Transport in plants

Question 1

why do we need transport systems in plants?

Answer 1

• plants need to exchange substances with the environment
• many plants are large multicellular organisms with low surface are to volume ratio
• plants photosynthesise and exchange gases at the leaves but get water and minerals from their roots
• plants have high metabolic rates (even though they don’t move much!) and need nutrients delivered efficiently to their cells

Question 2

what are the main 3 elements that a plant needs?

Answer 2

• carbon
• hydrogen
• oxygen

Question 3

how is water taken up by plants?

Answer 3

water is taken up from the soil by the roots

Question 4

how and why is CO2 taken up by plants?

Answer 4

carbon dioxide is taken up by the leaves and used to produce sugars in photosynthesis

Question 5

in what direction is water transported in plants?

Answer 5

plants need to transport water up the plants

Question 6

in what direction are sugars transported in plants?

Answer 6

both up and down

Question 7

how are sugars transported in plants?

Answer 7

the sugars produced by the plant are transported in phloem tissue

Question 8

how are water and minerals transported in plants?

Answer 8

water and mineral ions are transported in xylem vessels

-root hair cells

Question 9

what is the difference between xylem and phloem vessels?

Answer 9

• phloem vessels are active and smaller

- xylem vessels are non- living and larger

Question 10

what is the role of sclerenchyma fibres?

Answer 10

sclerenchyma fibres provide additional support to the vascular bundles and plant as a whole

Question 11

what is the role of the parenchyma?

Answer 11

parenchyma are living cells that act as packaging tissue to separate the xylem vessels and provide them with support

Question 12

what is the main assimilate transported in the phloem?

Answer 12

sucrose