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Biology 0610
Chapter 8 TRANSPORT IN PLANTS
📌 SECTION 8.1 - XYLEM & PHLOEM
Feature XYLEM PHLOEM
Function Transport WATER & MINERAL IONS + Transport SUCROSE & AMINO ACIDS
Support
Direction Upward only (roots → stem → leaves) Both directions (source → sink)
Cells Dead cells - hollow tubes (no contents) Living cells (contain cytoplasm, companion
cells)
Walls Thick, reinforced with LIGNIN Thin walls, sieve plates between cells
Tube Cells joined end-to-end, NO cross walls Sieve tubes with pores (sieve plates)
structure
Real-life use Like a straw - pulls water up Like a delivery network - sends food
everywhere

🔬 Microscope Diagram: Vascular Bundle (Stem Cross-Section)

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Blue circles = Xylem vessels (hollow, thick walls) | Orange circles = Phloem (living, with contents)

Microscope Slide Images

Left: Stem cross-section (T.S.) showing vascular bundles | Right: Xylem vessels longitudinal section (L.S.)

Fig. 1: Stem T.S. - xylem (blue) & phloem (orange) Fig. 2: Xylem vessels L.S. - hollow lumen, lignin walls, no cross
walls

🌍 REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE
Think of a CELERY STALK! The coloured strings you see when you snap celery are the vascular
bundles (xylem + phloem). If you place celery in coloured water, the xylem carries the dye up into the
leaves - this is the same experiment you do in class with the coloured stain investigation!
Trees have rings of xylem (wood) that widen each year - this is why you can count tree rings
to find a tree age!

💧 SECTION 8.2 - WATER UPTAKE:

 Caused by water loss in leaves which lowers its water potential  Water moves from xylem to leaf tissues via
osmosis  Water moves up the stem in the xylem due to tension (because of cohesion of water molecules to each
other) caused by water loss from the leaves  Ends with the gain of water through roots  This upward flow of water is
called the transpiration stream
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 Water enters root hair cell from moist soil via osmosis because water potential is higher in soil than in
cytoplasm.

 Water passes through the cortex cells by osmosis but mostly by “suction”.

 Water and minerals are forced to cross the endodermis.

 Water enters xylem then leaves when it gets to mesophyll cells.

Root Hair Cells - Why Are They Special?

Function: to absorb water and minerals from the soil

 They have an elongated shape for more surface area which increases the rate of absorption of water by osmosis
and ions by active transport- as they have many mitochondria.
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The pathway: Root hair cells → Root cortex → Xylem → Mesophyll cells (→ out as vapour)

Fig. 3: Root T.S. - root hairs increase surface area | blue = xylem (X-shaped) | orange = phloem | green = endodermis ring

Feature of Root Hair Cells Why It Helps

Very long hair-like extension Massively increases SURFACE AREA for water/mineral absorption
Large surface area More contact with soil water = faster uptake
Thin cell wall Shorter distance for water to diffuse through (by osmosis)
Many mitochondria Provide energy (ATP) for active transport of mineral ions

🌍 REAL-LIFE EXAMPLE
Imagine root hair cells as millions of tiny fingers reaching into the soil. The more fingers, the more soil
they can touch. This is why plants die in compacted soil - no air spaces for root hairs to grow into!
Farmers plough fields to loosen soil so roots can absorb water more efficiently.
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💨 SECTION 8.3 - TRANSPIRATION

Transpiration: evaporation of water at surfaces of the mesophyll cells followed by loss of water vapour from plant
leaves, through stomata.
 Water leaves mesophyll cells, into air spaces created by irregular shape of spongy mesophyll cells, then diffuses out
of the stomata.
 Wilting: occurs if water loss is greater than water uptake – cells become flaccid, tissues become limp and plant no
longer supported
Investigating the Effect of Temperature & Wind Speed on Transpiration Rate
Method:
 Cut a shoot underwater to prevent air entering the xylem and place in tube
 Set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram and make sure it is airtight, using vaseline to seal any gaps
 Dry the leaves of the shoot (wet leaves will affect the results)
 Remove the capillary tube from the beaker of water to allow a single air bubble to form and place the tube
back into the water
 Set up the environmental factor you are investigating
 Allow the plant to adapt to the new environment for 5 minutes
 Record the starting location of the air bubble
 Leave for a set period of time
 Record the end location of air bubble
 Change the wind speed or temperature (only one - whichever factor is being investigated)
 Reset the bubble by opening the tap below the reservoir
 Repeat the experiment
 The further the bubble travels in the same time period, the faster transpiration is occurring and vice
versa
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An experimental setup for testing the effect of light intensity on transpiration rates. The apparatus can be
modified to test the effects of temperature and wind speed.
 Environmental factors can be investigated in the following ways:
o Temperature: Temperature of room (cold room and warm room)
 As temperature increases, the rate of transpiration also increases
o Wind speed: Use an electric fan to mimic different wind speeds
 As wind speed increases, the rate of transpiration also increases
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember when designing an investigation to ensure a fair test you must keep all factors the same other than the
one you are investigating.

