Western Mindanao State University

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

Department of Biological Sciences
Zamboanga City

GROUP No. 2 Year and section: BS BIO 3A

Members: Amil, Al-juhir Date Submitted: September, 2022
Cimafranca, Lex
Dela Pena, James
Delos Santos, Arthur Lois
Saavedra, Melissa

Laboratory Exercise 3.
Plant and Water Relations

Water is the most abundant constituent of all active plant cells. Even mature seeds, spores,
and non-living tissues such as wood contain water. The hydrodynamic system in plants involves
the absorption of water from the soil, translocation, and transpiration.

Objectives:
At the end of the exercise, each student can:
1. explain the similarity and difference between diffusion and osmosis and
2. discuss the processes of diffusion, osmosis, capillary action, and imbibition.

Materials:
1. Biology Books, General Physiology Books,
2. Electronic Reference Sources on Plant and Water Relations

Procedures:
1. Diffusion. Fill a glass with 250 mL of hot tap water. Fill another glass with 250 mL cold tap water.
Label the two glasses (hot tap water, cold tap water). At the same time, put two drops of red food
coloring gently in the glass containing hot tap water and two drops of blue food coloring gently in
the glass containing cold tap water. You will need two people to make sure the drops go into each
glass at the same time. Observe what happens in each glass over the next five minutes.
2.A. Osmosis. With the help of virtual laboratory simulation and electronic reference sources,
illustrate the Elodea sp. cells placed in:
i. 0.9% salt solution,
ii. 10% salt solution, and
iii. distilled water.
2.B. Osmosis. Prepare two glasses. Fill each glass with 300 mL of distilled water. Add five
tablespoons of salt in one of the two glasses and stir. Label the two glasses (distilled water, salt
solution). Slice a large potato into French fry-like pieces. Make sure the slices are of the same size.
Observe the slices of potato before placing them in the two glasses. Place half of the potato slices
in the glass with distilled water. Place the remaining slices in the glass with salt solution. Let them
sit overnight. Remove the potato slices from the glasses the next day. Make your final
observations.
3. Capillary Action. Prepare three glasses. Fill each glass with 250 mL of tap water. Add five drops
of food coloring into each glass. Each glass should contain a different color (red, blue, yellow).
Prepare three white Chrysanthemum stems with flowers. Carefully cut the end of each flower’s
stem at a 45-degree angle using razor blade. Place each stem with flower in the glass with colored
water. Make your observation the next day.
4. Imbibition. Place 10 grams of Phaseolus sp. (red kidney bean) seeds in a glass containing 60 mL
of distilled water. Remove the seeds after two hours. Blot off their surface water using tissue
paper. Weigh the seeds. Record the initial weight and final weight of the seeds.

Photographs and Illustrations: Use your own photographs. Use crayons or other coloring
materials. Label the parts.

Diffusion in hot tap water and in cold tap water (after five minutes)

In preparations, two clear glasses were filled with water with the same amount and level,
but with different temperature. The glasses were filled with water with Room or Normal
Temperature while other one was filled with hot water. Liquid Dye was also prepared which is to
be observed together with the water.
Two drops of dye were dropped to each glass that contained water with different
temperature and began mixing with the water. The dye in normal temperature was scattered
slowly, on the other hand, the dye in hot water scattered fast.
 Here is why. The dye or food coloring will mix the fastest in the hot water because the
molecules are moving fast due to their increased thermal energy. These fast-moving molecules
are pushing the molecules of food coloring around as they move, causing the food coloring to
spread faster.
The food coloring in the room or normal temperature water will take longer to mix with the
water because the molecules are moving more slowly due to their decreased thermal energy.

Elodea sp. cells placed in 0.9% salt solution

An Elodea leaf cell submerged in a 0.9% NaCl solution would not experience a net gain or
loss of water. Because the 0.9% NaCl solution and the inside of the Elodea cell have equal solute
concentrations, water will move both into and out of the cell but no net water movement will take
place.

Elodea sp. cells placed in 10% salt solution

After soaking the slide in salt solution, the slide is shown here with plasmolyzed Elodea.
Observe how the chloroplasts have gathered together in the center. This shows how a hypertonic
solution affects living cells.
Elodea sp. cells placed in distilled water

Elodea as it is shown in this image. Both before and after the distilled water is applied to
the slide, the chloroplasts are dispersed throughout the cell. Although distilled water is a
hypotonic solution, the cell membrane prevents the cells from bursting.

Potato slices after soaking in distilled water and in salt solution (final observations)

After soaking the two potato slices in two different solutions, one with distilled water and
the other one with salt solution overnight, results have shown that the potato slice soaked in
distilled water becomes bigger while the potato slice soaked in salt solution shrinks its size. Here's
why: The potato slices in distilled water expand and become bigger because of osmosis. Potatoes
are made of millions of cells, and the cell walls act as a semipermeable membrane. The water
molecules move into the potato through this membrane to balance the concentration levels. The
water moving inside the potato cells causes it to expand and become bigger. On the other hand,
the potato slices were soaked in salt solution. The salt solution has a higher concentration, and
the water inside the potato moves through the cell walls to balance the concentration in the
saltwater. Since the water moves out of the potato wedge, it shrinks and becomes smaller. This is
also why the potato wedge in the salt solution becomes less rigid and bends easily. Another
observation is the change in color of the potato slice in the salt solution. It's because the water
moving out of the potato damages its cells, which causes them to release an enzyme called
catechol oxidase. The enzyme in the potato cells reacts with the oxygen in the air and turns the
wedges brown.
Chrysanthemum flowers in red, blue, and yellow food coloring (final observations)

