Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE Your notes

Biology
Transport in Plants
Contents
Xylem & Phloem
Root Hair Cells
Pathway Taken by Water
Transpiration
Investigating Temperature & Wind Speed
Transpiration Stream
Explaining the Effects of Temperature, Wind Speed & Humidity
Translocation

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 Xylem & Phloem
Your notes
Transport in plants
What is the function of the xylem and phloem
Plants contain two types of transport vessel:
Xylem vessels – transport water and minerals (pronounced: zi-lem) from the roots to
the stem and leaves
Phloem vessels – transport food materials (mainly sucrose and amino acids) made
by the plant from photosynthesising leaves to non-photosynthesising regions in the
roots and stem (pronounced: flow-em)
These vessels are arranged throughout the root, stem and leaves in groups called
vascular bundles

Xylem and phloem diagram

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 Your notes

Vascular tissue in a dicotyledonous plant

Examiner Tips and Tricks

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 If you are asked to identify the xylem or phloem in a diagram showing a cross-section
of a root, stem or leaf just remember that xylem is always on the inside and phloem is
always on the outside. Your notes

Xylem function
Function: transport tissue for water and dissolved mineral ions
Adaptations:
Cells joined end to end with no cross walls to form a long continuous tube
Cells are essentially dead, without cell contents, to allow free passage of water
Outer walls are thickened with a substance called lignin, strengthening the tubes,
which helps support the plant

Xylem diagram

Xylem cells lose their top and bottom walls to form a continuous tube through which
water moves through from the roots to the leaves

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 Root Hair Cells
Your notes
Root Hair Cells
Root hairs are single-celled extensions of epidermis cells in the root
They grow between soil particles and absorb water and minerals from the soil
Water enters the root hair cells by osmosis
This happens because soil water has a higher water potential than the cytoplasm of the
root hair cell

Structure of the root

The root hair increases the surface area of the cells significantly
This large surface area is important as it increases the rate of the absorption of water by
osmosis and mineral ions by active transport

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 Pathway Taken by Water
Your notes
Pathway taken by water
Water is taken up from the soil into root hair cells
Water then moves across the root cortex and into the xylem vessels by osmosis

Pathway of water into and across a root

Water is then transported in the xylem to the leaves where it enters the leaf mesophyll
cells
So the pathway is:
root hair cell → root cortex cells → xylem → leaf mesophyll cells

Investigating water movement in plants

The pathway taken by water through a plant can be studied using a suitable stain, or dye,
as follows:
1. place a plant stem, e.g. celery, into a beaker of water that has had a stain added to it
2. leave for a few hours, or until the leaves of the celery turn the same colour as the
dyed water
This indicates that the dye has travelled all the way up the xylem

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 3. cut a cross-section of the stem and view the position of the coloured dye, which will
correspond with the location of the xylem vessels
Your notes

It is possible to study the pathway taken by water in a plant stem using a suitable stain

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 Transpiration
Your notes
Transpiration
Water travels up xylem from the roots into the leaves of the plant to replace the water
that has been lost due to transpiration
Transpiration is defined as the loss of water vapour from plant leaves by evaporation of
water at the surfaces of the mesophyll cells followed by diffusion of water vapour
through the stomata
Xylem is adapted in many ways:
A substance called lignin is deposited in the cell walls which causes the xylem cells
to die
These cells then become hollow (as they lose all their organelles and cytoplasm)
and join end-to-end to form a continuous tube for water and mineral ions to travel
through from the roots
Lignin strengthens the plant to help it withstand the pressure of the water
movement
Movement in xylem only takes place in one direction - from roots to leaves (unlike
phloem where movement takes place in different directions)

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 Your notes

Water uptake, transport and transpiration

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 Your notes

Transpiration in plants
Transpiration has several functions in plants:
transporting mineral ions
providing water to keep cells turgid in order to support the structure of the plant
providing water to leaf cells for photosynthesis
keeping the leaves cool (the conversion of water (liquid) into water vapour (gas) as it
leaves the cells and enters the airspace requires heat energy. The using up of heat to
convert water into water vapour helps to cool the plant down)