Transpiration = loss of water vapour from leaves (mainly through STOMATA)

Water Vapour Loss: Extended

Extended Tier Only

 Evaporation takes place from the surfaces of spongy mesophyll cells

 The many interconnecting air spaces between these cells and the stomata create a large surface area

 This means evaporation can happen rapidly when stomata are open
Transpiration Stream: Extended
Extended Tier Only

 Water molecules are attracted to each other by cohesion - creating a continuous column of water up the
plant

 Water moves through the xylem vessels in a continuous transpiration stream from roots to leaves via the
stem

 Transpiration produces a tension or ‘pull’ on the water in the xylem vessels by the leaves

 As water molecules are held together by cohesive forces (each individual molecule ‘pulls’ on the one below
it), so water is pulled up through the plant

 If the rate of transpiration from the leaves increases, water molecules are pulled up the xylem
vessels quicker
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How Water Moves Up - Transpiration Pull (Supplement)

STEP 1: Water evaporates from mesophyll cells into air spaces
STEP 2: Water vapour diffuses out through STOMATA (steep concentration gradient)
STEP 3: This creates TENSION - pulls water column up the xylem (like a straw!)
STEP 4: Cohesion between water molecules keeps the column unbroken

Factors Affecting Transpiration Rate

Factors Affecting Rate of Transpiration

 Temperature: higher temperatures increase waterholding capacity of air and increases transpiration rate

 Humidity: low humidity increases water potential gradient between leaf and atmosphere  increasing transpiration
rate

 Light intensity: high light intensity causes stomata to open (to allow more photosynthesis) which causes increase in
transpiration
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🌡 TEMPERATURE ↑ 💨 WIND SPEED ↑ 💧 HUMIDITY ↑

Rate INCREASES ↑ Rate INCREASES ↑ Rate DECREASES ↓
More kinetic energy → faster Removes water vapour near leaf → Less gradient between leaf air
evaporation of water molecules steeper gradient → faster diffusion spaces and outside → slower
from mesophyll out diffusion of water vapour

🌍 REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES
• Wilting on a hot day = transpiration rate > uptake rate → cells lose turgor → plant droops
• Cacti have spines (modified leaves) to reduce transpiration - minimal surface area for water loss
• Farmers water crops in the early morning - cooler temps reduce transpiration, so plants absorb
more water

🍎 SECTION 8.4 - TRANSLOCATION

Translocation = movement of SUCROSE and AMINO ACIDS in PHLOEM from SOURCES to SINKS
Translocation  Movement of sucrose and amino acids in phloem; from regions of production (sources) to regions of
storage or to regions of utilization in respiration or growth (sinks).
 Translocation in different seasons:
o Spring: sucrose transported from stores in roots to leaves
o Summer & early autumn: sucrose goes from photosynthesizing leaves to root stores,

SOURCE (releases sucrose/amino acids) SINK (uses or stores sucrose/amino acids)

• Mature leaves (making sugar by photosynthesis) • Growing tips (roots and shoots) - need energy
• Storage organs when releasing stored food • Developing fruits and seeds
• Storage organs (tubers, bulbs) storing food

⚡ SUPPLEMENT: Source ↔ Sink Can SWITCH!

A potato tuber is a SINK in summer (stores starch from leaves). In spring, it becomes a SOURCE
(breaks down starch → sucrose → sends to new shoots growing from the potato).
Real-life: This is why a sprouting potato feels lighter - it has been sending its stored food to
new shoots!

✏ EXAM TIPS & COMMON MISTAKES

❌ COMMON MISTAKES ✅ CORRECT STATEMENTS
"Xylem carries food" "Xylem carries ONLY water and mineral ions - phloem
carries food (sucrose)"
"Transpiration happens in roots" "Transpiration is water vapour LOSS - mainly from
leaves through stomata"
"Phloem only goes downward" "Phloem moves in BOTH directions - from source to
sink, wherever that is"
"High humidity increases transpiration" "High humidity DECREASES rate - less water vapour
gradient = slower diffusion"
"Water is pumped up xylem" "Water is PULLED up by transpiration pull - no pump,
just physics of cohesion"
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🔑 KEY VOCABULARY
Xylem Phloem Transpiration Translocation
Lignin Stomata Cohesion Source / Sink
Turgor Pressure Transpiration Pull Mesophyll Mineral Ions
Cambridge IGCSE Biology 0610 | Chapter 8: Transport in Plants | Good luck! 🌱