Year 11 - Science
The effects of environmental factors on the rate of water uptake by a plant
Transport and exchange surfaces in plants
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit covers water and mineral uptake in plants, focusing on root hair cells, xylem, and phloem. It includes transpiration, translocation, and factors affecting water uptake. Emphasis is on rate calculations, graph interpretation, experiments, and data analysis.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain the effects of environmental factors on the rate of water uptake by a leafy shoot.
Key Notes
- Compare data on rate of water uptake by a plant at a range of light intensities.
- Identify a pattern or trend in the data.
- Higher light intensity increases transpiration rate as stomata open wider to increase gas exchange for photosynthesis.
- Increased temperature and air movement also increase the rate of water uptake.
- Higher temperature and air movement increase transpiration due to increased diffusion of water out through stomata.
Vocabulary To Learn
- photosynthesis: a series of chemical reactions in the cells of producers, which use carbon dioxide and water to make glucose and oxygen, requiring light
- light intensity: the amount of light reaching a given area in a given time
- stomata: pores in the leaf through which water, oxygen and carbon dioxide can diffuse
- transpiration: the loss of water from a plant's leaves
- trend: a pattern in data
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Some students may struggle to explain how transpiration is affected by a number of factors, even though these factors have the same effects on everyday activities such as drying hair or clothes.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
Compare data on rate of water uptake by a plant at a range of light intensities. Identify a pattern or trend in the data.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'photosynthesis'
a series of chemical reactions in the cells of producers, which use carbon dioxide and water to make glucose and oxygen, requiring light. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: Some students may struggle to explain how transpiration is affected by a number of factors, even though these factors have the same effects on everyday activities such as drying hair or clothes. Correction: Links between these everyday events and transpiration have been made and illustrated simultaneously, so students make the link between the two.
More Lessons In This Unit
- Observing root hair cells using a light microscope: practical Study Guide
- Observing the structure and distribution of stomata: practical Study Guide
- Observing xylem and phloem using a light microscope: practical Study Guide
- Plant roots are adapted to absorb water and mineral ions Study Guide
- The effect of light on water uptake by a plant: practical Study Guide
- The importance of exchange surfaces and transport systems in plants Study Guide
- Transport systems in plants: phloem and translocation Study Guide
- Transport systems in plants: xylem and transpiration Study Guide
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