EXPERIMENT 3: TRANSPIRATION AS A

MECHANISM OF WATER TRANSPORT IN THE

CELERY XYLEM

CODE: BIO611

GROUP:

AS2015A2

LECTURER’S NAME: DR NOR'AISHAH ABU

SHAH

STUDENT’S
STUDENT’S NAME
ID
INTRODUCTION

Transpiration is the process by which plants control and keep their internal water balance at an
appropriate temperature. When the rates of transpiration are high, plants emit a greater quantity of water
vapors into the atmosphere, which in turn to keep cells turgid and help the plant cool down. Plants need
water, but only a small amount of the water they take in through their roots is used for growth and
processing. Over 99% of the water a plant gets from the soil is lost to the air through transpiration, and the
plant for metabolic processes like photosynthesis, hydrolysis reactions, and hydrating protoplasm and cell
walls uses less than 1% during the formation of new cells (Clegg & Mackean, 1994).

The cohesion-tension theory describes how the process of transpiration works: Once water is in the
xylem, it moves against gravity and goes up to the rest of the plant. Two forces, tension and cohesion,
make it possible for water to move against gravity. Root pressure, indirectly produced by active transport
in the roots, provides additional force. As the xylem's water content rises and the root's water content
increases, active transport transfers essential ions into the root.

The main way plants lose water is through their leaves' stomata. When the stomata open, most of the
water leaves the plant. Since water evaporates through the many stomata on the leaf surface, the rate of
transpiration directly linked to the surface area. To determine the transpiration rate, we therefore calculate
the leaf area of each celery plant: Because the majority of stomata are located in the lower epidermis, this
surface area is determined.

OBJECTIVES
1. To study the effect of wind, light, and mist factors on transpiration in celery stalks.
2. To calculate the rate of transpiration in celery leaves.

MATERIALS
 Celery stalks with leaves
 Eosin dye(red)
 Gooseneck lamp
 Plastic bag
 Fan
 Scalpel
 Tiles
  Tissue
 Ruler
 Graph Paper

PROCEDURE

Effect of Transpiration
1. Celery stalks remained submerged in water, and 1cm from the bottom was cut. All the celery
stalks were all cut at the same height, and each of it is having leaves.
2. Four flasks labelled as A, B, C, and D were filled with 200ml eosin dye.
3. Each cut was placed quickly into the flasks.
4. Flask A was placed in a normal room temperature room, flask B was placed in front of a running
fan, flask C was placed in front of a gooseneck lamp and flask D was wrapped with a plastic bag.
5. All celery stalks allowed standing for less than 5 minutes in their designated environmental
conditions.
6. The experiment stopped when any of the eosin dyes reached the top of celery stalk and time
taken.
7. Celery stalks removed from their flasks and excess eosin dye from the stalks was washed under
the running water, then, all celery stalks were placed on the tissue.
8. A metric ruler and scalpel used to cut 1cm segments from the bottom end of the stalks.
9. After each cut was made, each cut was examined for the presence of eosin dye in the xylem tissue
positioned along the outer edge of the stalk.
10. The 1cm cutting process at each stalk continued until the eosin dye began to fade from the xylem.
11. The distance of eosin travelled up to each stalk tabulated.
12. The rate of transpiration in celery stalks m/min/m2 was determined.
13. The cross-section of celery sketched to show the position of the xylem.
Leaf Area Measurement
1. All celery leaves were laid on 1cm graph paper and their outline was traced.
2. The number of square centimeters was counted. The area of partial squares was estimated.
3. Overall leaves area from each treatment were summed up as all leaves were involved in the
transpiration process.

RESULT

Factors Time of dye Distance of dye Total leaves Rate of

reach the end (cm) area (𝑐𝑚2) transpiration
(min) (cm/min/𝑐𝑚2)

Room

Wind

Light
DISCUSSION

n the data that has been collected

from the experiment we can
observe that different
environmental condition
resulting different transpiration
rate. The transpiration rate of the
leaf is either it facing lot of
water loss or little of water loss.
Firstly, we noticed that plant
exposed to fan (wind) had the
highest transpiration rate with
12cm/minutes of water loss.
Then, followed by plant
exposed to lamp experiment
that yield transpiration rate
of
10cm/minutes. Lastly, plant
exposed to normal lab
environment has produce least
amount of
transpiration rate with
5cm/minutes of water loss.
Plant exposed to fan (wind) had
the highest transpiration rate is
because the humid
boundary layer around leaf is
reduced. [ CITATION Hol13 \l
1033 ]. Boundary layer is
known as thin layer of still air
that surround the surface of
leaf[ CITATION Pla21 \l 1033 ].
So, in transpiration the water
vapour will escape from the
stomata and spread through this
immobile layer to the
atmosphere, where it will be
eliminated by moving air. So the
higher
rates of transpiration here
indicate that the boundary layer
is smaller. It could be that the
leaves did not possess lots of
hair that can serve as mini-wind
breaks.
Next, plant exposed to lamp also
has high transpiration rates
because majority of the
stomata are open in response to
the light. [ CITATION Hol13 \l
1033 ]. The concept here is
same when plan exposed to the
sunlight. When there is presence
of light, the stomata will
open in allowing exchanges of
carbon dioxide and oxygen that
necessary for photosynthesis.[
CITATION Lid19 \l 1033 ]. So,
the transpiration rate is increase
than plant that exposed to
normal lab environment due to
the light intensity.
Lastly, plant that exposed to
normal lab environment has the
lowest transpiration rates
among three different
environments. This is because
this normal lab environment
responsible
Based on the data gathered from the experiment, we can see that the rate of transpiration is different
in different environments. It all depends on how much water the leaf is losing through transpiration. First,
we found that plants in the fan (wind) condition lost the most water through transpiration (12cm/minutes).
Then, the plant was put under a lamp, which gave a transpiration rate of 10cm/minute. Lastly, a plant in a
normal lab setting loses the least amount of water through transpiration (5cm/minute).

