

The chief function of the leaf is photosynthesis, the source of all food for the plants eaten by animals and mankind (see January 1997 Good Science Botany Column). Photosynthesis requires sunlight and carbon dioxide (C0₂). Under most circumstances, C0₂ is readily available in air surrounding the plant. But in order for carbon dioxide to enter the plant cell, which it does by diffusion. Note: diffusion is moving from a region of higher to a region of lower concentration. The carbon dioxide must go into a solution (into water), because the plasma membrane of a plant cell will not allow the gaseous form of C0₂ to enter. Therefore, the gas must come into contact with a moist cell surface. However, when water is exposed to air (C0₂), evaporation occurs. It would be a problem, except God has designed a plant with various mechanisms to offset this, i.e. the open and closing guard cells that surround the stomata where the water vapor exits. Of course, evolutionists say that plants have developed a number of special adaptations that limit evaporation.

The same is true for oxygen. Neither carbon dioxide nor oxygen is usable by the plant unless it is in solution in water. Therefore, water is the key to the plant’s survival and growth.

Water Traffic

There are three main modes that water uses to traffic through a plant: transpiration, conduction, and absorption. These phenomena happen simultaneously in order to maintain a constant unbroken column of water in a plant.

Water in the xylem cells³ of leaf veinlets is continuous from the leaves to the roots. This continuity exists throughout the life of the plant. In a sense, the water column "grows" with the plant. It was once thought that there were molecular "pumps" that pulled the water through the plant because of the resistance that exists within all of the cells, from the roots through the xylem and on up through the leaves. However, no evidence for this theory has ever been found and the idea was abandoned.

It is estimated that a force of 20 atmospheres, almost 300 pounds per square inch, is necessary to lift water to a height of 350 feet through the xylem of a tree. This estimate takes into consideration the resistance to water movement offered by the xylem, as well as the weight of the water column. This is no problem for the plant however. A column of water in a fine capillary tube is capable of withstanding a tension of –264 bars.⁴ The estimated tension required to move water to the top of a giant redwood (S. sempervirens) is only about –20 bars. Needless to say, God has designed water with plenty of power to be conducted upward, against gravitational forces, through the living plant and out into the atmosphere.

The simplest definition of transpiration is the giving off of water vapor by a leaf. Of course, the whole process is much more complicated and fascinating. For instance, water evaporates from cell wall surfaces bordering intercellular spaces in the interior of a leaf. When this happens, a chain reaction begins throughout the plant. This water that has exited the plant as vapor is replaced by water in the leaf cell. This water comes through the plasma membrane, which is freely permeable to water. The water moves, but those things dissolved in that water (called solutes) stay behind. These solutes participate in the pull of the water. Water transfers through the living leaf cells, which in turn begin to draw upon the water in the xylem cells that function to conduct water through the plant.

Transpiration goes on constantly in all plants. A single corn plant was tested and found to transpire fifty-four gallons of water in four months.

At the root end of a plant, there is a process known as absorption taking place. There are two types of absorption in plants. Passive absorption is a result of forces that originate in the leaves, that is forces set in motion by the loss of water in transpiration. Active absorption is a result of forces originating in the roots. If too much water is absorbed and cannot be transpired as vapor, tiny droplets of water form on leaves. This is called guttation. Do not confuse this with drops of dew that form early in the morning on plants.

Other forces come into play to move water through a plant. Cohesion is the attractive force of water molecules for each other. Adhesion is the attractive force of cell walls for the water molecule itself.

Leaf "Muscles" and Signals for Help!

Another vital function of the water in a plant is known as turgor. Water acts like a muscle for the leaf to hold it out strong and full to the sunlight so photosynthesis can take place. When the leaves wilt on a plant, it is because there is no water to maintain this turgor. The plant is not dead when this happens, but it is notifying those with eyes to see that there is a definite need for water!

God does things with purpose. His ways are perfect and everything He has created is evidence of His wisdom and goodness. It is no wonder mankind is so dependent upon water. God has surrounded man with an illustration of the necessity of the study and contemplation of His Word. A person who mediates day and night in the Word of God is like a tree that is planted by a "river of water" (Psalm 1). The "river" in Psalm 1 is like a stream for irrigation that insures a steady supply of water for the tree. Another illustration of water is the "river (that) went out of Eden to water the garden" God planted (Genesis 2:10). The Hebrew language is much more graphic than the English, as its meaning of "watering" the garden was "quenching the thirst" of the garden. The man without God’s Word and God’s truth is like a man in dire need of water to quench his thirst. And as the plant cannot live without water, so mankind cannot live without the truth of God’s word. Source ICR - Click Here

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¹ For a more complete discussion of the topic of the Triune God and His creation of time, space and matter, see The Biblical Basis for Modern Science by Henry M. Morris (Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1984) pg. 55-70.
² Recommended Reading: Genesis Record by Henry M. Morris (Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1976), pg. 53-81. The Biblical Basis for Modern Science (cite supra) "Water and the Word" pg. 270-299.
³ Xylem – the complex vascular tissue through which most of the water and minerals of a plant are conducted; characterized by the presence of tracheary elements. Tracheary elements are those elements that are characteristic of a water conducting cell, i.e. thick walls and an elongated shape.
⁴ For those of you with the most hardy of botanical investigative minds, a "bar" is a unit of pressure equal to 1,000,000 dynes per square centimeter. A "dyne" is the unit of force in the cgs (centimeter, gram, second) system equal to the force that would give a free mass of one gram an acceleration of one centimeter per second per second.