PAG 2.2: (celery)

Question 1

Why is it important to produce very thin slices of plant tissue?

Answer 1

• The clearest images are obtained from preparations just one cell thick
• Several cells thick meat light must travel through the other cell layers, reducing quality of image
• At low magnifications several cells could simultaneously lie within the focal plane, giving a muddle overlayed image of several cells at once

Question 2

Why is it important that the sections are truly transverse (or longitudinal) & not cut at an angle?

Answer 2

• Cutting at an angle makes it much harder to interpret the image especially in vascular tissue where the appearance of longitudinal tubes is altered by oblique sectioning (appearing as an elongated oval)
• A truly transverse section would give a clear view of the diameter of the rube

Question 3

What did you find was the best way to get sections as thin as possible?

Answer 3

Making repeated transverse or longitudinal cuts until the thinnest section is obtained