The celery that was in front of a fan (wind) had the highest transpiration rate is because wind
generates more water loss because they lead to higher evaporation rates. This is associated with
transpiration pull, which is set up in the xylem vessels of the mesophyll where the force produced by
evaporation that inducing movement of water up the stem from the roots and absorption of soil water into
the root epidermal cells (Yip, 2023). According to the Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary (2023), the wind
can change the rates of transpiration by removing the boundary layer, which is a layer of water vapor that
is still hugging the surface of the leaves. When the boundary layer is thinner due to the action of the wind,
water vapor has a shorter distance to travel to reach the air (Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary, 2023). This
results in an increase in the rate at which water evaporates from the leaf surface.

Next, the celery exposed to lamp has the second high transpiration rates because majority of the
stomata are open in response to the light and temperature. The concept here is same when plan exposed to
the sunlight. When the light is present, the stomata will open to allow the exchanges of carbon dioxide and
oxygen that are necessary for photosynthesis. However, rather than having a direct effect on stomata, the
temperature of the lamp has a large influence on the magnitude of the driving force for water migration out
of a plant (Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary , 2023). So, the rate of transpiration is higher than it would be
in a normal lab setting because of the light intensity and temperature.

Lastly, the celery leaves that were exposed to a normal lab setting had the lowest rate of
transpiration out of the three environments. This is because these control studies take place in a normal lab
setting. It demonstrates how light, wind, and temperature are among the few external factors that
significantly affect transpiration rates.

CONCLUSION

After studying the information, we may conclude that the rate of transpiration affected by wind,
light, humidity, temperature, and other environmental factors nevertheless; internal factors like leaf area,
stomata density, and boundary layer thickness play a role. The process by which plants lose water vapor
through their stomata is called transpiration. We found that the plant's response to each variable in its
surroundings was unique. We may also say the theory was validated. The experiment was helpful
in reinforcing hypotheses about the effect of wind, light, and mist on celery stem transpiration.
POST LAB QUESTIONS

1. How to estimate the true leaf surface area by using graph paper?
Traces of leaf samples are made on the paper with a 1 cm grid. One cell size will be assigned to
every cell that takes up more than half of the outline. The real area of the leaf is represented by
the number of grid counts. Equation is used in this method to determine the leaf area.
NxB = Leaf Area (1)
where N is the number of 1 cm blocks covered by the trace and B is the size of a block on the
graph paper.

2. What is the key point to make the potometer work sucessfully?

To stop any air leakage, the joint between the shot and potometer is sealed (often with petroleum
jelly). In order to measure water uptake in the same leafy shoot and increase the reliability of the
inquiry, the device is reset using the reservoir or syringe.

3. Suggest the outcome of having thin leaf plant cutting compared to thick leaf plant.
The rate of transpiration increases as the relationship between leaf thickness and transpiration rate
is inversely proportional.

4. Explain the role of water potential in the movement of water from soil to the plant
and into the air.
Water goes from the region of greater potentials to the region of lower potentials, which
facilitates the migration of water from the soil.

5. What property of water accounts for the fact that molecules of water climb the thin
xylem vessels?
Adhesion. Polar water molecules adhere to the surface of a polar substance in adhesion. This
propensity to adhere will allow water held inside a tiny capillary tube to travel a short way up the
tube. Water travels up inside xylem vessels a short distance via adhesion because they are so thin.
6. State the advantage and the disadvantage of close stomata to a plant when water
is in short supply.
When water is scarce, closed stomata assist in regulating the water level in the plant, preventing
evaporation and water content loss.
Closing stomata, however, restricts gas exchange in plants and reduces their carbon supply.

7. Describe several adaptations that enable plants to reduce water loss from their
leaves.
Xerophytes are plants that can survive in drier environments. Some of these plants have
developed thick, tiny, and reduced-surface area leaves. In order to shield themselves from the
environment, they could also have a thickened cuticle. Stomata could be recessed into
 pits. Some xerophytes lose their leaves during the dry months, whereas others, like cacti, can
store water. CAM plants absorb CO2 at night and convert it to crassulacean acid, which can be
converted to sugars during the day. During the day, some plants can close their stomata.

REFERENCES