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Cell activities, such as diffusion, osmosis, imbibition, and guttation, involve the transport of water and materials
in and out of the cell membrane- which is essential for a plant to maintain equilibrium in an unstable environment.
The transport of the dissolved substances in different environments affects the plant cell in different ways. To
further understand the cell activities and the environment¶s effect on the plant cell, seven different tests were
conducted. Diffusion of selected plant pigments was observed in the first experiment where Bixa orellana seeds
were placed in different test tubes containing different substances, namely: distilled water, boiled water, vegetable
oil, and heated vegetable oil. Osmosis was observed in the second experiment where small strips of the lower
epidermis of the Rhoeo spathodea was put two different slides- one with water and the other with salt solution. The
factors affecting the integrity of the cell membrane was determined in the third experiment using Pyrus Malus
peelings which was placed in different temperatures and substances. Imbibition was observed in the fourth
experiment where wood, rubber, and corn seeds were put in two beakers- one with water and the other with
kerosene. It was also noticed that each of the material had an increase in weight when placed in kerosene. The
movement of water through the stem was observed in the pechay stalk of the the fifth experiment. Transpiration was
observed in the sixth experiment which also compared four identical leaves with different applications of vasellin.
Finally, guttation was observed in rice seedlings which were covered with a wide mouth jar.
Ý
" #diffusion, osmosis, cell membrane, imbibition, active transport, transpiration, guttation

The cell membrane is the biological involved in a wide variety of cellular

membrane separating the interior of a cell processes, such as growth, absorption, and
from the outside environment. It is a semi- respiration, and serves as the attachment
permeable membrane surrounding all cells, point for the intracellular cytoskeleton and,
which controls the movement of substances sometimes, the extra-cellular cell wall.
in an out of the cells; therefore, responsible There are two ways in which transport can
for maintaining a steady and stable living occur across a membrane, either by passive
condition²or a state of equilibrium²even or active, depending on the energy required
in the midst of a transient environment. It is during the process. Simple diffusion, a kind
of passive transport, moves water from After 30 minutes, these test tubes were
regions of high water concentration (low shook and the color intensities in each was
solute concentration) to regions of low water compared by using +, ++, and +++.
concentration (high solute concentration).
This process however, is only possible for   ± Thin sections of the lower
solutes that are readily permeable such as epidermal side of Bangka-bangkaan
nonpolar and small polar molecules. Other (cradescantia spathacea) were cut by Group
processes include: bulk flow, osmosis, number 3 and these were placed into a wet
imbibition, and active transport. mount. Using this examination under the
Through this lab exercise, the student LPO of the microscope, a sketch of a turgid
should have been able: (1) To determine cell was made. Next, without moving the
some factors that affect the diffusion slide, water was drawn off using a paper
process; (2) To differentiate between towel and was replaced with a 5% salt
diffusion and imbibition; (3) To determine solution. A sketch showing the change in the
some factors that affect the permeability of cells was then made based on the
cell membranes; and (4) To demonstrate the observations under a microscope.
various processes by which materials are
transported and transpired. *
 
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+

 ± Apple peels were acquired by
$c%&'() our group by using a sharp blade. 7 sections
&  



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 ± of peels were placed in a beaker filled with
Atsuete (Bixa orellana) seeds were weighed distilled water. The first three sections were
by Group number 1 and placed 1g of seed transferred into three test tubes each with
was placed into 4 test tubes. These test tubes 10ml of distilled water and labelled A, B
were labelled 1-4. In test tube number 1, and C. Test tube A was placed under room
10ml of distilled water was placed. In test temperature (250C) while Test tube B was
tube number 2, the group put 10ml of placed inside a refrigerator (100C) and Test
distilled water and then placed it in a boiling tube C was placed in a water bath (600 C).
water bath. In test tube number 3, they put After observing for 30 minutes, each of the
10ml of vegetable oil. In test tube number 4, three sections were placed into wet mounts
10ml of pre-heated vegetable oil was placed. and viewed under the microscope. Color
intensity in each was compared by using +, leaves were immersed in a bottle filled with
++, and +++. For the remaining 4 sections, 10ml of 0.01% eosin dye solution. After 15
they were also placed in wet mounts and minutes, a leaf was removed and the stalk
labelled D-G. A drop of pure chloroform was split longitudinally. The length covered
was added to D. A drop of 50% acetone was by the dye was measured. From another leaf,
added to E. 0.1 M of NaOH and 0.1 M of a thin cross section of the stalk was cut and
HCl were added to F and G respectively. viewed under the LPO of the microscope.
These four were observed under the The stained tissues were then identified
microscope after 15 minutes and after 30 through being viewed under the microscope.
minutes. The observations were then
recorded. 
   




