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…showed last 75 words of 413 total…attracts it to charged and polar substances. When water molecules surround ions or polar substances, they dissolve and are called solutes. Hydrophilic substances have an affinity for water. Hydrophobic substances do not. One of its most important properties is its ability to dissolve many other substances. The versatility of water as a solvent is essential to living organisms. Water has many properties that make it a unique material and an essential component of living matter.