How Plants Grow

The willow tree experiment:

 17th Century – Joannes Baptistia – concluded that [water = mass of plant]

Test for Starch:

 Starch found as Colourless grains in plant cell. Very difficult to see.
 By adding Iodine solution, the starch turns blue-black. This process makes starch visible.

Testing a leaf for starch:

 Problem with Normal Leaf
o Cell wall does not allow iodine into the cell
o Green pigment masks colour change
 Leaf is treated with boiling water – This makes easy for any solution to enter the cell
 Treat with ethanol – Removes green pigment chlorophyll, makes leaf crisp.
 If we add iodine solution, the leaf will turn blue-back if starch was available in the leaf.

Destarching a plant:
 If a plant is left in darkness for 2 or 3 days, then the plants will become starch free.

Carbon dioxide properties:

 Soda lime absorbs carbon dioxide, take it out of air
 Sodium hydrogen carbonate solution release carbon dioxide into air.

Experiment to find effect of carbon dioxide:

 Two destarched plant were taken
 In one plant a small dish of soda lime is added.
 In another plant a small dish of sodium hydrogen carbonate is added.
 The plants were sealed with transparent plastic bags.
 Plants were left in daylight for few hours.
 The leaf from each plant is tested for starch.
 Result:
o The plant with dish of soda lime did not contain starch.
o The plant with dish of sodium hydrogen carbonate contains starch.
 Conclusion:
o Carbon dioxide is required for starch production.

Oxygen Properties:
 When a glowing splint is brought near oxygen, the splint re-lighted. This shows that gas contains more oxygen than
normal air.

Experiment to find out oxygen production in plants:

 Two samples of Canadian pondweed were setup (Ref figure)
 One was put in dark and the other was put in a sunny place.
 No gas is collected in the plant which is kept in dark.
 The gas collected in sunlight is tested with glowing splint. The splint re-lighted which proves that oxygen is produced
during photosynthesis.

Experiment to find out the use of Light in starch production:

 Take a destarched plant.
 Cover one leaf with aluminium foil and another leaf with transparent plastic cover.
 Leave the setup in sunlight for 4 hours.
 The two leaves are then removed and tested for starch.
 Result:
o The leaf covered with aluminium did not contain starch.
o The leaf covered with plastic paper contains starch
 Conclusion:
o Light is required for starch production.

Energy transfer diagram for photosynthesis:

 Light Energy  Chlorophyll  Stored chemical energy.
Biomass:
 Mass of living thing.
 Used to monitor the environment.
 Any change in total biomass indicates environmental change.
 Dry Biomass – Mass of dead living thing in which has no water (Water dried out)
 Wet biomass- mass of a living thing which contains water (water not dried out)

Minerals:
 Required by plant for survival.
 Eg: Potassium phosphate and calcium nitrate.
 Dissolves in the water in the soil.
 Taken by the plants through roots.

Root Hair:
 Projection of root is called root hair.
 Tip of the root hair grows out into the spaces between soil particles.
 500 root hairs in square centimetre.
 Greatly increase the surface area of the root, so that large quantities of water pass through them.
 Water in the soil is drawn to replace water that is lost through evaporation.
 Plants do not use energy to take in water.

Mineral Salt transportation:

 Mineral salt are dissolved in water.
 Plants has to use energy to take mineral salt in
 Energy is provided by the root, by respiration process. (oxygen is taken in by the plant during respiration process)
 Root gets oxygen from the air spaces between the soil particles.

Transporting water tubes:

 Cells form columns in the plants. When they die the walls between them breakdown to form tubes.
 Xylem – Water conducting tube.
 A group of vessels form xylem tissue, which makes vascular bundle.
 Xylem runs from root through stem to leaf where they from leaf veins.

The cell structure of leaf:

 Epodermis – The upper and lower surface. Made up of one layer thick cell.
 Wax coating – The upper layer is coated with Wax to pervert water passing out of the leaf.
 Stomata – Small holes in the lower side of the leaf.
 Palisade Tissue
o Found below upper epidermis
o Mainly involved in making food.
 Spongy mesophyll:
o Found below Palisade Tissue
o Makes food but also provide a surface for evaporation of water.
 Veins:
o Vascular bundles made up of xylem tissue.
o Carries water to leaf.
 Phloem Tissue:
o Carry away food from leaf.

Test for Water:

 Cobalt chloride paper turns pink if tested with water.

Water movement:
 Water evaporates from cells in the spongy mesophyll layer.
 If water vapour is less outside, then water vapour from the cell will diffuse through stomata.
 When water is lost in spongy mesophyll, then it takes more water from xylem tissue in stem and root.
 Transpiration:
o The process by which plants lose water from their leaves