4/1/09 

NUTRITION AND
Unit 2.2 Structured Q1
TRANSPORT IN PLANTS
a) % increase in mass = (450-150)/150 X 100%
Unit 2.2
= 200%
  Structure Qn 1, 2, 3
b)  Container A: The available CO2 in the water has been
used up during rapid photosynthesis.
Unit 2.3
Container B: Since photosynthesis took place at a
  Structure Qn 1, 2, 3 slower rate, CO2 was still present for photosynthesis to
take place.
  Essay Qn 2, 3

Structured Q1
c)  A; A contains the highest mass of water plants and they
will take up the most amount of oxygen as they respire
throughout the day.
d)  Green; Least photosynthetic activity takes place in
green light.
Structured Q2
a)  As light intensity increases, the rate of photosynthesis
increases.
b)  D; at low light intensity, Plant D has a higher rate of
photosynthesis.
c)  (i) Table 2 data shows at 80 lux, light intensity is no
longer the limiting factor. Rate of photosynthesis is
limited by other factors like conc. of carbon dioxide,
temperature.

At high light intensity more energy is available to drive

the reactions in the Dark stage. The energy is sufficient
to convert a larger amount of CO2 into glucose.

c)  (ii) Enzymes controlling the rate of Dark/light
independent stage is limited by temperature.
Increasing temperature increases the rate of effective
collisions between enzyme and substrate, resulting in
higher rate of photosynthesis.
Structured Q2
d)  When a plant wilts, its leaves droop and less surface
area is exposed to sunlight, resulting in less amount of
sunlight available for photosynthesis;
Stomata close to cut down loss of water via
transpiration, also lowering the amount of CO2
entering leaves and resulting in less amount of CO2
available for photosynthesis;

The plant wilting also indicates that the plant is

absorbing insufficient water, which also indicates that
there is less water available for photosynthesis.

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Structured Q3
a)  A: Guard cell; B: Upper epidermal cell; C: Phloem cell
b)  i) Air chambers help to keep leaf afloat on the water
surface;
ii) It traps air containing CO2 necessary for
photosynthesis.
c) 1. Stomata found on upper epidermis, none found on
lower epidermis.
2. Air spaces found in palisade mesophyll layer.
3. Lower epidermal cells contain chloroplasts.
Unit 2.3 Structured Q1
a)  i) Plant B
ii) Loss in mass = 37.0 – 35.0 = 2.0g
b)  i) Transpiration
ii) Rate of Transpiration decreases. Water vapour
lost by Plant A is kept within polythene bag which kept
the surroundings of Plant A humid, thus lowering
transpiration rate.
Structured Q2
a)  i) Transpiration;
ii)  Leaf E droops but leaf G remains upright;
Depth of cut at Y is more than at Z – xylem tissue is
removed in Y;
Leaf E does no receive water and its cells lose
turgidity, thus it wilts.
c)  Cut at Z removed phloem tissue but not xylem tissue;
leaf G continued to to receive water for photosynthesis;
the bag enclosing leaf G allows G to reabsorb CO2 it
produced from respiration;
The CO2 and water allowed leaf G to photosynthesize and
make glucose, which was converted to starch for storage.
4/1/09 
Structured Q3
d)  Xylem in land plant will have thick, lignified wall.
Thick lignified wall provides mechanical support to
the plant as it cannot rely on buoyancy to keep it
upright.
Structured Q1
d)  Slight decrease in loss in mass.
Most stomata are found on the lower surface of leaves,
and less stomata on the upper surface;
Even if the upper surface is coated with vaseline
most of the water still can be transpired through the
numerous stomata on lower surface;
Structured Q3 (not in syllabus)
a)  i) 1. Plant H is shorter and has thinner stem than
plant G.
2. Leaves on plant H are small and yellow while
leave on plant G are large and dark green.
3. Plant H has poorly developed roots,
Or plant H has fewer leaves;
ii) Magnesium ion – is a constituent of chlorophyll;
Lack of magnesium reflected by small and yellow
leaves. Phosphate ion – needed for good root growth.
Nitrogen ion – for growing of leaves;
iii) Chlorophyll
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Structured Q3
a)  When leaf cells respire, they use oxygen and produce CO2
b)  i) Air in jar containing shoot K is more humid than
air in jar containing shoot J.
ii) Shoot loses water vapour through leaves by
transpiration;
In jar containing shoot J, water vapour diffuses out
of jar into dry air outside. In jar containing shoot K,
water vapour remains in jar due to glass cover;
The air becomes humid and lowers evaporation and
diffusion rate of water loss from leaves, reducing
transpiration rate in K.
Essay Q2
b) Water from the xylem enters the leaf cells through
osmosis;
Water molecules then moves out of the spongy
mesophyll cells to form a thin film over their surface;
Water then evaporates from this film into the
intercellular air spaces;
As the concentration of water vapour is higher in
the air spaces compared to the surrounding air outside,
water vapour then diffuses out of the leaf through the
stomata, DOWN the concentration gradient.
Essay Qn 2
c)  There are more stomata found on the lower epidermis
than the upper epidermis;
As water is loss through the stomata, more water
vapour diffuses out through the lower surface.
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Essay Q2 (pls make changes in
marking scheme)
[1/2]
When they photosynthesize, they use CO2 and produce
oxygen [1/2]
When the rate of photosynthesis and the rate of
respiration becomes equal, compensation point is reached;
The O2 given out by photosynthesis is used in respiration and
the CO2 given out in respiration is used in photosynthesis;
Hence there is no diffusion gradient resulting in no net
diffusion of gases between surrounding air and leaf air spaces;
Essay Qn 2
Essay Qn 3a
i)  Decreasing level of humidity results in the air having
less water vapour, leading to a steeper water vapour
diffusion gradient between the air spaces of the leaf
and the outside of the leaf.
As the gradient increases, more water vapour exits
the leaf from the air spaces in the spongy mesophyll
into the surrounding air through the stomata.
As more water is lost through the stomata, the
transpiration rate increases.
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Essay Qn 3a
ii)  Increasing the temperature of surrounding air
decreases the humidity of the air outside the leaf.
It also increases the evaporation of water in the leaf
as the water molecules gain more kinetic energy.
These result in a steeper water vapour diffusion
gradient between the air spaces of the spongy
mesophyll and the outside of the leaf, resulting in
more water loss through the stomata, increasing
transpiration rate.
If the temperature rise is too much, the loss of
water from the guard cells will close the stomatal pore
and reduce the rate of transpiration.
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Essay Qn 3b
1.  Transpiration creates a pull to allows plants to conduct
water, including mineral salts dissolved in the water,
from the roots to rest of the plant cells through the
xylem.
2.  It also provides water required by cells to maintain
their turgor pressure which also provides support and
structure of the plant.
3.  Transpiration allows the plant to lose latent heat of
evaporation which in turn keeps the plant cool when
the surrounding temperature is high.
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