Back to 课程

Biology AS OCR

0% Complete
0/0 Steps
  1. 1-1-practical-skills-written-assessment AS
    7 主题
  2. 1-2-practical-skills-endorsement-assessment AS
    16 主题
  3. 2-1-cell-structure AS
    9 主题
  4. 2-2-biological-molecules AS
    17 主题
  5. 2-3-nucleotides-and-nucleic-acids AS
    8 主题
  6. 2-4-enzymes AS
    9 主题
  7. 2-5-biological-membranes AS
    9 主题
  8. 2-6-cell-division-cell-diversity-and-cellular-organisation AS
    11 主题
  9. 3-1-exchange-surfaces AS
    7 主题
  10. 3-2-transport-in-animals AS
    12 主题
  11. 3-3-transport-in-plants AS
    11 主题
  12. 4-1-communicable-diseases-disease-prevention-and-the-immune-system AS
    16 主题
  13. 4-2-biodiversity AS
    10 主题
  14. 4-3-classification-and-evolution AS
    15 主题
课 Progress
0% Complete

Exam code:H020

Mass flow in the phloem

  • Phloem sap, containing sucrose and other organic solutes, moves by mass flow up and down the plant

    • Carbohydrates are generally transported in plants in the form of sucrose because:

      • sucrose is a disaccharide and therefore contains more energy than a monosaccharide

      • sucrose is less reactive than glucose as it is a non-reducing sugar

  • Mass flow occurs due to the presence of a hydrostatic pressure gradient

    • The pressure gradient is generated by actively loading sucrose into the sieve elements at the source; this lowers the water potential in the sieve tube

    • Water moves into the sieve elements by osmosis; this increases the hydrostatic pressure at the source

    • At the same time, solutes are unloaded from the sieve elements at the sink, causing water to follow by osmosis; this lowers the hydrostatic pressure at the sink

    • The difference in hydrostatic pressure between the source and the sink creates a hydrostatic pressure gradient

  • The pressure difference between the source and the sink results in the mass flow of phloem sap from the high hydrostatic pressure area to the low hydrostatic pressure area

  • Mass flow means that solutes move faster than they could move by diffusion alone

Diagram explaining water and sucrose movement in plants, showing xylem, phloem, and translocation process with hydrostatic pressure differences.
Solutes move through the phloem sieve tube down a hydrostatic pressure gradient

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Remember that the source is not always the leaves and the sink is not always in the roots; phloem sap moves either up or down the plant depending on the time of year.

The hydrostatic pressure gradient is dependent on water moving in and out of the xylem vessels by osmosis.

Responses

您的邮箱地址不会被公开。 必填项已用 * 标注