Term 3 - Transport in Plants (Handout)

1 © Boardworks Ltd 2007
How do plants get what they need?

What do plants need for healthy
growth?
● minerals
● water
● sunlight
● oxygen for respiration
● carbon dioxide for

photosynthesis
Where do plants get these nutrients?
Like all organisms, plants have to get materials for growth from their
environment. Plants must then get these nutrients to the part of the plant that
needs them.

How are plants adapted for transport?
The structures of cells and tissue in different parts of the plant are adapted to
allow transportation of essential materials.
Leaves are entry and exit points

for the gases needed by plants.
Stems connect the roots to the leaves,

flowers and fruits. They contain cells
specially adapted for transportation of
water, minerals and sugars.
Roots absorb water and minerals

from the soil.

Which cells transport nutrients?
Plants contain two types of cell adapted for transportation.
Xylem cells transport water and minerals

up the stem from the roots to the shoots
and leaves. This transport occurs in one
direction only.
Phloem cells transport sugars produced

in the leaves up
and down the stem to growing and
storage tissues.
The cells are arranged in plants as vascular bundles.
Both phloem and xylem form continuous systems connecting roots,

stems and leaves.

How is xylem adapted for transportation?
Water and minerals travel in xylem
vessels.
Xylem vessels have thick walls,

strengthened by lignin. The inside of the
cell is hollow. Xylem vessels are dead
cells.
Xylem vessels transport water and

minerals from the roots to the shoot and
leaves. This transport only occurs in
one direction.
The thick walls of xylem cells also help

support plants.

How is phloem adapted to transportation?
Phloem is made of columns of living cells.
They transport food, in the form of sugars.
Sugars are carried from the leaves to

the growing and storage parts of the
plants. This movement takes place in
both directions.
Phloem cells are also called sieve tubes.

Cells are joined by small holes in the cell wall
at the end of each cell, forming a continuous
system. The end cell walls are called sieve
plates.

Do plants produce waste?
All animals eat food to survive.
Not all of the food can be used by the body, so

eventually some will exit the body as waste.
Plants are different from animals because they

produce their own food through the process of
photosynthesis.
Does this mean they do not produce any waste?
Oxygen is made during photosynthesis but not all of

it is used by the plant. It is a waste product.
How is it removed from the plant?

How do gases move in and out of plants?
Plants use carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and produce oxygen. These
gases move in and out of the plant through the leaves by diffusion.
When the concentration of carbon

dioxide inside the plant is low, it will
diffuse in from the air, through pores in
the leaves into the plant cells.
If the concentration of oxygen is high

inside the plant, it will diffuse from the
plant cells through the pores and into
the air.

How are leaves adapted for diffusion?
The diffusion of gases occurs in the leaves. They are adapted for this function in
the following ways:
● Leaves are thin. This decreases the distance gases have to travel between
the air and cells.
● There are air spaces between

cells. This increases the speed of
diffusion from the air to the cells
inside the leaf.
● There are lots of stomata

(pores) on the undersides of
leaves.
These let gases in and out.

Movement of water up a stem

What is transpiration?
Transpiration is the loss of water by evaporation from plants.
Plants lose water when they open the stomata in the leaves
to let in carbon dioxide.
Water always moves from an area of high

concentration to an area of low concentration. This
movement of water is called osmosis.
Air around the plant usually contains less water than

the cells of the plant, so water evaporates into the
air.
Although it may seem bad for plants, transpiration actually moves water from the
roots to the top of the plant, without using energy. How does this work?

How is the rate of transpiration measured?
Transpiration can be measured using a potometer.
A cut plant stem is sealed into the potometer

using a rubber bung.
An air bubble is introduced to the

capillary tube.
The distance the bubble travels shows

how much water the stem has taken
up.
This gives an indirect measurement of the rate of transpiration.

Entry of Water into a Plant
cytoplasm soil particles
vacuole
film of liquid
(dilute
1 solution of
mineral salts)
cell surface
nucleus membrane of
root hair cell
cell wall 1 Each root hair is a fine tubular outgrowth of an

epidermal cell. It grows between the soil
particles, coming into close contact with the
water surrounding them.
Copyright © 2006-2011 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. 20 February 2019 20
cytoplasm soil particles
vacuole
2
film of liquid 2 The thin film of liquid
(dilute surrounding each soil
1 solution of particle is a dilute solution
mineral salts) of mineral salts.
cell surface
nucleus membrane of
root hair cell
cell wall 1 Each root hair is a fine tubular outgrowth of an

epidermal cell. It grows between the soil
particles, coming into close contact with the
water surrounding them.
a section of root
3 showing the path of
The sap in the root hair water through it
cell is a relatively
concentrated solution of
sugars and various salts.
Thus, the sap has a lower water entering
water potential than the the root hair
C B
soil solution. These two A 3
solutions are separated
by the partially
permeable cell surface root hair
membrane of the root xylem piliferous layer
hair cell. Water enters the phloem
root hair by osmosis. cortex
a section of root
Thus, the sap has a lower water entering
water potential than the 4 the root hair
C B
by the partially
4 The entry of water dilutes the sap. The sap of the root
hair cell now has a higher water potential than that of
the next cell (cell B). Hence, water passes by osmosis
from the root hair cell into the inner cell.
a section of root
Thus, the sap has a lower 5 water entering
water potential than the 4 the root hair
C B
by the partially
4 The entry of water dilutes the sap. The sap of the root 5 Similarly, water passes from cell B into the
hair cell now has a higher water potential than that of next cell (cell C) of the cortex. This process
the next cell (cell B). Hence, water passes by osmosis continues until the water enters the xylem
from the root hair cell into the inner cell. vessels and moves up the plant.
Is the rate of transpiration constant?
Transpiration is a bit like a straw, pulling water up the plant.
Sometimes the pulling force will be stronger and the plant will
lose more water.
The speed at which a plant loses water is called the rate of

transpiration. This varies depending on the plant’s
environment.
What environmental factors will affect the rate of

transpiration?
● humidity (amount of moisture in the air)
● light intensity
● temperature
● air movement (wind).

