Abstract

Gwen Shealy

Transpiration is a process where water vapor is lost through any part of the plant. In order to conclude which plants transpire more, six plants were used to collect data on amounts of water vapor given off. The six plants used in this experiment are different in form and structure. The tomato plant not only can bear a fruit, but it also has a greater surface area which would allow more space for the water vapor to escape. These factors would most likely cause the tomato plant to transpire at a greater rate.

To measure the transpiration given off from each individual plant, a plastic bubble was constructed to fit around the plant to catch and withhold the transpired water vapor. Each plant will be given equal amounts of water and sunlight. By comparing the transpiration levels of each plant, the plant that transpires the most will be determined.

After seven days of collecting data, the collia plant was concluded to be the plant that transpired most. The order from greatest transpiration rate to least transpiration rate over a seven day period resulted as follows: the collia with (71.7 ml), the strawberry plant (60.8 ml), the tomato (56.4 ml), the four-o'clock (41 ml), the black-eyed susan (34.9 ml), and last the lettuce (18.5 ml). The data recorded did not support my hypothesis of this experiment. Although the tomato plant was one of the top three plants which transpired the most, the collia plant released the largest amount of water vapor.