Transpiration Lab

	Control	Heater	Light	Fan
Coleus	0.9	3.9	3	6
Zebra Plant	4.2	6.1	3.2	7.6
Weeping Fig	3.3	4.9	6.1	2.5
English Ivy	1.8	3.2	5.1	2.1
Arrowhead	3.6	6.6	7.5	4
Devil’s Ivy	2.9	4.6	4.1	3
Dieffenbachia	4.1	7.7	6	3.9
Geranium	1.2	4.7	5.8	2.4
Rubber Plant	4.9	8.4	6.8	4.3

Above is the data table that I collected doing the virtual lab. And below are the journal analysis questions

1. Describe the process of transpiration in vascular plants

The loss of water is reduced due to the positioning of the stomata being in the lower epidermis instead of the upper epidermis since the lower epidermis receives less sunlight. The stomata opens up for CO2 to enger during photosynthesis while allowing water to evaporate from it.

2. Describe any experimental controls used in the investigation

There are several controls for this investigation including time, amount of wind, amount of light, amount of heat and amount of plant.

3. What environmental factors that you tested increased the rate of transpiration? Was the rate of transpiration increased for all plants tested?

Wind, temperature and light all increased rate of transpiration.. For all plants, increased wind and higher temperature increase the transpiration rate. However, for some plants, the increase in light intensity and amount does not increase the rate of transpiration.

4. Did any of the environmental factors (heat, light, or wind) increase the transpiration rate more than the others? Why?

Wind mostly increased the rate of transpiration the most.Wind shortens the path of water to reach atmosphere thus causing a huge increase in transpiration while higher temperature increases the rate because water will evaporate faster when the temperature is high. A higher temperature means more MOLECULAR MOTION for the water thus speeding up the process of transpiration.

5. Which species of plants that you tested had the highest transpiration rates? Why do you think different species of plants transpire at different rates?

The species with highest transpiration rates were rubber plant, zebra plant, and dieffenbachia. These are all tropical plants, therefore it would be logical that they have a higher transpiration rate because the environment forms higher humidity and higher temperature, thus in this experiment in a normal room, their transpiration rate would be very high.

6. Suppose you coated the leaves of a plant with petroleum jelly. How would the plant's rate of transpiration be affected?

Light will be blocked and the stomata will also be covered, therefore the carbon dioxide would be trapped inside the stomata and water cannot evaporate from the leaves. Thus, there will be no transpiration.

7. Of what value to a plant is the ability to lose water through transpiration?

Losing water is a crucial ability for plants because this is the way for them to operate their metabolism and keep homeostasis. By intaking new water, the plants are able to process photosynthesis and make products such as glucose and oxygen.