MAKING SENSE OF IGCSE BIOLOGY (4BI1)

Structure and Functions in Living Things

Topic 2h

Transport
Flowering Plants
2h – Transport – Flowering plants
Objectives
2.51 Understand why simple, unicellular organisms can rely on diffusion for movement
of substances in and out of the cell.
2.52 Understand the need for a transport system in multicellular organisms.
2.53 Describe the role of phloem in transporting sucrose and amino acids between the
leaves and other parts of the plant.
2.54 Describe the role of xylem in transporting water and mineral ions from the roots
to other parts of the plant.
2.55B Understand how water is absorbed by root hair cells.
2.56B Understand that transpiration is the evaporation of water from the surface of a
plant.
2.57B Understand how the rate of transpiration is affected by changes in humidity,
wind speed, temperature and light intensity.
2.58B Practical: investigate the role of environmental factors in determining the rate
of transpiration from a leafy shoot.
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 organisms.

membrane.
just one cell.
Transport systems
2h – Transport – Plants

the oxygen they need by

need a transport system.

• They are called unicellular

diffusion through their cell

• This also means they do not

• They have no need for lungs
• Some organisms are made of

or gills as they can just obtain

volume ratio (SA:V)

This organism has a large surface area to

By File:Lacrymaria olor - 160x (13465052303).jpg PicturepestFile:Paramecium bursaria.jpg Anatoly MikhaltsovFile:Coleps-Konjugation.jpg Bernd

LaberFile:Dileptus species.jpg DeuterostomeFile:Stentor coeruleus extended.jpg Flupke59 - File:Lacrymaria olor - 160x (13465052303).jpgFile:Paramecium
bursaria.jpgFile:Coleps-Konjugation.jpgFile:Dileptus species.jpgFile:Stentor coeruleus extended.jpg, CC BY-SA 4.0,
4

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60896295
 2h – Transport – Plants
Transport systems

• But multicellular organisms

tend to require transport
systems to supply all their
cells with what they need fast
enough.

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2h – Transport – Plants
Transport systems
• In the case of plants, the transport system involves a network of veins
(or vascular bundles) that run between the roots all the way through the
plant to the leaves.
• These veins carry important substances around the plant to where they
are needed.
• There are two types of vessel within a vascular bundle; xylem and
phloem.

You can clearly see the veins on this

oak leaf branching into smaller ones
to reach every cell.

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2h – Transport – Plants
Xylem and Phloem

• Xylem and phloem are the Cross section of plant stem

transport system for the plant.

• The xylem transports water and
dissolved minerals.
• The phloem transports sugars
and amino acids.

Phloem
Xylem

Vascular bundle
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2h – Transport – Plants
Xylem and Phloem

The xylem transports water and

dissolved minerals from the
roots up to the shoots and
leaves.

Did you know the xylem is actually made of dead

cells with a hollow lumen for the water to travel
through. The walls of the xylem are strengthened
using something called lignin!
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 2h – Transport – Plants
Xylem and Phloem

• The phloem transports the

products of photosynthesis
made in the leaf to all other
parts of the plant.
• This may be sugars (sucrose)
needed for respiration or amino
acids needed for growth.
• Sugar could be taken to the
roots to be stored as starch.

Notice how the contents can travel up or down

the plant. This movement in the phloem is known
as translocation.
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PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
Transport of water

• Water is very important to plants.

They need it for photosynthesis and
also to maintain the turgor pressure
in cells and keep their structure.
• In the next few slides, we will look at
how water is absorbed and then
moved through the plant.

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PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
Transport of water
• Water is absorbed into the roots by
osmosis.
• This is because there is a high
concentration of minerals in the root
cells and therefore water is drawn
Root hair cell
into the cells from a high water
potential in the soil to low water
potential in the cells.
• The cells on the outer layer of the Root Tip
roots are specialised cells called root
hair cells. 11
PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
Transport of water

• These root hair cells greatly increase the surface area for
osmosis.
H 2O
H 2O
H2O
H2O H2O
H2O

Root hair cell

H 2O H2O
H2O

H2O H2O
H2O
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PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
Transport of water

• Once inside the root cells (1)

it can pass into the xylem
vessels to be taken up the
stem (2) to the leaves.
• However, if the leaf is
photosynthesising then
water is lost through the
open stomata (3).
• This process is called
transpiration.
By Laurel Jules - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26331125 13
PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
Transport of water - Transpiration

• Transpiration is the loss of water from

a plant.
• The water evaporates and diffuses
out of the leaves as water vapour. H2O H2O
H2O
• This is just a consequence of having H2O H2O

the stomata open for gas exchange.

