CAPILLARITY IN PLANTS
Problem
How the dissimilarity of stalk sizes between sagay
1
, sagay
2 and palmera plants affect in absorbing the dye (Bromthymol blue solution) during capillarity action?

•
•
•
•

Dependent variables:
• Sizes of each plant stalk a. Sagay
1 b. Sagay
2
– normal
– thick c. Palmera—thin
• Amount of light
Plant
Sagay
1
Sagay
2
Palmera
Hour(s) it is placed in a light source
Hour(s) it is placed in a dim light
0
1
0
24
23
24

• Control set-up a. The Sagay
1 plant with a normal stalk was put in a dim light for 24 hours
• Experimental set-up a. The Sagay
2 plant with thick stalk was put in a light source for 1 hour only ,after that it was put together with the 2 plants in a dim light b. The Palmera plant with thin stalk was put in a dim light for 24 hours
• Control Variable: a. Normal stalk
• Experimental Variable: a. Thick stalk b. Thin stalk

•
•
• 3 beakers
• A magnifying lens
• Scissors
1 meterstick palmera plant with thin stalk
• 300 mL of Dye
(Bromthymol blue solution)
• 2 sagay grasses
Sagay
1
Sagay
2
– with normal stalk
– with thick stalk
• Timer
• A Light Source
• 3 Graduating cylinders

III. Procedure a.) The materials were gathered and prepared to start the experimentation in a laboratory.
b.) The stalk at the end of the stem of each plant namely Sagay
1
, Sagay
2 and Palmera were being cut a little with their required measurement. At the same time, the upper stem of the 3 plants were also cut.
c.) The Bromthymol blue solution was filled on the 3 beakers with the volume of 100mL per beaker.

PLANTS LENGTH OF EACH
STEM
VOLUME OF DYE
SOLUTION PER
BEAKER
100mL Sagay
1
Sagay
2 PLANTS
Palmera
Sagay
1
Sagay
2
15 cm
STEM
15 cm
15 cm
SOLUTION PER
100 mL
100 mL
100 mL d.) Then, at the same time, the 3 plants were being put on the beakers. Each beaker with
100 has mL has one plant.

e.) Sagay
2 grass was placed into a light source within 1 hour while Sagay dim light area.
1 and Palmera plants were placed in a f.) After 1 hour of displaying the Sagay
2 grass in a light source, it was then placed together with the Sagay
1
Palmera plants in the dim light area.
and g.) After 24 hours, further observation on each plant was conducted.
h.) Using a meterstick, the track length of capillary action in each stem of plants was being measured. Then , the volume of dye (Bromthymol blue solution) absorbed by each plant in the beaker was also measured through a graduated cylinder.

IV. Results and Discussion:
PLANTS
Sagay
1
Sagay
2
Palmera
Dye track of capillary action length in stem
13 cm
13.5 cm
8 cm
Volume absorbed by the stalk
8 mL
15 mL
3 mL
Remaining volume of the dye in the beaker
92 mL
85 mL
97 mL
Table 2. The table above explains that sagay
2 absorbed more dye among the two plants.

Capillarity action in plants
16
Centimeters
Milliliters
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Dye track length of Capillarity action in stem
Volume of dye absorbed by the stem
Sagay1
13
8
Sagay2
13,5
15
Palmera
8
3

The experiment was within 24 hours of setting out to measure the capillary action in plants.
Sagay
2 has the greatest amount of dye absorbed with a dye track length of 13.5cm and dye volume of 15 mL.
Second to it was the Sagay
2 which absorbed 13cm of dye length and 8 mL of dye volume. Lastly, Palmera plant has the least amount of dye length of 8 cm and a dye volume of 3mL.
The Sagay
1
, Sagay
2 and Palmera take on a dark blue color in their stems.This is because the dye ( Bromthymol blue solution in each beaker was absorbed through the xyle m tubes in each stalk. The dark blue color was not deposit ed to the leaves because the scope and limitation of this e xperiment is to measure capillarity action among the three plants with different stalk sizes.

The movement of the dye is called "capillary action.“
Capillary action is part of the reason that water rises in a plant stem and moves throughout the plant. Once absorbed by the roots or a cut stem, water and everything it contains, including dyes, travel through the plant in tubes called xylem.
The three plants being tested differed in terms of the dye track length in each stem where they were measured from the bottom stalk to the required measure on the stem which is 15 cm.
Also, the volume of the dye absorbed by each stem varied where they were measured accordingly by pouring beaker simultaneously unto a graduated cylinder. Such that the 100mL volume was subtracted by the remaining dye volume then this equals to the dye being absorbed by a particular stalk.

Capillary action affects plant:
Hydrogen bonding of Water molecules: Due to the polar covalent bonds that hold a water molecule together,
Hydrogen bonds form where the negative Oxygens and the positive Hydrogens are located.
The results of these bonds are as follows:
1. Cohesion: is the sticking together of similar molecules.
Water is very cohesive. This allows water to be pulled along a pathway with relative ease.
2. Surface Tension: cohesion allows water to pull together and form droplets or form an interface between it and other surfaces. The measure of how hard it is to break this interface is its surface tension.

Water allows materials to rest upon it if the surface tension is not broken. Pollen, dust, water insects, and other biological materials are able to remain on the surface of the water because of this tension.
3. Adhesion: The sticking of one substance to another.
Water is a good adhesive. It will cling on to many objects and act as a glue. Capillary Action is an example of cohesion and adhesion working together to move water up a thin tube such as the plants xylem.

V. Conclusion:
The experiment demonstrates how capillarity action works on plants. The dissimilarity of stalks of each plant matters because the xylem or tubes that transport dye from the bottom of the stalk to the higher portion of the stem. And so, the thicker or bigger the stalk is, the greater the ability of a plant to absorb nutrients from the soil. The thinner or smaller the stalk is, the lesser the ability of a plant in taking up water and minerals from the soil.