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  + *  '

,

+ +   ± The weights of 2 pieces of 
 ± 4 identical leaves were gathered
wood and 2 pieces of rubber were weighed by Group number 4. These were then
by Group number 4. 2 sets of 10g corn seed labelled A, B, C, and D. Leaf A was the
were also weighed. In one beaker, one piece control. Using vasellin, each of the three
of wood, one piece of rubber and 10g of remaining leaves were greased. The upper
corn seeds was placed. Water was added surface of B was greased while Leaf C had
until each of the materials was completely its lower surface greased. Both sides of D
immersed. In the other beaker, one piece of were greased. These leaves were then
wood, one piece of rubber and 10g of corn hanged by a thread to expose both sides to
seeds was and immersed with kerosene. air. The set-ups were observed after one
After 90 minutes, all the materials from the meeting.
two beakers were taken out and dried gently.
The final weights of these materials were (
  ± 5 rice grains were planted
then measured. on a container by Group number 1. The
lower portion of the container was immersed
,

 

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 with water. When the seedlings are 2-5cm

 ± Pechay leaves with intact petiole long, they were covered with a transparent
were gathered by Group number 3. 1 cm bell jar (a wide-mouthed bottle can also be
was cut off from the base of the petiole. The used). This set-up was observed and the
droplets that formed on the leaf surfaces
were noted.

-

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 ±
The diffusion of the pigments of the seeds of
Bixa orellana is relatively faster and greater ¯
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in the setups exposed to higher
temperatures. Also, the diffusion was greater
in oil than in water, heated or not.
+

 +
,
 
Test Tube 1 +
(Distilled Water)
Test Tube 2 +++
(Hot Distilled Water)
Test Tube 3 ++ ¯
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(Vegetable Oil)  
Test Tube 4 ++++ *
 

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!   

(Heated Vegetable Oil)
c
Rhows the color intensity of the different

+

.The results produced from this
setups, + being the lightest and ++++ being the experiment can be divided into three parts:
darkest
  . To observe how the cell temperature, pH effects, and organic
changes in plasmolysis, wet mounts of solvents.
cradescantia spathacea were made and the With temperature, the peeling of Pyrus
water was later on replaced with a 5% salt malus that was exposed to the lowest
solution. temperature exhibited more damage to the
The cells were larger and turgid when it cell membrane while the one that was put in
was exposed in water (Fig. 1). When the a water bath exhibited less damage.
water was replaced with the 5% salt For organic solvents, the experiment
solution, the cells became flaccid (Fig. 2). that pure chloroform is much more
damaging than 50% acetone.
As for pH effect, the one that was
subjected to NaOH, a base, had less damage
than the one subjected to HCl, an acid.
 
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+ +   . In this experiment, the

affinity of wood, rubber, and seeds to
different solvents, kerosene and water, were
compared. Wood and rubber makes good
imbibant of water as they showed greater
.
significant change in weight, while rubber
¯
    



     showed greater change in weight when it
imbibed kerosene.
 
  + +
  

! * 

! 12 
!
/ 0 / 0 3/ 4 05 67899
Water rubber 0.5g 0.7g 40%
wood 19.95g 21.6g 8.27%
seeds 10g 12.1g 21%
Kerosene rubber 0.4g 0.7g 75%
wood 16.9g 17.9g 5.92%
seeds 10g 10.6g 6%
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 leaf C smeared with grease on the lower
.The 10mL of 0.01% of eosin dye solution surface, and leaf D smeared with grease on
went up through the stem in a straight line the both sides, a week of observations were
manner through the xylem tissues. made. Leaf A was the most desiccated one
and curled on both sides. Leaf B and C were
both half-dry with leaf B curling outward
and leaf C curling inward. Leaf D remained
fresh, waxy, and moist, with no occurrence
of desiccation and curling.

¯ig. 6.1 Cross-section of pechay stalk (
  . The appearance of xylem
saps happened at the tip of the leaf blades
after the plant was covered with a wide
mouth jar.

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.
The greater the concentration gradient
¯ig. 6.2 External view of stained pechay
between the outside and the inside of the


 



 membrane, the greater the diffusion. If the



  +   

,
 
 . concentration of the pigments outside and

Leaf A being the control, leaf B smeared inside the membrane were greater, then it

with grease and vaselin on the upper surface, would diffuse more quickly. The opposite is
also true. Another factor affecting the rate of solution on the other side of the membrane.
diffusion is the size of the particles. The In a plasmolyzed cell, the water would
smaller the size of the particle, the faster it continually move out of the cell until the
would be diffused. concetration of the impermeable solutes
For the Bixa orellana seeds, the equals to that of the hypertonic solution.
carotenoids diffused more quickly when it
was submerged in the heated vegetable oil *
 

