Anurag Deb Class 10H Roll 08

Biology: Transpiration
Ganong’s Potometer:

a. Name the apparatus.

Ans: Ganong’s Potometer.
b. What is the aim/objective of this apparatus?
Ans: To measure the rate of water intake by a cut shoot due to
transpiration.
c. Name the process/phenomenon observed here.
Ans: Transpiration.
d. State the function of the following parts:
 Air bubble: to measure the rate of transpiration. The bubble
acts as an indicator to measure the distance moved by the
absorbed water due to transpiration.
 Reservoir/ stop cork: to restart the experiment. Once the
bubble comes to the end of the scale, the stop cork is opened
to put some water in the tube and push the bubble back to
the zero mark on the scale. Thus, a new reading can be
taken.
  Capillary tube: passage for the movement of bubble and
hence the water absorbed by the cut shoot due to
transpiration.
 Scale: to measure the movement of air bubble in the
capillary tube and hence measure the rate of water intake by
the cut shoot due to transpiration.
e. State the limitations/disadvantages of Ganong’s potometer.
Ans: (i) introduction of air bubble is not easy.
(ii) the twig may not remain alive for a long time.
f. Suggest two precautions for setting up the experiment.
Ans: (i) the potometer should be water tight
(ii) the twig should be cut obliquely (to increase the surface area
for water intake) under water to prevent the entry of an air
bubble in the twig.
g. What will happen to the movement of air bubble in the
following conditions? Explain.
 In strong sunlight: fast movement of bubble. Because in
strong sunlight, the stomata are wide open, therefore the
rate of transpiration and hence water intake is more.
 Under the fan: fast movement of bubble. Wind moves
away the water vapour collected near the surface of the
leaf and therefore more water vapour can diffuse out by
transpiration and hence more water intake.
 Darkness: no/very negligible movement of the bubble. In
darkness stomata are closed, therefore rate of
transpiration and hence water intake is minimized and so
bubble does not move.
Characteristic features of dorsiventral/dicot leaf:
 Placed at right angle to the direction of sunlight.
 More green upper surface (due to compactly arranged
palisade mesophyll with lots of chloroplasts) and less green
lower surface (due to loosely arranged spongy mesophyll
with less number of chloroplasts).
  Reticulate venation.
 The stoma are present in the lower epidermis, very
few/absent in the upper epidermis.
 Cuticle is thicker on the upper surface.

a. What is the aim of the experiment?

Ans: to demonstrate unequal transpiration in a dorsiventral/dicot

leaf or to show that more transpiration takes place through the
lower surface of the dorsiventral leaf.
b. What will you observe after two hours?
Ans: The blue cobalt chloride paper placed on the lower surface
of the leaf will turn pink faster than that on the upper surface.
c. Explain your observation.
Ans: As it is a dorsiventral leaf, the stomata are present in the
lower epidermis. Therefore, maximum transpiration takes place
from this part. Therefore, the blue cobalt chloride paper turns
pink on absorbing the moisture.
d. Why are glass slides used?
Ans: (i) to prevent the atmospheric moisture from entering the
cobalt chloride paper.
(ii) to hold the cobalt chloride papers tightly and to see the colour
change easily.