DISCUSSION AND ESSAY QUESTIONS—SET 1

This set of questions is representative of questions that will appear

in the midterm and final exams. You should use these to develop
your understanding of the important subjects covered in the course.
We recommend that you use these as focal points for group
discussions and for trial essays that would demonstrate your
command of the topics.

Water potential
1. If the cell sap of a plant cell has an osmotic potential of -2.0
MPa, what will the cell water potential and cell pressure potential
be at (a) incipient plasmolysis, and (b) full turgor, assuming no
change in the osmotic potential due to dilution?
2. An algal cell is moved from water to a hypertonic solution.
What happens? How does one describe the cell's condition? How do
water potential, osmotic potential, and pressure potential change?

3. A cell with a pressure potential of 0.8 MPa and an osmotic

potential of -1.6 MPa is placed in a beaker of pure water. What is
the water potential in the beaker and in the cell initially? In which
direction will water flow? After equilibrium, what will be the
component potentials and water potentials in the beaker and cell?
What assumptions have you made in your calculations?
4. If the cell in the previous questions is placed in a beaker that
contains a solution with an osmotic potential of -0.7 MPa , which
direction will water flow? Compute your answer both assuming the
cell is used before and after equilibrium in water. What will be the
values of the water potential, pressure potential, and osmotic
potential in the cell at equilibrium?

5. Cell A has an osmotic potential of -2.0 MPa and a pressure

potential of +0.6 MPa. Cell A is placed adjacent to Cell B, which
has an osmotic potential of -1.6 MPa and a pressure potential of +1.2
MPa. In which direction will water flow? What further information
would you need to calculate the final equilibrium potentials?
6. If cell A has a pressure potential of +0.5 MPa and contains 0.5
M glucose, and cell B has a pressure potential of +0.5 MPa and
contains 0.5 M sucrose, in which direction will water flow? What
assumptions did you make in answering this question?

7. The primary walls of leaf mesophyl cells in some plants are

much more elastic (that is, stretchy) than in other plants. For
example, a willow, Salix lasiandra, which grows near streams, has
more elastic cell walls than Ginkgo biloba trees, which grow in drier
areas. (a) If I gave you a corn leaf and a sunflower leaf, how would
you tell how elastic the cells of each were? (b) What adaptive
advantage could greater elasticity (stretchiness) provide? Hint:
consider that growth rate is related to Ψp. (c) What disadvantage
might be associated with greater elasticity?
8. The eggs of the marine alga Fucus are shed directly into sea
water without any cell walls. This makes it easier for the
antherozoids (sperm) to fertilize them. A cell wall forms 4 to 8 hours
after fertilization. About 15-25 hours after fertilization, the cell
starts to enlarge, forming a long, thin rhizoid. Discuss the
components of water potential of the Fucus egg before fertilization,
immediately after wall formation, and during the formation of the
rhizoid. Assume that the seawater has a Ψs of -0.7 MPa.

9. Discuss the reason why the addition of 1 molal sucrose to

water lowers the water potential by 2.24 MPa.
10. A fresh lettuce leaf with a 90% relative water content is placed
in a box at 20oC that contains air of 90% relative humidity. Will the
leaf lose water, absorb water, or stay the same? If the box is put in a
refrigerator at 4oC, will the leaf lose water, absorb water, or stay the
same?

11. Calculate Ψw, Ψs, and Ψp for the cells in a thin slice of plant
tissue using data that show the gain and loss of weight, and the %
plasmolysis, when the tissue is placed in different concentrations of
sucrose. What errors are inherent in this method?
Sucrose concentration Weight %
(Molal) change (g) plasmolysis

0 + 0.53 0

0.05 +0.50 0

0.1 +0.40 0

0.15 +0.15 0

0.2 -0.05 0

0.25 -0.20 10

0.30 -0.40 90

12. When a small cut shoot is enclosed in a pressure bomb with

the cut end protruding and sufficient pressure is applied to cause the
sap to return to the level of the cut, what does this pressure equal?
Explain in terms of water potential what happens when the shoot is
cut and what happens in the pressure bomb.