A cell is placed in a solution that is hypotonic to the cell. Which of the following best describes movement of water in this situation?

a. Water will only flow into the cell.

b. Water will only flow out of the cell.

c. Water will flow into and out of the cell, but the overall net movement will be out of the cell.

d. Water will flow into and out of the cell, but the overall net movement will be into the cell.

What important role does the Casparian strip play in the movement of water through plants?

a. Forces water to move through the cytoplasm of living endodermal cells as it makes its way from the soil to the xylem

b. Causes cells to shrink, thereby increasing pressure within cells

c. Loads sugars into xylem, thereby causing water to enter the xylem by osmosis

d. Acts as a filter that prevents salts, heavy metals, and other pollutants from entering root hairs

What is the role of companion cells in the movement of sugars through plants?

a. They are the sites of sugar production by photosynthesis.

d. They are the sites where starch is converted to sucrose.

c. They secrete sucrose, which draws sugars through phloem under negative pressure.

d. They accumulate sucrose, which is then transferred to adjacent sieve-tube elements.

Consider the following statements regarding the transport of phloem sap. Select True or False for each statement.

T/F This is a passive process that is driven by the evaporation of water from leaves.

T/F Sugars tend to move from sources to sinks.

T/F Phloem sap moves through sieve-tube elements under positive pressure.

T/F Sieve-tube elements and vessel elements are commonly involved in the transport of phloem sap.

The cells of a certain plant species can accumulate solutes to create very low solute potentials. Which of these statements is correct?

a. The plant's transpiration rates will tend to be extremely low.

b. The plant can compete for water effectively and live in relatively dry soils.

c. The plant will grow most effectively in soils that are saturated with water year-round.

d. The plant's leaves will wilt easily.

Draw a plant cell in pure water. Add dots to indicate solutes inside the cell. Now add more dots to indicate an increase in solute potential inside the cell. Add an arrow showing the net direction of water movement in response. Add arrows showing the direction of wall pressure and turgor pressure in response to water movement. Repeat the same exercise, but this time, add solutes to the solution outside the cell at a concentration that is greater than inside the cell.

A mutant plant lacking the ability to pump protons out of leaf companion cells will be unable to do which of the following?

a. Initiate transpiration

b. Load sucrose into sieve-tube elements

c. Carry out photosynthesis

d. Transport water through the xylem

Your friend claims that phloem always carries sugars down a plant. What, if anything, is wrong with that statement?

Consider a tree that is 50 m tall and is transpiring roughly 90 liters of water each day. Approximately how many calories will the tree use to transpire this quantity of water?

Salt is used to melt snow and keep roads clear during the winter in many cities. Land adjacent to de-iced roads often ends up with a high concentration of salt in the soil. Explain why plants growing near salted roads may appear wilted in the spring.

Atmospheric CO₂ has been increasing rapidly since the late 1800s, largely due to human activities. Recall that CO₂ enters leaves through stomata and can then be used for photosynthesis. However, transpiration occurs as a result of water evaporating through stomata. How have plants responded to elevated CO₂ levels?

Which of these structural features can help to limit water loss in plants that occupy dry habitats?

a. Abundant companion cells and sieve-tube elements

b. Stomata that are located in pits on the undersides of their leaves, or narrow, needlelike leaves c. extensive networks of xylem and phloem

d. Stomata that are located on the top surface of leaves, or broad leaves

Atmospheric CO₂ has been increasing rapidly since the late 1800s, largely due to human activities. Recall that CO₂ enters leaves through stomata and can then be used for photosynthesis. However, transpiration occurs as a result of water evaporating through stomata.

How have plants responded to elevated CO₂ levels?

What impact, if any, do you predict elevated CO₂ levels will have on the number of stomata in leaves and on the transpiration rate?

Atmospheric CO₂ has been increasing rapidly since the late 1800s, largely due to human activities. Recall that CO₂ enters leaves through stomata and can then be used for photosynthesis. However, transpiration occurs as a result of water evaporating through stomata. How have plants responded to elevated CO₂ levels? The amount of water that evaporates from stomata over a period of time is referred to as stomatal conductance, which is determined largely by the number of stomata in a given area of leaf surface. Researchers obtained specimens from preserved collections and measured stomatal conductance in leaves from oak trees and pine trees that grew at various times under different CO₂ levels. The data are shown in the following graph. In general, is the maximum stomatal conductance rate in plants more or less than it was a century ago?

Atmospheric CO₂ has been increasing rapidly since the late 1800s, largely due to human activities. Recall that CO₂ enters leaves through stomata and can then be used for photosynthesis. However, transpiration occurs as a result of water evaporating through stomata.

How have plants responded to elevated CO₂ levels?

One prediction of global climate change is that there will be an increase in periods of drought in some regions. Given the data just presented, will plants be more or less likely to survive periods of drought as they are exposed to rising CO₂ levels?

Atmospheric CO₂ has been increasing rapidly since the late 1800s, largely due to human activities. Recall that CO₂ enters leaves through stomata and can then be used for photosynthesis.

However, transpiration occurs as a result of water evaporating through stomata.

How have plants responded to elevated CO₂ levels? In the year 1915, the stomatal conductance of oak was approximately how many times higher than that of pine?

How about in the year 2010?

Atmospheric CO₂ has been increasing rapidly since the late 1800s, largely due to human activities. Recall that CO₂ enters leaves through stomata and can then be used for photosynthesis. However, transpiration occurs as a result of water evaporating through stomata.

How have plants responded to elevated CO₂ levels?

Assuming that the CO₂ level continues to increase with time, how likely are plants to be able to continue to adapt by adjusting stomatal conductance?