GCSE Biology

Transport in Plants

1. Fill in the missing words

Plants produce glucose in their leaves through a process known as photosynthesis. To transport this
glucose to the rest of the plant, such as the roots, it is transported along phloem tubes which are made
of lots of phloem cells put end to end. Between adjacent cells there are small pores/gaps/sieve plates
that allow the cell sap to pass between the cells. Cell sap is a mixture of a water and sugar. This process
of transporting glucose and other nutrients is known as translocation and it can transport the cell sap in
either direction/s. [8 marks]

2. Describe the role of xylem tissue and how it is adapted to carry out its function

Xylem tissues are made up of column cells which are dead and have no ends between them so
this enables them to forma long hollow vessel; they are made stronger with lignin, with this
structure a xylem is adapted to transport water and minerals from the roots up the stem to the
leaves where the water is used for photosynthesis.
[3 marks]

3. What is transpiration?
Transpiration is the evaporation of water molecules from the leaves of plants to the air.

[1 mark]

4. Name 4 factors that affect the rate of transpiration 1)

 Light Intensity
 Temperature
 Humidity
 Wind Velocity
5. What is the transpiration stream?
The constant upward flow of water through a plant is known as the transpiration stream
[1 mark]

6. Why does transpiration increase with temperature?

 Transpiration increases with higher temperatures because higher temperatures is equivalent to
lower humidity levels so with that the atmosphere has less water vapor leading to an increase in
the evaporation of water molecules from the leaves of plant.

[1 mark]
7. Why does transpiration increase with light intensity?
8. The brighter the light the plants rate of photosynthesis would increase making way for the
stomata to open and allow carbon dioxide to enter which causes the water molecules to move
out, thus the rate of transpiration increases with the increase in light intensity

[2 marks]
9. Using your understanding of concentration gradients explain how air flow and humidity affect
the rate of transpiration
Since water is being continually brought up from the roots of plants to facilitate photosynthesis
the inside of the leaves would have more water than the outside of the leaf this provides a
concentration gradient so when the humidity levels in the atmosphere is high the rate of
transpiration decreases because the large amount of water in the air will decrease the
concentration gradient so less water would diffuse out.

[1 mark]

[Total 24 marks]