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 Investigating Temperature & Wind Speed
Your notes
Investigating the Effect of Temperature & Wind
Speed on Transpiration Rate
Investigating the role of environmental factors in
determining the rate of transpiration from a leafy shoot
Cut a shoot underwater to prevent air entering the xylem and place in tube
Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram and make sure it is airtight, using vaseline
to seal any gaps
Dry the leaves of the shoot (wet leaves will affect the results)
Remove the capillary tube from the beaker of water to allow a single air bubble to form
and place the tube back into the water
Set up the environmental factor you are investigating
Allow the plant to adapt to the new environment for 5 minutes
Record the starting location of the air bubble
Leave for a set period of time
Record the end location of air bubble
Change the wind speed or temperature (only one - whichever factor is being
investigated)
Reset the bubble by opening the tap below the reservoir
Repeat the experiment
The further the bubble travels in the same time period, the faster transpiration is
occurring and vice versa

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 Your notes

An experimental setup for testing the effect of light intensity on transpiration rates. The
apparatus can be modified to test the effects of temperature and wind speed.
Environmental factors can be investigated in the following ways:

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 Temperature: Temperature of room (cold room and warm room)
As temperature increases, the rate of transpiration also increases Your notes
Wind speed: Use an electric fan to mimic different wind speeds
As wind speed increases, the rate of transpiration also increases

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Remember when designing an investigation to ensure a fair test you must keep all
factors the same other than the one you are investigating.

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 Transpiration Stream
Your notes
Water Vapour Loss: Extended
Extended Tier Only
Evaporation takes place from the surfaces of spongy mesophyll cells
The many interconnecting air spaces between these cells and the stomata create a
large surface area
This means evaporation can happen rapidly when stomata are open

Transpiration Stream: Extended

Extended Tier Only
Water molecules are attracted to each other by cohesion - creating a continuous
column of water up the plant
Water moves through the xylem vessels in a continuous transpiration stream from roots
to leaves via the stem
Transpiration produces a tension or ‘pull’ on the water in the xylem vessels by the leaves
As water molecules are held together by cohesive forces (each individual molecule
‘pulls’ on the one below it), so water is pulled up through the plant
If the rate of transpiration from the leaves increases, water molecules are pulled up the
xylem vessels quicker

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 Your notes

The generation of the transpiration stream

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 Explaining the Effects of Temperature, Wind Speed &
Humidity Your notes

Explaining the Effects of Temperature, Wind

Speed & Humidity: Extended
Extended Tier Only
Wind speed, humidity and temperature all have an effect on the rate at which
transpiration occurs
The table below explains how these factors affect the rate of transpiration when they are
all high; the opposite effect would be observed if they were low
Transpiration Rate Factors Table

A potometer can be used to investigate the effect of environmental factors on the rate
of transpiration

Wilting: Extended
Extended Tier Only
If more water evaporates from the leaves of a plant than is available in the soil to move
into the root by osmosis, then wilting will occur
This is when all the cells of the plant are not full of water, so the strength of the cell walls
cannot support the plant and it starts to collapse

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 Your notes

A wilted plant cannot support itself and starts to collaps

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 Translocation
Your notes
Translocation: Extended
The soluble products of photosynthesis are sugars (mainly sucrose) and amino acids
These are transported around the plant in the phloem tubes which are made of living
cells (as opposed to xylem vessels which are made of dead cells)
The cells are joined end to end and contain holes in the end cell walls (called sieve plates)
which allow easy flow of substances from one cell to the next
The transport of sucrose and amino acids in the phloem, from regions of production to
regions of storage or use, is called translocation
Transport in the phloem goes in many different directions depending on the stage of
development of the plant or the time of year; however dissolved food is always
transported from the source (where it’s made) to sink (where it’s stored or used):
During winter, when many plants have no leaves, the phloem tubes may transport
dissolved sucrose and amino acids from the storage organs to other parts of the plant
so that respiration can continue
During a growth period (eg during the spring), the storage organs (eg roots) would be
the source and the many growing areas of the plant would be the sinks
After the plant has grown (usually during the summer), the leaves are photosynthesizing
and producing large quantities of sugars; so they become the source and the roots
become the sinks – storing sucrose as starch until it is needed again

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 Your notes

Translocation through the phloem

Comparison between Xylem and Phloem Tissue Table

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