Laboratory

9
Transpiration
Water is transported in plants, from the roots to the leaves, following a decreasing water
potential gradient. Transpiration, or loss of water from the leaves, helps to create a lower
osmotic potential in the leaf. The resulting transpirational pull is responsible for the movement of
water from the xylem to the mesophyll cells into the air spaces in the leaves. The rate of
evaporation of water from the air spaces of the leaf to the outside air depends on the water
potential gradient between the leaf and the outside air.
Various environmental factors, including those conditions which directly influence the opening
and closing of the stomata, will affect a plants transpiration rate. This experiment will measure
transpiration rates under different conditions of light, humidity, temperature, and air movement.
The data will be collected by measuring pressure changes as the plant takes up water into the
stem.
OBJECTIVES
In this experiment, you will
observe how transpiration relates to the overall process of water transport in plants.
use a computer interface and a gas pressure sensor to measure the rate of transpiration.
determine the effect of light intensity on the rate of transpiration of a plant cutting.
determine the effect of humidity on the rate of transpiration of a plant cutting.
determine the effect of wind on the rate of transpiration of a plant cutting.
determine the effect of temperature on the rate of transpiration of a plant cutting.
MATERIALS
Macintosh or IBM-compatible computer heater, small electric
Serial Box Interface or ULI masking tape
Vernier Biology Gas Pressure Sensor petroleum jelly or vinyl tape
Logger Pro plant cuttings
graph paper or Graphical Analysis plastic gallon size bag with twist tie
100-watt light source razor blade or scalpel
aerosol spray container or plant mister ruler or meter stick
air-line tubing and connectors (optional) ring stand
dropper or Beral pipette utility clamps
fan with slow speed
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Lab 9: Transpiration
PROCEDURE
1. Position the ring stand, utility clamps and Biology Gas Pressure Sensor as shown in Figure 1.
2. Connect the 20-mL gas syringe to one end of the 36-42 cm piece of plastic tubing. Place the
other end of the tubing into a beaker filled with water. Pull the syringe plunger and suck
water up into the tubing. When the tubing is full, bend each end upwards so the tubing is u-
shaped and disconnect the syringe.
3. Using a scalpel or razor blade, carefully cut the plant one inch above the soil. Place the plant
on a hard surface and make a new cut at a 45-angle near the base of the stem.
Figure 1
4. Connecting the plant to the tubing:
The plastic tubing has a white plastic connector at one end that allows you to connect it to
the blue 3-way valve on the gas pressure sensor.
Raise the end of the tubing with the connector until you see water beginning to run out of
the other end. Carefully push the cut stem of the plant down into the end of the tubing
where the water is running out. Be careful not to allow any air bubbles to form between the
cut portion of the stem and the water in the tube.
Force the plant down into the tubing as far as it will go without damaging the plant. At least
one centimeter of the plant stem should fit into the tubing. If the stem is too large for the
tubing, cut the stem at a higher point where it is smaller. The tighter the fit, the better the
seal will be.
Important: Be sure that the tubing is filled to the top of the tubing with water. The water
column must be continuous with the stem. If water slides down the tube away from the stem
after the stem has been inserted, check to see that the seals are air tight. Do not allow
petroleum jelly to clog the stem.
5. Spread a generous amount of petroleum jelly or vinyl tape around the stem of the plant where
it meets the tubing. This creates an air-tight seal to prevent pressure loss.
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Lab 9: Transpiration
6. Place the valve on the pressure sensor in the closed position as shown in Figure 2. Connect
the plastic tubing to the sensor valve. Caution: Do not allow water to enter the valve of the
gas pressure sensor.
to pressure
sensor
Figure 2
7. Secure the seedling in an upright position with the utility clamps as shown in Figure 1. It
should be positioned so that the cut stem is about 10 cm below the water level at the other
end of the tubing, as shown in Figure 1.
8. Place a mark on the tube at the starting water level to allow you to refill the tube to the proper
level in Step 19.
9. Place your setup in an area where the wind, humidity, and temperature are reasonably
constant. This will be your control setup.
10. Close the system by aligning the blue valve handle
as shown in Figure 3. Allow the system to
equilibrate for 5 minutes.
to pressure
sensor
Figure 3
11. Prepare the computer for data collection by opening Exp 10 from the Biology with
Computers experiment files of Logger Pro. The vertical axis has pressure scaled from
0.8 - 1.1 atm. The horizontal axis has time scaled from 0 to 15 minutes. The data rate is set to
4 samples/minute.
12. Start measuring the pressure by clicking
Collect
. Data will be collected for 15 minutes.
13. When data collection has finished, find the rate of transpiration for your plant. To do this,
Move the mouse pointer to the point where the pressure values begin to decrease. Click the
mouse button and drag the pointer to the end of the data, then release the mouse button.
Click the Regression button, ,to perform a linear regression. A floating box will appear
with the formula for a best fit line.
Record the slope of the line, m, in Table 1 as the rate of transpiration for the control. Close
the floating box.
14. (Optional) Double click on the graph title and enter Transpiration: Control. Print a copy of
your graph. Enter your name(s) and the number of copies of the graph.
15. Design an experiment to simulate one of the following environmental factors, as assigned by
your teacher:
the effect of light intensity
the effect of the wind blowing on the plant
the effect of humidity
the effect of temperature
the effect of another self-identified environmental variable
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Lab 9: Transpiration
Be sure to address the following questions in your design:
What is the essential question being addressed?
What assumptions are made about the system being measured?
Can those assumptions be easily verified?
Will the measurements provide the necessary data to answer the question under study?
16. After checking your procedure with your teacher, obtain the materials needed for the
experiment and perform the tests. Record your values in Table 1.
PROCESSING THE DATA
1. Determine the surface area of all the leaves on your plant cutting by the following method:
Cut all the leaves (not stems) off of your plant and weigh them with a balance.
Estimate the total leaf surface area in cm
2
for your plant by cutting out a section of leaf
5 cm X 5 cm.
Weigh this leaf section and divide by 25 cm
2
to find the weight of l cm
2
of leaf.
Divide the total weight of the leaves by the weight of l cm
2
to find the total surface area.
Record this value in Table 1.
2. Calculate the rate of transpiration/surface area. To do this, divide the rate of transpiration by
the surface area for each plant. These rate values can be expressed as atm/min/cm
2
. Record
the rate/area in Table 1.
3. Obtain the adjusted rate for each variable you did not test from other members of your class.
Average the results of similar tests and record these rates in Table 2.
4. Make a bar graph that illustrates the relative effect of different environmental variables on
the transpiration of water in plant cuttings. Plot the adjusted rate on the y-axis and the nature
of the test on the x-axis.
DATA
Table 1
Test Slope (atm/min)
Surface area (cm
2
)
Rate/area
(atm/min/cm
2
)
Light
Humidity
Wind
Temperature
Control
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Lab 9: Transpiration
Test
Adjusted rate (atm/min/cm
2
)
Light
Humidity
Wind
Temperature
Control
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