Plants Flashcards
Why do plants need a transport system?
Cells in a multicellular plant require a regular inflow of water and nutrients
Only the exterior cells can obtain nutrients and water through diffusion
Roots can obtain water but not sugars from the soils
The leaves can make sugars by photosynthesis but cannot obtain water
What do vascular bundles consist of?
Xylem vessels
Phloem vessels
Cambium tissue
Where are the vascular bundles usually located in woody plants?
Near the outer edge creating a ring that provides flexibility and strength to withstand bending
The cambium tissue is sandwiched by the phloem tissue on the outside and the xylem vessels on the inside
What are the veins like in a dicotyledon leaf?
The veins branch out and get steadily thinner
What do xylem vessels transport?
Water and minerals
What do phloem vessels transport?
Sucrose and most macromolecules
What is the structure of xylem vessels like?
Walls are impregenated with lignin
Long colomn of dead cells like a straw
Lignification prevents the vessel from being too rigid and allows flexibility
Pitted with pores to allow adjacent movement of water
What is the structure of phloem vessels like?
Made up of sieve tube elements and companion cells
What is the structure of sieve tube elements like?
Contain very little cytoplasm and no nucleus
Joined end to end to form a tube for sap to flow through
Seperated by sieve plates with pores
What is the structure of companion cells like?
Have a dense cytoplasm and a large nucleus
Contains a lot of mitochondria to handle the loading of sucrose molecules
Have extensions called plasmodesmata that allow communication and flow of minerals
What is plasmodesmata?
Extensions of the cell cytoplasm
How are most macromolecules made in the plant?
Through photosynthesis and the absorbtion of minerals from the soil
What evidence is there for phloem as the tissue for translocation
Injecting radioactive carbon into soluble carbohydrates during photosynthesis and examining later with autoradiographs
Electron microscopy has shown a greater concentration of sucrose molecules in phloem
Removing a ring of bark and seeing the bottom half of the tree die due to a lack of sucrose
Cyanide injections into phloem stop translocation but not when injected into the xylem
Aphid mouthparts may be removed and examined for sucrose
What is phototropism?
The growth response which allow choots to grow towards a light source to optimise illumination of leaves
How is leaf structure adapted to photosynthesis and gas exchange?
Large surface area to volume ratio Thin leaves Leaf mosaic Phototrophic abilities Extensive root system Etiolation
What is the greatest risk factor for plants reagarding water loss?
Sunlight
What is the function of the waxy cuticle?
Reduces water loss
What is the function of the upper epidermis?
Reduce water loss
Traps moisture by epidermal hairs and reflects sunlight
Sterile to prevent pathogenic infection
What is the function of the palisade mesophyll
Creates glucose by photosynthesis
Contain many chloropasts that move to the optimum position for photosynthesis
What is the function of the spongy mesophyll?
Permit the diffusion of gases out of the leaf
What is the function of the stomata?
To control the diffusion of the respiratory gases in and out of the leaf
What is the function of guard cells?
To open and close the stomata by changing shape
How do guard cells change shape?
Guard cells contain chloroplasts
As theses guard cells have a lower potential, water moves in
Due to the spirals in the walls of the inner edges, the outer walls stretch
As the cell bulges out at both ends, the pore opens between them
What are the requirements for photosynthesis?
Light
A supply of water
A supply of carbon dioxide
Presence of chlorophyll
What are the four main categories of animal tissues?
Epithelial tissue
Connective tissue
Muscle tissue
Nervous tissue