TRANSPIRATION : LIGHT INTENSITY

Design an experiment to investigate whether light intensity affects the rate of

transpiration by using a simple photometer
Problem statement : How does the light intensity affect the rate of transpiration?
Objective
transpiration

: To investigate whether light intensity affects the rate of

Hypothesis

: The rate of transpiration of plant is higher in strong sunlight

Variable
Manipulated variable
Responding variable
Fixed variable

: Light intensity
: Rate of movement of air bubble in the photometer
: air movement, temperature and relative humidity

Materials and apparatus:

Capillary tube (about 30 cm long), retord stand, 500 ml beaker, basin, scalpel,
rubber tubing (about 6 cm long), tissue paper, vaseline, marker pen and stop
watch, ruler , 2 Hibiscus plant of similar size
Technique
stopwatch.

: The movement of water in a given time is recorded using a

Procedure
1. The leafy shoot is immersed in a basin containing water, and its
stem is cut diagonally
2. The leafy shoot is placed upright in the phptpmeters capillary tube,
through a stopper cork
3. All equipment connection points are wiped with vaseline
4. To trap an air bubble, the end of the capillary tube is removed from
the basin, and then put back into the water
5. A length of 5 cm is marked on the photometer
6. The photometer is placed in the shade and using a stopwatch,
record the time taken (in minutes) for the air bubble to move from
point A to point B
7. To reset the photometer, squeeze the rubber tubing so that the air
bubble escapes into the beaker of water.
8. Repeat step 4 to 7 to get three readings with the same shoot in the
shade and under strong sunlight respectively
9. The average and the rate of transpiration measurement is recorded
in the table.

Result:
Environmental
condition of
experiment

Time taken for air bubble to move from Point A to

Point B (in minutes)
First
Second
Third
Average
reading
reading
reading

Rate of
transpiration
(cm/min)

Shady (lower light

intensity)
Strong sunlight
(higher light
intensity)

Conclusion: Hypothesis is accepted. In a shady condition, the plants rate of

transpiration is lower
when compared with its rate of transpiration in strong sunlight