• But it draws more water and minerals
up through the xylem and from the
roots.
• This flow of water through the plant is
called the transpiration stream.

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PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
Transport of water - Transpiration

• There are four main factors that affect the rate of transpiration.
• You should be able to explain how and why they do this.

Light Intensity Temperature

Wind Speed Humidity

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PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
Transport of water - Transpiration

Rate of transpiration

Light Intensity
• As light intensity increases more stomata open for photosynthesis.
• With more stomata open more transpiration will occur.
• Eventually all the stomata will be open and any further increase in light
intensity will not effect the rate of transpiration.
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PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
Transport of water - Transpiration

Rate of transpiration

Temperature

• The higher the temperature the faster the particles in the air move.
• If particles are moving faster then more water particles will evaporate
from the leaf and transpiration increases.
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PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
Transport of water - Transpiration

Rate of transpiration

Wind speed

• As the wind speed increases it moves away the water particles surrounding the leaf.
• This increases the diffusion gradient between the inside and the outside of the leaf.
• This increases the rate of transpiration.
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PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
Transport of water

Rate of transpiration

Humidity

• The more humid the air is the more water is in it.

• This reduces the concentration gradient between the inside and outside of the leaf.
• Therefore transpiration rate slows down as humidity increases.
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PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
PRACTICAL
Transport of water
• A bubble potometer is used to estimate the rate of transpiration.

If you measure the distance As transpiration occurs the

By User Theresa knott on en.wikipedia - Drawn by Theresa Knott and Rachel Knott., CC BY-SA 3.0,
xylem sucks up more
and time you can then water.
calculate the rate of
transpiration.
Therefore the bubble will

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1110424
move along the capillary
tube.

You could investigate the effect of light intensity

(moving a lamp closer or further away), wind
speed (using a fan), temperature (changing the
room temp) or humidity (placing a bag with
varied volumes of water in over the shoot.)
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PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
PRACTICAL
Transport of water
• Setting up this apparatus is hard.
• You should know this method for how to
do it.

1. Cut the shoot underwater at an angle to prevent air

getting into the xylem.
2. Assemble underwater so no air can get in.
3. Check it is water and air tight.
4. Dry the leaves and leave time for them to
acclimatise.
5. Remove from the beaker of water to introduce
bubble and then place it back.

By User Theresa knott on en.wikipedia - Drawn by Theresa Knott and Rachel Knott., CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1110424 21
PAPER 2 2h – Transport – Plants

PAPER 2
PRACTICAL
Transport of water

The independent variable is the one you change.

Make sure you only investigate one independent variable at a
time (for example light intensity).

The dependent variable is the one you measure.

In this case that would be the distance moved by the bubble in
a given time (rate of transpiration).
The control variables are ones that you must keep constant
between tests to be able to make valid conclusions.
In this case it would be the other factors (wind speed, temp and
humidity). The type and surface are of the plant.
By User Theresa knott on en.wikipedia - Drawn by Theresa Knott and Rachel Knott., CC BY-SA 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1110424 22
2h – Transport – Plants
CONCEPT CHECK – True or false

1. Unicellular organisms don’t need a transport system.

2. Xylem transports water and sucrose.
3. Water moves into the roots by osmosis.
4. The roots have a large surface area due to root hair cells.
5. Water is lost through the stomata by translocation.
6. Higher light intensity increases the rate of transpiration.
7. A potometer is used to estimate transpiration.
8. An increase in humidity increases rate of transpiration.
9. The dependent variable is the one you change.
10.The phloem transports amino acids and sucrose.
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2h – Transport – Plants
CONCEPT CHECK – True or false

1. Unicellular organisms don’t need a transport system.

2. Xylem transports water and sucrose.
3. Water moves into the roots by osmosis.
4. The roots have a large surface area due to root hair cells.
5. Water is lost through the stomata by translocation.
6. Higher light intensity increases the rate of transpiration.
7. A potometer is used to estimate transpiration.
8. An increase in humidity increases rate of transpiration.
9. The dependent variable is the one you change.
10.The phloem transports amino acids and sucrose.
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2h – Transport – Plants
CONCEPT CHECK – Exam style question

Q: Explain how you could estimate the effect of humidity

on the rate of transpiration.
(5 marks)

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2h – Transport – Plants
CONCEPT CHECK – Exam style question

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