Procedures:

1. Gather the needed materials listed below:

a. Graduated cups that can be marked, must be able to clearly observe the
water level lines on the cup
b. Mature bean plants (must have at least 1 leaf)
c. Ruler
2. Carefully separate the bean plants from the soil, be sure to keep the entire plant
intact.
3. Measure the total surface area of the top sides of all the leaves on the plant by
finding the surface area of the top of each leaf on your plant and adding them
together for a grand total.
a. Measure the length of the leaf with a ruler (in centimeters) and then use
https://www.sketchandcalc.com/ to accurately find the surface area (in cm
squared) of each leaf.
For Each Plant:
4. Fill several graduated cups, each one with the same amount of water. There
should be one cup for each bean plant, plus one cup for the control of
evaporation. Make sure that the cups are marked with measurement lines so that
the water level can be accurately recorded.
5. Insert one plant in one of the graduated cups. Record the amount of water in the
cup with the new displacement. Do this for each mature bean plant that you
have, and record all of the data in the chart below. Be sure to mark each plant
cup with a number so that you know which is which! Record the amount of water
in the other graduated cup that does not have a plant in it (this cup will be used
as a control to record evaporation).
6. Place the plant cups and the evaporation cup in partial sunlight. Allow for
transpiration to occur over three twenty-four hour time periods (72 hours total).
During this time, do not add any water to any of the cups. Make sure none of the
cups are tampered with so that the cups do not lose water due to factors such as
getting knocked over.
7. 72 hours after the bean plants were put in the cups of water, measure the new
amounts of water in each of the graduated cups with the plants and the cup
without the plants, and record the data in the appropriate spaces on the chart.
8. To find the amount of water that was lost to evaporation, subtract the new
measurement of the control cup from the original measurement of the control
cup.
9. To find the amount of water that was lost to transpiration for each plant, subtract
4the new water measurement from the original water measurement in each

individual plant cup. Once you get this difference, add back the amount of water
lost to evaporation that was calculated in the previous step. Make sure that the
new cup measurements are recorded with the original cup number- do not mix
the cups up or it may skew the data!
To Analyze the Data:
10. Create a line graph where the independent variable is total leaf surface area
(cm^2) and the dependent variable is the amount of water transpired (whatever
unit is on the graduated cup).
11. Plot each plants coordinate using the data collected (surface area as the x
value, transpiration amount as the y value).
12. Look at the trend to see if it aligns with your hypothesis.
13. For a larger amount of data, combine results with others who have followed the
same procedure.
One may wish to use something like the table given below:
Cup #

Total Surface Area

of the Plant Leaves
(cm^2)

Original Amount of
Water in Cup (with
plant displacement)

New Amount of
Water In Cup after
72 hours

Difference
Between
Original and
New Amounts

Water Used in
Transpiration
(original-new +
evap.)

Person As Plants:
Plant 1
Plant 2
Evap. Cup

n/a

n/a

Person Bs Plants:
Plant 1
Plant 2
Evap. Cup

n/a

n/a

Person Cs Plants:
Plant 1
Plant 2
Evap. Cup

n/a

n/a

*the blue cells represent the water lost to evaporation that will be used in the equation in
the last column