Plant Transpiration Lab

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

1. Describe the process of transpiration in vascular plants.

The process of transpiration is when vascular plants gain nutrients and release excess water/moisture.

2. Describe any experimental controls used in the Investigation.

Time. Each part of the experiment lasted one hour. 

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

a) heat, light, wind, temperaure

b) yes, the rate of transpiration increased at some point for all plants tested,

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

Wind increased transpiration rates the most possibly because of osmosis. The water potential on the outside of the leaf is significantly less than the water potential on the inside of the leaf and therefore, more water is released from the leaf in an attempt to have a more balanced water spread.

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 Rubber Plant had the highest transpiration rates possibly because the environment they naturally grow in calls for more transpiration to balance the water. 

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

Petroleum jelly would cover the stomata, effectively stopping all transpiration.

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

Transpiration helps maintain the plant temperature as well has be an essential part to the photosynthesis process. Nutrients are also carried up from the roots to the stem by transpiration. 

Plant Hormones

Photo and information found at
http://www.plant-hormones.info/auxins.htm

Auxins - essential for plant body development

• stimulates cell elongation in stem
• stimulates cell division in cambium
• Stimulates differentiation of phloem and xylem
• Stimulates root initiation on stem cuttings and lateral root development in tissue culture 
• Mediates the tropistic response of bending in response to gravity and light 
• The auxin supply from the apical bud suppresses growth of lateral buds 
• Delays leaf senescence 
• Can inhibit or promote (via ethylene stimulation) leaf and fruit abscission 
• Can induce fruit setting and growth in some plants 
• Involved in assimilate movement toward auxin possibly by an effect on phloem transport 
• Delays fruit ripening 
• Promotes flowering in Bromeliads 
• Stimulates growth of flower parts 
• Promotes (via ethylene production) femaleness in dioecious flowers 

Photo and information found at
http://www.plant-hormones.info/abscisicacid.htm

Abscisic Acid - single compound; functions in plant development process

• Stimulates the closure of stomata (water stress brings about an increase in ABA synthesis). 
• Inhibits shoot growth but will not have as much affect on roots or may even promote growth of roots. 
• Induces seeds to synthesize storage proteins. 
• Inhibits the affect of gibberellins on stimulating de novo synthesis of a-amylase. 
• Has some effect on induction and maintenance of dormancy
• Induces gene transcription especially for proteinase inhibitors in response to wounding which may explain an apparent role in pathogen defense. 

Photo: http://biology.kenyon.edu/edwards/project/wendy/ethylene.htm
Info: http://www.plant-hormones.info/ethylene.htm

Ethylene - gaseous hormone; used in plant ripening

• Stimulates the release of dormancy. 
• Stimulates shoot and root growth and differentiation (triple response) 
• May have a role in adventitious root formation. 
• Stimulates leaf and fruit abscission. 
• Stimulates Bromiliad flower induction. 
• Induction of femaleness in dioecious flowers. 
• Stimulates flower opening. 
• Stimulates flower and leaf senescence. 
• Stimulates fruit ripening.

The Flowery Expedition

Flower #1

The petals were leaf-like. There were four petals. The inside had three flower-looking male parts.  The pollen was located within the flowers and the nectar was deep in the stem.

Flower #2
Dry petals. Rough. heavy, hard to access. 

Male and female parts located inside. Heavy organism like a bee would be able to open it. Ants and wind wouldn't do anything. 

Flower #3
Open, soft petals. Coloring acts like a runway to insects and animals. 

Pollen could not be seen. Nectar is probably down in the stem. Ants or tiny insects would be able to access it best. 

Flower #4
Bright red with yellow inner parts. Smooth petals. Male and female parts visible. Yellow pollen.

Not visible in picture, but ants were down inside the flower, searching for nectar. 

There's a reason why French fries are so appealing (Botany of Desires)

http://www.beesnwasps.com/page/Bees+and+Flowers

http://www.ecology.com/2012/09/24/dirt-soil/

 Everything in the environment is dependent upon each other. For example, bees and flowers have a very tight relationship caused by coevolution. Both the bee and the flower want to benefit from the interaction and end up benefitting both. The bee is able to get food from the flower and the flower is able to spread its pollen to other plants to fertilize.







Much like the relationship of the bee and the flower, humans and plants rely on coevolution to obtain a food source (for humans) and spread its seeds (for the plant).

http://www.trans-high.com/product/green-apple_4.html

The ecological world is split up into four different desires: sweetness, beauty, intoxication, and control.


The apple is an example of sweetness and represents human desire for objects that are sweet.











The cannabis represents intoxication

http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/04/16/want-to-get-rid-of-synthetic-cannabis-legalize-real-cannabis/

The potatoes represents control, which is why french fries taste so good. 

http://www.thekitchenhotline.com/2010/07/potato-salad-is-mushy/

And lastly, the tulip represents beauty and the human desire for beautiful things. 

http://www.zeewallpaper.com/tulip-hd-wallpapers/

All of these plants have been domesticated by humans because of their appeal to humans. They all are able to manipulate human minds, making them strong candidates for agriculture. 

Predator v. Prey lab (The Big Bad Wolf is Coming to Get You)

I killed an entire ecosystem three times! Three times! Well, technically it wasn't my fault.

In this lab, we were simulating population growth. Our group chose the arctic tundra (represented by a white piece of paper). We were given four different colored pieces of paper, which represented the different colored bunnies. We creatively named them, white bunny, yellow-green bunny, green bunny, and teal bunny. The wolves were different sizes according to the size of their paper.

So here's how it worked. We started off with four bunnies, one for every variation of bunny and one lone wolf. That wolf was then tossed onto the arctic tundra paper to hunt for its prey. If it landed on a bunny, that meant the bunny was dead. If the wolf caught three or more bunnies in one hunt, then it lived and reproduced. If it didn't catch three or more, then it starved to death and a new wolf was introduced. The remaining bunnies doubled at the start of the new round.

Round #	White	Yellow-Green	Teal	Green	Wolf
1	1	1	1	1	1
2	2	2	2	0	1
3	4	2	4	0	1
4	8	4	6	0	1
5	12	6	10	0	2
6	20	12	10	0	4
7	20	14	16	0	8
8	8	8	10	0	16
9	4	0	0	0	6
10	0	0	0	0	0
11	1	1	1	1	1
12	2	2	2	0	1
13	4	4	0	0	1
14	2	8	0	0	2
15	2	10	0	0	2
16	0	18	0	0	1
17	0	30	0	0	2
18	0	46	0	0	4
19	0	50	0	0	9
20	0	22	0	0	16
21	0	0	0	0	6
22	0	0	0	0	0
23	1	1	1	1	1
24	2	2	2	0	1

The empty rows in between some of the rounds signifies the new start after a mass extinction. 

Graph Title: Number of Animals v. Generation

x-axis: generation

y-axis: population

This graph has all four bunnies and the wolf populations relative to the generation number. 

In a realistic environment where wolves didn't randomly fling themselves at their prey, the white bunnies would survive longer because their fur has adapted to their snowy surroundings and provide camouflage. The variation of wolf sizes helped determine who would get more prey and reproduce and survive to the next level. The bigger the wolf, the more bunnies it caught.

That's all folks.

Until next time.