Diversity of Life: Investigation 6: Transpiration
Focus Question: What happened to the water in the vials?
Procedure, Part 1:
a. Write the focus question and copy the data table in your notebook.
Celery
condition
Starting volume
of water (mL)
Ending volume
of water (mL)
Change
Starting mass
of celery (g)
Ending mass of
celery (g)
Change
b. Fill in the data from yesterday:
 celery condition (with leaves or
without leaves)
 the starting volume of water
 the starting mass of celery
c. Measure the volume of water using a
graduate cylinder and the mass of the
celery
using a scale. Record in the “ending” columns on the data table. Calculate
the changes.
d. Discuss the results with your partner. Where did the missing water go?
Procedure, Part 2:
a. Observe the celery in the red water. What do you notice?
b. Cut a thin cross section of the
stalk and observe with a hand lens
microscope.
celery
or
c. Discuss with your partner how your observations might help you explain
the movement of water in the celery.
d. Answer the focus question in your notebook. Use evidence from the data
table and a diagram to explain what happened to the water in the vials.
Velez & Vargas LHS 2011
Language Objective:
Students will observe the process of transpiration, by measuring and
comparing the amount of water missing from vials with different
conditions of celery, build an explanation and a model to describe the
transport of water in plants and provide evidence from the data chart.
English Language Development:

Vocabulary:
Transpiration
Xylem
Capillary Action
Cohesion
Water molecules
Evaporation
Use a pictorial to explain to students that the tubelike
structures that carry water from the roots through the plant
are called xylem. Xylem is made of specialized long, thin cells
stuck end to end to form the water transportation system of most land plants.
 Explain that through evaporation and the
cohesive property of water, water is pulled up from the
roots through the xylem to the leaves of the plant.
 Students draw the diagram in their notebook and
then take turns explaining to their partners how the
process of transpiration relates to the celery
investigation.
 Students then draw a line-of-learning under their
focus question answer and add new ideas about
transpiration using the vocabulary words from the
pictorial.
Investigation
Materials:
1 stalk of
celery with
leaves
2 vials
2 labels
1 Graduated
cylinder, 50-mL
Colored pencils
2 wax china
markers
1 stalk of
celery in a vial
1 knife
Red food
coloring
Balances
microscopes
Velez & Vargas LHS 2011
Essential Question: What are water’s unique physical and
chemical properties?
Application at Grade 7: How does water move through vascular plants? How
does water interact with living things?
TEKS for Life Science:
 investigate and explain how internal structures of organisms have adaptations
that allow specific functions such as gills in fish, hollow bones in birds, or xylem in
plants;
 differentiate between structure and function in plant and animal cell
organelles, including cell membrane, cell wall, nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondrion,
chloroplast, and vacuole;
 observe and describe how different environments, including microhabitats in
schoolyards and biomes, support different varieties of organisms
TEKS for ELL’s:
 Vocabulary needs to be taught in the context of connected discourse so that
language is meaningful;
 At the same time ELL’s are learning in English, the focus is on academic English,
concepts, and the language structures specific to the content.