Biology Form 5 - Chapter 1: Transport

Set Induction
The whole plant looks red. This is because the red dye solution is absorbed by the root hairs into the
xylem tissues and is transported to the whole plant.

Activity 1.1
Aim : To correlate different sizes of cubes with total surface area/volume (TSA/V) ratio
Hypotheses : 1. The bigger the size of an object, the smaller the value of the TSA/V ratio.
2. The smaller the TSA/V ratio, the more difficult the movement of solutes to the
interior of an object.
Variables
Manipulated variable : Size of object
Responding variables : The TSA/V ratio and the percentage of coloured areas
Fixed variables : Temperature, concentration of coloured water; volume of coloured water;
type of potato
Method
1. The potatoes were cut into cubes with sides 4 cm, 3 cm and 2 cm respectively.
2. The total surface area and volume of each cube were calculated.
3. The potato cubes were put into a beaker of coloured water for 30 minutes.
4. The potato cubes were removed from the beaker after 30 minutes.
5. Each cube was cut into halves. The area coloured was observed.
6. The results obtained were tabulated.

Results
Total surface area Estimated percentage of
Side (cm) Volume (cm3) TSA/V (cm-1)
(cm2) coloured area (%)
2 24 8 3.0 60
3 54 27 2.0 40
4 96 64 1.5 30

Discussion
1. When the size of the cube increases, the TSA/V ratio decreases.
2. The smaller cube has higher percentageof coloured area.
3. A smaller organism has a higher TSA/V ratio.
4. A big multicellular organism has a low TSA/V ratio. Diffusion of substances through the body’s
surface is not enough to sustain the needs of the organism due to its huge volume,

Conclusion
A big object has a low TSA/V ratio. Movement of solutes through diffusion is more difficult. Both
hypotheses are accepted.