Virtual Lab: Plant Transpiration

Post-Lab Quiz and Lab Report

1. Please make sure you have read through all of the information in the
Question and Information areas. If you come upon terms that are
unfamiliar to you, please refer to your textbook for further explanation or
search the word here:
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx
2. In this exercise, you will test the effects of various environmental conditions
on the rate of plant transpiration. To begin, click on one of the plant
specimens and drag it to the potometer; the name of the plant will then appear.
Clicking on the clock icon will begin the experiment, and after the simulated
hour has passed you will be shown the temperature at which the experiment
took place and the volume of fluid transpired by the plant (in mL). Place all
of this information in the Table and/or in Table I below.
3. Now that you have assessed the transpiration rate of this plant under normal
conditions, click and drag one of the three appliances to the laboratory bench
next to the potometer. Click the clock and begin the second experiment. After
collecting your data as above, repeat these procedures on your plant specimen
using the remaining two appliances.
4. When you are completely finished testing your specimen under all four
conditions, click on a new plant specimen and drag it to the potometer.
Following all of the procedures above, collect your data on the transpiration
rates of this plant and place them in the Table or Table I. When you have
completely analyzed all four visible plant specimens, you can click the

Reset button to obtain new plant specimens. There are 9 total plants in all
that need to be tested under all four environmental conditions.
5. Please finish this exercise by opening the Journal link at the bottom of the
page and answering the questions.

Table I: Total Amount of Water (in mL) Transpired in One Hour

Plant Type
Arrowhead
Coleus
Devils Ivy
Dieffenbachia
English Ivy
Geranium
Rubber Plant
Weeping Plant

Normal
Conditions
(21oC)
3.6
0.9
2.9
4.1
1.8
1.2
4.9
3.3

With Heater
(27oC)

With Fan
(21oC)

6.6
3.9
4.1
6.0
3.2
5.8
6.8
4.9

7.5
6.0
4.6
7.7
5.1
4.7
8.4
6.1

4.0
3.0
3.0
3.9
2.1
2.4
4.3
2.5

Zebra Plant

4.2

6.1

7.6

3.2

Post-laboratory Questions:
1. Transpiration in plants is driven by:
a. Gravity
b. Capillary action
c. Static electricity
d. All of the above
2.

Stomata:
a. Are found on plant roots
b. permit the intake of carbon dioxide
c. permit the intake of oxygen
d. All of the above

3. Water can be lost by a plant through which process(es)?

a. Evaporation
b. Transpiration
c. Condensation
d. A and B

With Lamp
(21oC)

4. Which environmental condition in your experiments served as the control?

a. heat
b. wind
c. light
d. None of the above
5. In your experiments, transpiration was observed by:
a. Directly measuring the amount of water leaving the leaves through
transpiration
b. Directly measuring the amount of water leaving the leaves through evaporation
c. Directly measuring the amount of water absorbed through the plant sprigs
stem
d. All of the above
6. Which environmental condition(s) always led to an increase in transpiration rate
in each plant tested?
a. Heat
b. Wind
c. Light
d. A and B
e. All of the above
7. Wind did not have the greatest effect on transpiration rate in which plant type?
a. Arrowhead
b. Geranium
c. Rubber Plant
d. Weeping Plant
e. None of the Above
8.

Colder temperatures cause stomata to remain closed. Based on this information,

if a plant were grown below 21oC would you expect transpiration rates to:
a. Increase
b. Decrease
c. Remain the same

9. Wind appeared to increase the rate of transpiration in most plants tested. This is
most likely due to the fact that:
a. Humidity was increased
b. Evaporation was increased
c. Stomata were forced to close
d. All of the above
10. Cacti grow in arid regions such as deserts. Compared to other plants,
transpiration in cacti would most likely be:
a. Lower
b. Higher

c. The same
Journal:
1. Describe the process of transpiration in vascular plants.
Transpiration is the loss of water in the form of water vapor through stomata present
mainly on the leaves (but also on stems and flowers) of the plant. Stomata are small
openings controlled by the turgidity of guard cells which allow gaseous exchanges of the
plant. Transpiration allows the upward movement of water through xylem elements from
the roots to the tip of the plant due to differences in water potentials. As a molecule of
water evaporates, it pulls other molecules up through the vascular tissue of the plant due
to cohesive and adhesive forces.
This process is affected by many factors, including humidity, water availability, wind
velocity, available light and CO2 levels.
2. Describe any experimental controls used in the investigation.
The experimental control in any experiment exhibits normal conditions where none of the
variables has been changed, that is, in our case: a temperature of 21C, with no wind
exposure or excess light. Several controls used in this investigation are that the same
amount of time was used for each period of transpiration, each plant was tested with all
four variables (normal, heat, light, wind), and that the same transpiration equipment was
used throughout the experiment.
3. What environmental factors that you tested affected the rate of
transpiration? Was the rate of transpiration increased for all plants tested?
The environmental factors which influenced the rate of transpiration in our experiments
were wind, heat and light exposure. Wind and heat increased the rate of transpiration in
all of the plants tested, while light increased the rate of transpiration of all of the plants
tested except Dieffenbachia, Rubber Plant, Weeping Plant and Zebra plants.
4. Did any of the environmental factors (heat, light or wind) increase the
transpiration rate more than the others? Why?
Yes, the effect of wind was the most significant in increasing the transpiration rate in 8/9
of the plants. This is due to the removal of the boundary layer which increases the
movement of water from the leaf surface. Heat had the second highest rate of
transpiration for all but one of the plants tested. Light had the lowest rate of transpiration
over all. In fact, for 4/9 of the plants tested, their transpiration rate was lower with the
light than without. Wind most likely increased the rate of transpiration the most because
the wind was able to most effectively cause molecules of water to evaporate or blow off
of the plant causing transpiration.
5. Which species of plants that you tested had the highest transpiration rates?
Why do you think different species of plants transpire at different rates?
Rubber plant, Zebra Plant and Dieffenbachia had the highest transpiration rates.

Reasons for different transpiration rates for different species of plants include:

The origin of the plant - plants originally from sub-tropical or tropical areas will
transpire at a higher rate than those originally from arid or semi-arid areas.
The size of the plant (larger leaf surface area = more transpiration).
The metabolic rate of the plant = plants with a higher metabolism have a higher
transpiration rate.
The amount of water in the soil - plants that have access to more soil water will
transpire at a higher rate than those which don't.
Availability of nutrients - plants which have adequate nutrient supplies have
higher metabolic rates than those which don't, and therefore transpire at a higher
rate.

6. Suppose you coated the leaves of a plant with petroleum jelly. How would the
plants rate of transpiration be affected?
The petroleum jelly would prevent the water from evaporating out of the leaves of the
plant, thus the rate of transpiration would be greatly slowed if not completely stopped
since there wouldnt be a difference in water potential to be pulled out of the stomata.
7. Of what value to a plant is the ability to lose water through transpiration?
Transpiration helps cool down the plant to prevent its over heating. Moreover, it provides
the driving force that allows water and minerals to be pulled up from the soil through the
xylem system and be distributed to other regions in the plant. Additionally, it is the cause
of the opening of stomata, which allow for gaseous exchanges crucial for the production
of organic matter through photosynthesis.