Investigating transpiration

• The stem, root and leaves form an organ system that transports substances into, around and out of a plant.
• Transpiration is a process in plants where water is lost through the stomata.
• Various factors that affect water loss from the leaf can be investigated using a method that measures the change in mass of leaves over a period of time.
• The need for transport in plants is crucial for the survival and growth of the plant.
• Xylem and phloem are two types of plant transport tissues.
• The eyepiece, or ocular, is the lens at the top of a compound microscope and has a longer focal length than the objective lens, magnifying the image produced by the objective.
• Random counts of stomata should be made with a microscope.
• Water loss through the stomata is a process that occurs when water is lost through open stomata.
• Scientists sometimes count all the stomata on a leaf surface, but usually they take a sample.
• A glass or plastic disc fitted into the eyepiece of a microscope, the graticule has a scale ruled on it and is used to estimate the size of a specimen when viewed with a microscope.
• The eyepiece, or ocular,
• A representative sample is one that accurately represents the whole of the group.
• The mean percentage decrease in mass is calculated by dividing the loss in Leaf 1, Leaf 2, Leaf 3, Leaf 4, and Leaf 5 by 5.
• Water is lost through open stomata.
• To be representative of the whole leaf, the representative sample must include a sufficient number of counts of stomata over different parts of the slide and must be random, and not select areas where there are many or few stomata.