PAGE 1 OF 2

Vasudev Chanka

DATE: 19/11/21

TITLE: TRANSPORT IN PLANTS

AIM: TO MEASURE THE RATE OF WATER UPTAKE IN A SHOOT USING A POTOMETER

APPARATUS AND MATERIALS: 1 leafy plant shoot, 1 potometer, 1 stopwatch, 1 scalpel, 1 ruler,
water, petroleum jelly.

METHOD:

1. A leafy shoot was cut from a plant and the cut end was immediately placed in water.

2. A slanting cut four centimetres above the original cut under water was made.

3. The apparatus was set up as shown in the diagram below under water. It was ensured that the
shoot was tightly inserted in the rubber bung.

4. Petroleum jelly was applied at the junctions between the shoot and rubber bung, and the
rubber bung and the mouth of the potometer.

5. The setup was placed in sunlight.The distance moved by the water column in the capillary tube
every five minutes for fifteen minutes was observed and recorded.

6. A graph of distance moved by the column of water (cm) versus time (min) was

plotted.

7. The gradient of the graph was calculated to determine the rate of water uptake by the

-1
shoot (in cm min ).

YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DRAW THIS!!

DIAGRAM SHOWING SETUP OF A POTOMETER TO DETERMINE THE RATE OF WATER UPTAKE BY A SHOOT
 PAGE 2 OF 2

RESULTS AND OBSERVATIONS:

TABLE SHOWING DISTANCE MOVED BY WATER COLUMN (cm) IN THE CAPILLARY TUBE OF THE
POTOMETER OVER A FIFTEEN MINUTE PERIOD
DISTANCE MOVED BY WATER COLUMN (cm) TIME (min)

0.0 0

4.4 5

8.6 10

12.4 15
What is the responding variable for y-
axis?

What units exactly?

 CALCULATIONS:

Gradient of graph= increase in y/ increase in x

= 12.4/15 = 0.83

-1
Therefore rate of water uptake by the shoot= 0.83cm min
This sentence
GUIDED QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION does not make
sense.
Transpiration is the diffusion of water vapour from the air spaces in the spongy mesophyll layer of
leaves, out of the stomata and into the surrounding atmosphere.Transpiration cools plants, changes
osmotic pressure of cells, and enables mass flow of mineral nutrients and water from roots to
shoots.Water is passively transported into the roots and then into the xylem. The forces of cohesion and
adhesion cause the water molecules to form a column in the xylem. Water moves from the xylem into the
mesophyll cells, evaporates from their surfaces and leaves the plant by diffusion through the stomata.The
light intensity, temperature, humidity, wind and water supply will all affect the transpiration rate. The cut
end of the shoot was immediately placed in water. This prevents the xylem of the plant which may disrupt
the transpiration stream.. A slanting cut was made above the original cut end of the shoot as this prevents
entry of air into the xylem vessels and makes it easier to spread a layer of petroleum jelly. The reason it
was cut under water is to prevent air bubbles entering the xylem vessel. It was sealed with petroleum jelly
to Make sure it is air tight and water tight.A potometer can be used to measure the rate of transpiration
that’s proportional to water uptake. Transpiration cannot be measured directly as some of the water will be
used in photosynthesis. The rate of transpiration can be calculated by measuring the distance travelled by
an air bubble in a capillary tube over a given time. The faster the bubble moves, the greater the rate of
water uptake – and so the greater the assumed rate of transpiration. This is a straight line graph. This
shows us that the distance moved by a column of water is proportional to time. When the distance
moved by a column of water is increased, so is the time. This shows the rate of transpiration,
temperature, air flow or draughts, adequate supply of water would have been suitable controls for this
experiment.

LIMITATIONS: water potential gradient

1) Humidity - Humidity decreases the concentration gradient between the inside and outside of the leaf
– this reduces transpiration
2) The potometer does not measure the rate of transpiration accurately because not all of the water that
is taken by the plant is used for transpiration (water taken might be used for photosynthesis or by the
cells to maintain turgidity). The potometer measures the rate of uptake of water.

SOURCES OF ERROR:
ORR
1) The potometer set up was a complicated procedure. If any air bubbles
7/8
were present in the plastic tubing, it could cause drastic error to occur.
2) Any miscalculations or inaccurate weighing could also account for error.

-1 07/12/2021
CONCLUSION: rate of water uptake by the shoot= 0.83cm min
C. OBSERVATIONS
ORR B. LANGUAGE
A. FORMAT
i) = 1/1 i) = 0 /1 (see discussion single i) = 1/1
ii) = 1/1 underlined) ii) = 1/1
iii) = 1/1 ii) = 1 /2 (double underlined) GRAND TOTAL = 10/12
iii) = 1/1
MARK OBTAINED /12
iv) = 1/1
TO CONVERT TO MARK OUT OF 8
v) = 1/1
ORR = 7/8
vi) = 1 /1