Answer by teachersupport on question Source of porous pots
Curriculum Links
Links to the Australian Curriculum: Science - Plant transport systems could be taught as part of the Biological Sciences sub strand at Year 8 or Year 9.
Science Understanding/ Biological Sciences
Year 8 - Multi-cellular organisms contain systems of organs that carry out specialised functions that enable them to survive and reproduce (ACSSU150)
Year 9 - Multi-cellular organisms rely on coordinated and interdependent internal systems to respond to changes to their environment (ACSSU175)
Year 9 - Ecosystems consist of communities of interdependent organisms and abiotic components of the environment; matter and energy flow through these systems (ACSSU176)
Transpiration is still part of the senior secondary biology course.
Alternative Activity
An alternative activity to using porous pots to demonstrated transpiration is to use celery sticks in water:
- Fill two measuring cylinders with water.
- Add red food colouring to one and blue food colouring to the other.
- Cut the bottom end off a stick of celery with leaves.
- Make a vertical cut 15 cm along the length of the celery middle.
- Place the celery stick with one end in the red water and the other end in the blue water.
- Note the water levels in the measuring cylinders.
- Leave for 24 hours.
- Note the colour of the leaves.
- Record how much the water levels have changed in the measuring cylinders.
- Cut a small section of celery and examine the xylem.