Purpose

The purpose of our transpiration lab was to observe how the rate of transpiration is impacted
when a plant (marigold) is placed in four different environments.

Background
1. The reactants for photosynthesis are water and carbon dioxide (CO2).
2. Plants get water from rain and other precipitation through their roots and leaves. This
water travels through the xylem. Plants get CO2 from animal respiration that leaves CO2
in the air. They take it in through their stomata.
3. The stomata is an opening in the leaf of a plant that brings in mainly CO2 gas and lets out
water. The guard cells regulate the stomata by opening and closing the opening to control
the loss of water and the intake of gases.
4. Cohesion happens when molecules of the same kind stick together. Adhesion is when
dissimilar or different molecules attract and stick together. In a plant, cohesion occurs
when water molecules stick together when going into the roots of a plant. It makes one
long strand as it goes into the roots. Adhesion then occurs as the water moves up in the
plant through the xylem. As the water sticks to the wall of the xylem, the force moves it
up through the plant.
5. Plant roles in cycles
a. Nitrogen: In the nitrogen cycle, after bacteria “fix” nitrogen, plants uptake it
which then allows animals to receive the nitrogen. Additionally, many plants can
fix the nitrogen themselves into a substance that is usable in living things
b. Carbon: Plants are a crucial part of the carbon cycle because they maintain the
amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the air. Plants take in carbon dioxide to
then transfer it into energy ATP and oxygen. This is done through photosynthesis
and creates the atmosphere that is suitable for animal life.
c. Water: Plants are a large part of the water cycle because they absorb the water in
the soil through their roots and then release some of it back into the atmosphere
for the environment. This is called transpiration.
6. The water is an abiotic cycle because it does not require any living things. It is powered
by the sun, which is abiotic. The nitrogen and carbon cycle are considered biotic because
they require plants and bacteria to cycle through the environment.
7. Transpiration is the process done by plants in the water cycle where they absorb water
through their roots and then later release some of it into the air from their stomata on their
leaves
8. From the given chart, transpiration is at its highest rate around 12 or 12:30 PM, in the
middle of the period of light.
9. The light waves are the most direct at noon, so they are at their highest. It is also the
hottest part of the day at noon.
 10. The relationship between transpiration and water absorption go hand-in-hand. As one
goes up so does the other and as one falls the other does too. They are positively
correlated.
11. Factors that could impact transpiration include wind, humidity, temperature, type of
plant, kind of soil

Procedure
1. Gather materials
○ Plastic bags, rubber bands, fan, light, water, droppers, and 4 plants of the same
kind
2. Seperate 4 plants with roots bounded by soil and set a plastic bag with each. Label bags
with one of the following: humidity, control, light, fan along with group name
3. Place the soil of each plant into the plastic bag and add one dropper of water into the bag
4. Tie each bag around the roots with the rubber band.
5. Take the “humidity” labeled bagged plant, mist it liberally with a spray bottle, then wrap
an additional plastic bag over the top and tie it off
6. Weigh each plant, then put each one at their corresponding locations
○ Control: In a bin by the window in normal settings.
○ Light: In a bin under a fluorescent light for all 24 hours, everyday
○ Humidity: In a bin by the window. (Has the humidity within the extra step 5)
○ Fan: In a bin by the window in front of a fan that is on for all 24 hours, everyday
7. Make a table to record your original weight and weights for the next 4 days. Measure the
weight of each plant for the next 4 days and observe/record any changes you see.
8. Constants
○ The marigold plants
○ Room temperature
○ Dropper of water in each
○ Roots bounded with soil

Hypothesis
Control Plant​:​ The control plant will lose weight at a normal place after 5 days because it is kept
in a normal, controlled, environment
Light Plant​:​ The light plant will lose weight the fastest/lose the most because all of the light will
open up the plant, removing water with constant exposure
Humidity Plant​:​ The humidity plant will gain weight because the water is being kept in by the
plastic bag
Fan Plant​:​ The fan will slowly lose weight because the wind will move the plant around, causing
the water to be removed
Data

Plants Original (Day 1) Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Weight Weight Weight Weight Weight