Water is used by plants to keep their roots, stems, leaves, and flowers healthy and to keep
them from drying out and wilting. Water also transports dissolved nutrients throughout the plant.
Plants get the majority of their water from the ground. This means that it must transport water
from its roots to the rest of the plant. Capillary action transports water throughout the plant.
Specifically, the water is drawn through the stem and then up to the flower. After 24 hours, the
flowers have acquired an overall dyed hue that darkens slightly with time. In places, the stems
have also become slightly dyed, particularly where the leaves branch off.

Red kidney bean seeds before and after soaking in distilled water (final observation)

Imbibition is a determining factor of seed germination. It causes the seed to expand and
rupture its coat, triggering metabolic changes in the embryo that enable it to resume growth. The
extent to which water imbibition occurs is dependent upon three factors: the composition of the
seed, seed coat permeability, and water availability. Seeds typically possess extremely low water
potential due to their osmotic characteristics. The low water potential is a consequence of the
relationship of water with components of the seed. Imbibition is not dependent on metabolic
energy and is instead related to the properties of the colloids present in seed tissues, such as
proteins. Results have shown that the soaked red kidney beans weigh more than dry red kidney
beans. This is due to the movement of water molecules inside the bean, which causes the swelling
of the bean.

Guide Questions:
1. What are the similarity and difference/s between diffusion and osmosis. Use a Venn Diagram
to answer the questions.

2. What happened to the Elodea sp. cells placed in a hypotonic solution, isotonic solution, and
hypertonic solution?
In a hypotonic solution, there is more water than there is in the cell, and water tends to
permeate into the cell. When Elodea cells are placed in 100% water, which is more hypotonic than
freshwater, water also seeps into the cells, causing them to swell.
 Elodea cells would have no change in solution that is isotonic to the cell, water will diffuse
in and out of cell equally.
Elodea cells, when placed in a hypertonic solution, will lose water through osmosis. This
will make them flaccid. The central vacuole reduces and eventually disappears. The cell membrane
pulls away from the cell wall and the organelles appear concentrated at the center of the cell.

3. What happened to the potato slices placed in distilled water and in salt solution?
The potato will absorb the water when it is placed in the distilled water. The salt in the
potato is being diluted by the water.
The potato will lose water when placed in salted water. In an effort to dilute the salty water, the
water in the potato travels toward it.

4. What happened to the Chrysanthemum flowers placed in colored water?

The colored water will be absorbed by the Chrysanthemum flowers, highlighting its journey
to the tips of the petals to hydrate them. The flower's Xylem functions like an elevator, carrying
water from the cup all the way up the stem and into the petals. The plant's petals end up being
stained when it brings the colored water up. The plant may receive water from the roots all the
way to the petals thanks to the Xylem.

5. What is capillary action? What is its importance in plants?

Capillary action is the movement of liquid along the surface of a solid brought on by the
attraction of the liquid's molecules to the solid's molecules. It is important to plants because
Capillary action is used by plants to transport water from the roots and stems to the rest of the
plant.

6. What is imbibition? What is its importance in plants?

Adsorption of water or any other liquid by solid particles of a substance without the
formation of a solution is a phenomenon known as imbibition. Imbibition is a special kind of
diffusion that takes place when water is absorbed by solids and colloids, increasing their volume.
The liquid that is ingested is known as the imbibate, and the solid particles that imbibe water or
any other liquid are known as imbibants.
In addition to seed germination, imbibition is crucial to plant physiology. The power of
imbibition, in accordance with this hypothesis, is what causes the water to flow upward (i.e., the
ascent of sap) in the stem. This hypothesis was, however, disproved because it is obvious that a
significant amount of water passes through the xylem vessels' lumen, which can be shown by
artificially blocking the lumen with gelatin or oil (the plant will show wilting).

References:
o Aiello, L., & Schuster, T. (2005). Plasmolysis of Elodea. California State University
Northridge. Retrieved September 1, 2022, from http://www.csun.edu/scied/7-
microscopy/elodea_plasmolysis/index.htm
o What happened if you put the Elodea leaf cells in a solution of 0.5 % N a C l , 1.8 % N a C l
and 0.9 % N a C l ? Study.com. (n.d.). Retrieved September 1, 2022, from
https://homework.study.com/explanation/what-happened-if-you-put-the-elodea-leaf-
cells-in-a-solution-of-0-5-nacl-1-8-nacl-and-0-9-nacl.html
o Metro Family Magazine. (2022). Available from:
https://www.metrofamilymagazine.com/simple-science-experiment-osmosis-with-
potato slices/
o Meyer, B. (2020). Available from: https://www.accessscience.com/content/plant-water
relations/525300
o University of Texas, SouthWestern Medical Center. (2022). Available from:
https://www.utsouthwestern.edu/edumedia/edufiles/education_training/programs/star
s/osmo sis-demo-lab.pdf