Topic 13.

9
Transpiration and factors
affecting it

Transport of water in plants

Aims
From this extension exercise, your students can become more familiar with the physiology
related to the transport of water through flowering plants.

Teaching notes
There are four groups of questions. Your students should use their knowledge and deductive
skills to answer the questions in the spaces provided.
A variety of question types are provided. Where applicable, encourage your students to write
short sentences, using technical terms, with one point per sentence. Suggested marking
scheme points are separated by semi-colons.

Answers
1

Flowering plants have stomata in the leaf epidermis and the epidermis of green stems.
a) (i) What is a stoma and (ii) what type of cell is associated with each stoma?
(i) A stoma is a pore/opening (in the epidermis of leaves and green stems);
(ii) Guard cells (two per stoma).
b) In relation to photosynthesis, what is the main function of stomata?
To allow easy access of carbon dioxide (by diffusion) into the leaf mesophyll
(and easy outward diffusion of oxygen).
c) Why is water lost from the gas exchange surfaces of terrestrial organisms?
The exchange surfaces are permeable (to gases, i.e. oxygen, CO 2 and water
vapour);
There is a higher concentration of water (i.e. a higher water potential) inside
the organism than outside.
d) The density of stomata is said to vary from 1000 to 100 000 per square centimetre of
a leaf epidermis. (i) What would be the density of stomata per square millimetre, if
there were 10 000 per square centimetre? (ii) Explain your answer.
(i) 100;
(ii) There are 100 mm2 in 1 cm2.

The rate of transpiration of individual, detached leaves can be estimated by a weighing

method. Leaves are weighed to two decimal places. Then each leaf is attached by a paper
clip and its petiole (leaf stalk) to a string suspended between two stands with bosses. The
leaves can be left in the laboratory for one or more days and their masses determined
again.
Describe how you would adapt this method to reliably compare the rate of transpiration
through the upper epidermis of one holly and one laurel leaf, using petroleum jelly.
(Remove the leaves from freshly cut shoots)
Determine the surface areas of the two leaves, using graph paper and counting
squares;

AQA Biology AS Level Extension Teacher Notes Nelson Thornes Ltd 2008

Topic 13.9
Transpiration and factors
affecting it
Smear petroleum jelly (all) over the lower epidermis (of each type of leaf);
Smear petroleum jelly over the petiole (of each type of leaf);
Weigh the leaves immediately, leave them for the same time attached to the string,
reweigh;
All conditions the same, e.g. temperature/light and dark/air currents;
Subtract the final mass from the initial mass (for water loss through
transpiration);
Calculate transpiration per cm2 of the upper epidermis/use same-sized leaves;
(Ignore replication as the question refers to one holly and one laurel leaf.)
3

The cohesiontension theory says that water is pulled up the xylem as a result of transpiration.
Except for the Casparian strip, the ascent of sap could take place entirely within the apoplast
(Salisbury, F. B. and Ross, C. W. [1992] Plant Physiology 4th edition, Wadsworth, Belmont,
California)
a) For the cohesiontension model, (i) what coheres to what and (ii) how?
(i) Water molecules cohere (to other water molecules);
(ii) by hydrogen bonding.
b) For the cohesiontension model, in which tissue does the tension occur?
Xylem
c) State the location of the Casparian strip.
Root endodermis (radial cell walls).
d) (i) Explain what is meant by the apoplast of a flowering plant. (ii) What is the term
for the non-apoplast component of plants?
(i) The apoplast is all of the interconnecting cell walls of the plant;
And the water-filled xylem cells/vessels/tracheids;
(ii) The non-apoplast component of plants: the symplast.
e) Beginning with the evaporation of water from the leaf surface, describe how water
could be pulled up through a plant entirely within the apoplast (except for in the
Casparian strip).
(There is outward diffusion of water vapour through the leaf stomata)
The humidity of mesophyll air space air falls;
Water evaporates from the wet cell walls of mesophyll cells;
Water passes from the leaf xylem along the apoplast route/along the cell walls
(to replace whats lost at the evaporating surface);
The column of water is drawn up the xylem (leaf, then stem, then root xylem);
Its under tension/negative pressure;
Water molecules cohere;
They adhere to the sides of the xylem cells/vessels/tracheids;
They are pulled in from the root cell walls of the pericycle cells (and from
endodermal walls);
They cant pass along the radial walls of endodermal cells because of the
hydrophobic/suberised Casparian strip;
They pass through the endodermis via the symplast route;
Using plasmodesmata;
They are drawn along cortical cell walls (apoplast);
And via root epidermal cell walls/cell walls of the root hairs from the soil
solution.

AQA Biology AS Level Extension Teacher Notes Nelson Thornes Ltd 2008

Topic 13.9
Transpiration and factors
affecting it
4
a) Define solute.
A solute is a dissolved substance in a solution.
b) Describe how the higher concentration of solutes in the xylem tissue than in the
pericycle causes water to move from the pericycle into the xylem (to cause root
pressure).
The higher solute concentration makes the xylems water potential more
negative;
So water moves from the less negative pericyclic (and/or endodermal) cells;
by osmosis.
c) Explain how root pressure is inhibited by respiratory poisons (e.g. cyanide)
supplied to roots.
Respiratory poisons inhibit ATP production (by inhibiting respiration);
ATP is required (to provide energy) for active transport of mineral ions/no
ATP, no energy available for active transport;
By specific carrier proteins (in the plasma membrane of pericyclic [and/or
endodermal] cells).
d) When there is root pressure, why are water and solutes not squeezed out of the
roots?
Root pressure occurs in the xylem;
The Casparian strip of the endodermal cells prevents them being squeezed
out (along the root apoplast).
e) The xylem vessels of some trees suffer cavitation (the development of gas bubbles)
during winter frosts. This is reversed rapidly in spring.
(i) Suggest the importance of root pressure in silver birch trees in the spring.

It re-establishes continuity of fluid/xylem sap in xylem

cells/vessels/tracheids;
Provides water (and solutes) to aid opening of the buds.
(ii) The process of capillary rise allows water to rise up within narrow tubes,

passively. How could you demonstrate that the movement of water in the
xylem of a silver birch sapling in spring was not caused by capillary
rise/capillarity?
Cut off/wound a branch and note the continued bleeding (oozing of xylem
sap)/poison the root and observe the loss of pressure in the xylem (e.g.
using bubble manometers on cut branches).

AQA Biology AS Level Extension Teacher Notes Nelson Thornes Ltd 2008