BIO270 TUTORIAL WEEK 11

1. Transpiration is the process of evaporation of water from leaves. Identify five variable
factors that influence the transpiration rate.
- Temperature
- Air movement
- Light
- Humidity
- Soil water

2. Explain the mechanism of bulk flow in phloem sap.

- Sap moves through a sieve tube by bulk flow that driven by positive pressure.
- Loading sugar into the sieve tube at the source reduces water potential inside the sieve-tube
members. This causes the tube to take up water by osmosis.
- This uptake of water generates a positive pressure that forces the sap to flow along the
tube.
- The pressure is relieved by the unloading sugar and the consequent loss water from the tube
at the sink.
- In the case of leaf-to-root translocation, xylem recycles water from sink to source.