The Pathways of Plant Water Movement

Experiment 6- The Pathways of Plant Water Movement Aim: To investigate the movement of materials in xylem Materials: ?Fresh celery stalk with leaves ?Eosin solution (1%) ?A plastic container with tap water ?A sharp scalpel ?Hand lens ?A light microscope ?Two glass slides ?A cover slip Risk Assessment and Safety Precautions: Risk AssessmentSafety Precautions Eosin solution- can cause stainsAlways use gloves when handling Scalpel is dangerous and can cause cutsAlways handle carefully, with blade facing down. Be especially careful when walking with a scalpel.Glassware can break easilyBe careful with all glassware. If cut, wash with water and seek advice to avoid infection. Method: 1. Obtain a fresh celery stalk and used a sharp scalpel to make a 45 degree angle cut under water, to prevent the air bubbles from blocking the xylem. Immediately placed the celery stalk in eosin solution and left it overnight. 2. Removed celery stalk from the eosin solution and used a scalpel to cut a very th in, transverse section of the celery stem. 3. Placed the thin sample on a clean slide and covered it with a cover slip.Observed the sample under high magnification using a light microscope. 4. Drew the observation under a high power. 5. Located one vascular bundle and peeled it longitudinally in the stained region. Made a wet mount of the longitudinal tissue and observed it under a microscope. Results: Transverse (Low):Transverse (High): X40X400 Longitudinal (High): X400 Questions/ Discussion: 1)What general stem structures were stained? What tissues in these structures were most heavily stained? The general stem structures stained were the cell walls of the xylem. The base of the celery stem was most heavily stained. )What statement can you make regarding the transpirational pathway of water in a plant? Even root distribution is important for both water and nutrient uptake, because of the movement of water and nutrients in the soil and in the plant xylem,, even root distribution is important. The The xylem pathway is a continuous column of water, which is not broken by bubbles, and contained in a cellulose pipe which the walls are porous in places. 3)What was the purpose of this exercise? The purpose of this exercise was to observe and investigate the movement of materials (in this case, water) in xylem.