Control 60.3g 53.1g 48.5g 45.0g 42.2g

Light 47.6g 41.2g 37.0g 34.6g 32.4g

Humidity 59.8g 58.9g 56.3g 54.7g 53.9g

Fan 49.1g 45.5g 43.4g 41.4g 39.4g

Plant % change % change % change % change

Day 1-2 Day 2-3 Day 3-4 Day 4-5

Control 11.94% 8.66% 7.22% 6.22%

Light 13.45% 10.19% 6.49% 6.36%

Humidity 1.51% 4.41% 2.84% 1.46%

Fan 7.33% 4.62% 4.61% 4.83%

Data Analysis
 ● Change for each plant:
○ The Control plant decreased in weight.
○ The light plant decreased in weight.
○ The humidity plant decreased in weight.
○ The fan plant decreased in weight.
● Independent and dependent variables
○ The independent variable was the location that we placed each plant in and the
“environment” we placed them in (e.g. the bag over the humidity plant)
○ The dependent variable was the rate of weight change/ the rate of transpiration
● The plant with the greatest rate of change was the light plant because its percent change
totaled to be 36.49%. It had a very significant change from the start and stayed high
throughout every day.

Conclusion
● My results and my hypothesis matched to an extent. I believed that they would all
decrease in weight and that the humidity plant would gain weight. In actuality, all of the
plants lost weight, including the humidity plant. I also thought the light plant would lose
the most weight, but the control plant lost more weight. However, the light plant did have
the greatest rate of change.
● One possible source of error could be placing a plant in the wrong environment after
weighing them one day. This would lead to a complete mix up, causing our weights to
change differently, giving us inaccurate rates of change to observe. Additionally, we were
surprised by the small amount of loss in the fan plant. This plant should have lost the
most, but a possible error could have been the amount of leaves that the plant had
exposed/the overall surface error of the leaves, causing it to have one of the smaller
changes. This small rate of change/weight loss in the fan plant also could have been
impacted by the placement of our plant near the fan if it was near the back. If it was the
farthest away from the fan, then it would have been less exposed to the “stimuli”
presented in its location, causing a defect in the results.
● (Question 3 and 4) Plants have numerous adaptations in order to reduce the amount of
water they lose through transpiration. Some can reduce water loss through smaller leaves
because these smaller leaves have less stomata. Another adaptation is hairs or wax
coatings that slow down wind and air movement on the leaves, slowing evaporation. A
basic adaptation is just closing the stomata, which would beneficially prevent loss of
water. However a disadvantage would be the limit on their carbon dioxide due to the
prevention of gas exchange for photosynthesis. A physiological adaptation would be a
form of photosynthesis called Crassulacean acid metabolism. What occurs is the plants
open their stomata at night to absorb carbon dioxide and do photosynthesis during the day
using that carbon dioxide. This allows them to keep their stomata closed during the
 hottest part of the day to reduce any extra water loss, letting them survive during extreme
droughts. These plants are known as CAM plants. C4 Plants like very sunny and warm
temperatures and have very efficient photosynthesis techniques which allow them to
avoid water loss in transpiration. They incorporate their CO2 into four-carbon acids and
go through a longer process which allows them to “ration” their CO2. These plants can
keep their stomata shut for long periods of time because they are more efficient with their
CO2. Due to this, they do not have to continually reopen their stomata to take in carbon
dioxide.

Citations

Csanyi, Carolyn. “How Plants Have Adapted to Prevent Water Loss.” ​Home Guides | SF Gate​,
21 Nov. 2017, homeguides.sfgate.com/plants-adapted-prevent-water-loss-104586.html.
“How Plants Absorb Nutrients and Create Fuel.” ​Dummies​,
www.dummies.com/education/science/biology/how-plants-absorb-nutrients-and-create-f
uel/.
“The Nitrogen Cycle.” ​Science Learning Hub​, Curious Minds,
www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/960-the-nitrogen-cycle​.
“Transpiration.” ​Transpiration​, 16 May 2011, ​www.biology-pages.info/T/Transpiration.html​.
Ubeda, Joao. “What Is the Advantage of C4 Photosynthesis?” ​Sciencing​, 13 Mar. 2018,
sciencing.com/advantage-photosynthesis-5268918.html.