How are roots adapted to their function?
The roots of this bulb are long and thin. They have
formed a fine network, filling the available space.
Roots contain thousands of tiny root hair cells,

which project out into the soil.
How do these features make roots suitable for

absorbing water and minerals?
● high surface area to volume ratio
● maximum contact with the soil
● firm anchorage.

How do minerals enter plants?
Like water, minerals enter plants through the roots. However, they do this by
different methods.
Minerals are usually found in the soil in

lower concentrations than they occur in the
plant.
Why can they not be transported by
diffusion?
Diffusion cannot take place against a

concentration gradient.
Instead, minerals enter the roots by active transport.

What is active transport?
Active transport uses energy from respiration to move substances against a
concentration gradient.
Specific minerals from the soil soil root hair cell

enter through channels in the cell
walls of the root hair cells.
The minerals then travel around the

plant in the xylem vessels.
Plants may take up some minerals

in the soil but not others. Why is it
important that plants select which
minerals to transport?
mineral

Active transport

What is translocation?
Translocation is the movement of nutrients
around a plant. The term includes the
movement of minerals, which can be
dissolved in water and transported in the
xylem, but usually refers to the transport of
sugars, amino acids, and other organic
molecules in the phloem.
Translocation can occur in either direction in

the phloem – it is bidirectional. It is an
active process, requiring energy, unlike
water transport in the xylem.

The mass flow hypothesis
The most widely accepted explanation of sap movement in plants is the mass
flow hypothesis (sometimes called the pressure flow hypothesis).
According to the theory, sap moves through phloem vessels due to differences in
hydrostatic pressure.
Evidence for this effect includes the

excretion of sap, or honeydew, by an
aphid when it taps a phloem vessel to
feed. The sap is forced through the
aphid’s body, demonstrating that the sap
in the phloem is under pressure.

Ringing Experiments

Ringing Experiments
• Stem above missing tissue ring swells with liquid rich in

sugars.
• Non-photosynthetic tissues below the ring wither and die.

Glossary (1/2)
● active transport – The movement of a substance from an area of
low concentration to high concentration.
● concentration gradient – A change in the concentration of a
substance from one area to another.
● cellulose – The main component of cell walls.
● diffusion – The movement of a substance from an area of high
concentration to low concentration.
● guard cells – A pair of cells that control the opening and closing of a
stoma (single hole).
● humidity – The amount of water vapour in the air.
● lignin – A substance found in some xylem cells, which strengthens the cell
wall.
● osmosis – The movement of water from an area of high concentration to
low concentration.

Glossary (1/2)
● phloem – Plant tissue that transports food.
● potometer – A piece of equipment that can be used to indirectly
measure the rate of transpiration.
● root hair cell – A thin, hair-like outgrowth on roots.
● transpiration – The evaporation and diffusion of water from leaves into
the air.
● sieve tube – A series of joined phloem cells.
● stoma (singular) – A single hole on the lower surface of the leaf that
allows gases in and out.
● stomata (plural) – Small holes in the lower surface of a leaf that allow
gases in and out.
● vascular bundle – A grouping of transport tissues.
● xylem – Plant tissue that transports water and minerals.

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1 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

How do plants get what they need?

● oxygen for respiration

● carbon dioxide for

Where do plants get these nutrients?

2 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

Leaves are entry and exit points

Stems connect the roots to the leaves,

Roots absorb water and minerals

3 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

Xylem cells transport water and minerals

Phloem cells transport sugars produced

The cells are arranged in plants as vascular bundles.

Both phloem and xylem form continuous systems connecting roots,

8 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

Xylem vessels have thick walls,

Xylem vessels transport water and

The thick walls of xylem cells also help

9 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

Sugars are carried from the leaves to

Phloem cells are also called sieve tubes.

11 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

Not all of the food can be used by the body, so

Plants are different from animals because they

Does this mean they do not produce any waste?

Oxygen is made during photosynthesis but not all of

How is it removed from the plant?

14 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

When the concentration of carbon

If the concentration of oxygen is high

15 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

● There are air spaces between

● There are lots of stomata

These let gases in and out.

16 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

17 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

Water always moves from an area of high

Air around the plant usually contains less water than

18 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

A cut plant stem is sealed into the potometer

An air bubble is introduced to the

The distance the bubble travels shows

This gives an indirect measurement of the rate of transpiration.

19 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

cytoplasm soil particles

cell wall 1 Each root hair is a fine tubular outgrowth of an

cytoplasm soil particles

cell wall 1 Each root hair is a fine tubular outgrowth of an

The speed at which a plant loses water is called the rate of

What environmental factors will affect the rate of

● humidity (amount of moisture in the air)

● air movement (wind).

25 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

Roots contain thousands of tiny root hair cells,

How do these features make roots suitable for

● high surface area to volume ratio

● maximum contact with the soil

26 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

Minerals are usually found in the soil in

Diffusion cannot take place against a

Instead, minerals enter the roots by active transport.

27 © Boardworks Ltd 2007

Specific minerals from the soil soil root hair cell

The minerals then travel around the