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!   

solution. Generally, increases in temperature 
+

 . In this experiment, the apple
speeds up the movement of molecules and peelings exhibited diffecrent intensities of
faster movements of molecules means faster the color of their pigments. The darker ones
rates of diffusion. This is why the heated indicate more damage and stress to the cell
distilled water and the heated vegetablle oil membrane while the lighter ones indicate
had the fastest rates of diffusion. less stress and damage.
As for the competition between oil and The ones with the damaged cell
water, faster rates of diffusion happened in membranes exhibited darker colors because
oil because the pigments of the Bixa when the cell membrane gets destroyed, the
orellana seeds are insoluble in water. pigments from inside the cell leak out.
cemperature ± 3 test tubes containing
  ± When the crandescantia immersed apple peelings in water were
spathacea was immeresed in a hypotonic subjected to different temperatures. In this
solution, the cells became turgid. The water experiment, we have arrived with a
was moving from a smaller concentration of conclusion that lower temperatures inflict
solutes than the solution on the other side of more damage to the cell membrane and that
the membrane. In a turgid cell, the water normal and high temperatures did not do
will continually move into the cell until the much damage.
concetration of the impermeable solutes pH effects ± Wet mounts of 0.1M NaOH
equals to that of the hypotonic solution. solution and 0.1M HCl solution were
When the water was replaced with a observed for 30 minutes. The results show
5% salt solution, the water bacame that the more acidic a solution is, the more
hypertonic. The water then moved from a damage it can inflict to the cell membrane.
larger concentration of solutes than the The more basic it is, the less damage.
 Ôrganic solvent ± Chloroform inflicted because imbibition in water can burst the
more damage in the membrane than the seed coat, which would signal the start of
acetone. In this one, the pH again got germination.
involved. Chloroform is more acidic than
acetone. ,

  "

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. The 0.01% of eosin dye solution rose up
+ +  .Woods and seeds imbibed through the stem into the leaves. This only
better in water while rubber imbibed better shows that water moves through the xylem
in kerosene. Water is composed of 2 elements in the stem to spread the water.
molecules of hydrogen and a molecule of The eosin dye stain reached up to the
oxygen, hence H20. Kerosene is an oil cross section of the leaf which means that
distillate commonly used as a fuel or the water is diffused all throughout the plant
solvent. It is a thin, clear liquid consisting of through the stem.
a mixture of hydrocarbons and is primarily
derived from refined petroleum. 
  
  


Imbibition occurs with or without the 

 

  . Too much
help of living cells. According to Ferdinand transpiration can cause the dessication of the
Sachs¶ imbibition theory, water moves in leaves. Cuticle helps in preventing this. The
tubes in the walls of plants without the control set-up, leaf A, where nothing was
cooperation of living cells and not within the applied, desiccated while leaf D which was
cell cavities. smeared with grease on both sides remained
There are no living cells in the veneer. fresh and waxy without any occurrence of
Veneer comes from the peeling of tree desiccation.
trunks and these are secondary xylem, which
are dead cells. (
  . Since the jar was closed,
Living cells are involved in the there was an excess of moisture in the
imbibition of the seed. This is because the environment of the rice seedlings, hence, it
entry of water takes place in the testa, which could not undergo transpiration, which why
may be actively dividing. guttation was induced.
The swelling effect of imbibition in Guttation is the release of water from
seeds is important in seed germination plants the hydathodes, which is induced by
root pressure, mainly because of the high http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
moisture content of the soil while title=Imbibition&oldid=295094135
transpiration is the process of water vapor LYCOPENE. (2009, September 21). In
loss from the internal atmosphere of the Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
plant. Retrieved 10:35, September 21,
Another difference is that in 2009, from
transpiration, water vapor is released while http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
in guttation, xylem saps are released. title=Lycopene&oldid=315268969
STERN, K. R. 1997. Introductory Plant
'c$-c:-$c$& Biology
ANTHOCYANIN. (2009, September 23). In TONICITY. (2009, September 23). In
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 14:25, September 23, Retrieved 12:58, September 23,
2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/ 2009, from
w/index.php?title=Anthocyanin&old http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
id=315714581 title=Tonicity&oldid=315700881
CAROTENOID. (2009, September 18). In TRANSPIRATION. (2009, September 16).
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. In Wikipedia, The Free
Retrieved 18:59, September 18, Encyclopedia. Retrieved 10:18,
2009, from September 16, 2009, from http://
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=
title=Carotenoid&oldid=31476936 Transpiration&oldid=314314913
GUTTATION. (2009, May 15). In
Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 16:21, May 15, 2009, from
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title=Guttation&oldid=290118315
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02:19, June 8, 2009, from