Syllabus Edition
First teaching 2023
First exams 2025
Which of the following describes the location from which most water evaporates during transpiration?
The outer surface of epidermal cells
The surface of palisade mesophyll cells
The surface of spongy mesophyll cells
The surface of guard cells
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Which of the following plant transport processes requires ATP?
Evapotranspiration from the leaves
Uptake of minerals from the soil
Capillary action in the xylem
Movement of water into the xylem by osmosis
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During high tides and stormy weather, some areas of coastal land may become flooded by sea water.
Why might land flooded in this way not be suitable for growing plants even after the floods have receded?
A lack of oxygen in the soil
Too much nitrogen in the soil
Too much CO2 in the soil
The soil water potential is too low
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The diagram represents part of the phloem.
Which of the cells labelled A-D is a companion cell?
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1 markWhich of the following does not correctly explain the movement of water in the xylem of plants?
Water molecules are attracted to each other by forces of cohesion
Water molecules are attracted to the walls of xylem vessels due to forces of adhesion
Hydrogen bonds between water molecules results in cohesion-tension
The activity of cotransporter proteins generates a hydrostatic pressure gradient
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Which xerophytic adaptation does not directly reduce water loss?
Lower stomatal abundance
Sunken stomata
Fleshy leaves
Epidermal hairs
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The diagram shows several pathways that could be taken by water.
Which of pathways A-D shows the apoplast pathway?
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Which row correctly identifies the changes in water potential and hydrostatic pressure that occur in the phloem after sucrose loading?
| water potential | hydrostatic pressure | |
| A | increases | decreases |
| B | increases | increases |
| C | decreases | increases |
| D | decreases | decreases |
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Which statements about the Casparian strip are correct?
1 and 2
2 only
2 and 3
1, 2 and 3
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1 markWhich of the following statements about phloem transport are correct?
| 1 | phloem transport involves carbohydrates in the form of sucrose |
| 2 | locations of sources and sinks change at different times of year |
| 3 | phloem loading is a passive process |
| 4 | phloem assimilates include amino acids from photosynthesis and nitrates from the soil |
1 and 2
1, 2 and 3
2 and 3
1, 2 and 4
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This diagram shows a transverse section of Ammophila arenaria, also known as marram grass.
Public domain, via Flickr
Which of the following statements correctly describes xerophytic adaptations of marram grass that are visible in the image?
1, 3 and 4
2, 3 and 4
1, 2 and 4
1, 2, 3 and 4
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This diagram represents part of the phloem in a plant.
Which statement about phloem transport is correct?
X can be either a source or a sink
Sucrose is transported from X to W
Y is not actively involved in phloem transport
Sucrose is actively transported between Z and T
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Which of the following correctly explains why the circumference of a tree trunk is larger at night than in the middle of the day?
At night the stomata are closed so there is a build-up of water in the xylem
At night the root pressure has decreased due to reduced mineral uptake by the root hair cells
At night there is less tension in the xylem vessels because the rate of transpiration is reduced
At night the sieve tube elements are full of dissolved solutes due to a reduced translocation rate
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Which of the following statements about water uptake in plant roots are correct?
1 only
1 and 2
1, 2 and 3
2 and 3
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Which of the statements about water transport in plants is correct?
Water exits mature xylem vessels via the cell walls
Transpiration pull is generated by the transpiration stream
Transpiration occurs due to evaporation of water from the surface of palisade mesophyll cells
The transpiration stream plays a role in structural support in plants
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Sucrose and other products of photosynthesis can move both up and down the plant stem at the same time.
Which statement is the most likely description of how this occurs?
Mass flow occurs in both directions within a single phloem sieve tube
Mass flow occurs in different directions in different phloem sieve tubes
Mass flow overpowers the effects of active transport
Active transport moves substances up and mass flow moves substances down
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Which of the following properties of water does not directly explain the movement of water in the xylem vessels?
Forces of cohesion
Forces of adhesion
Water can act as a solvent
Water is a polar molecule
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The rate at which water flows through xylem vessels is influenced by numerous external factors.
An increase in which factor would reduce the flow of water in the xylem?
Air temperature
Light intensity
Wind speed
Atmospheric humidity
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Which statements about the uptake and transport of water in plants are correct?
1, 2 and 4
1, 2 and 3
2 and 3
3 and 4
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Water absorbed by a root hair cell can travel via different pathways to reach the xylem.
Which of the following best describes the route taken by water as it crosses the root?
| apoplast pathway | symplast pathway | |
| A | always | sometimes |
| B | always | always |
| C | sometimes | always |
| D | sometimes | sometimes |
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This diagram represents part of the phloem in a plant.
Assuming that the leaf cells are carrying out photosynthesis, which process is occurring at each stage?
| between X and Y | water potential at Z | hydrostatic pressure at T | |
| A | active transport of sucrose | decreases | decreases |
| B | active transport of sucrose | increases | increases |
| C | passive transport of sucrose | decreases | increases |
| D | passive transport of sucrose | increases | decreases |
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Which processes occur in the phloem and xylem of plants?
| xylem | phloem | |||||
| diffusion | mass flow | osmosis | diffusion | mass flow | osmosis | |
| A | ✓ | ✓ | X | X | ✓ | ✓ |
| B | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| C | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| D | X | X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
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Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal that can have negative effects on the growth of plants. A group of scientists researched Cd uptake in plants by treating plants with different concentrations of Cd (0 mg, 20 mg and 40 mg). The graph shows the presence of Cd in different pathways in the plant roots after treatment. Note that the error bars show standard deviation.
Which of the following statements about the results of the study are correct?
| 1 | The size of the Cd dose does not significantly influence its concentration in plant root pathways |
| 2 | Cd in the symplast pathway is less likely to enter the xylem |
| 3 | After a 40 mg dose of Cd, the heavy metal is approximately 2.5x more likely to be present in the symplast pathway than the apoplast pathway |
| 4 | The soil in which the plants were grow contained Cd in a very low dose |
1, 2 and 3
1 and 3
1, 3 and 4
2, 3 and 4
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Which of these statements provides the best evidence that translocation occurs due to pressure-driven mass flow?
The circumference of a plant stem is slightly smaller during the day than it is at night
Translocation stops in the presence of a metabolic poison that inhibits mitochondrial enzymes
When aphids pierce plant stems with their mouth parts, sap flows into their bodies without any suction; this occurs faster nearer the source
Sieve plates allow for uninterrupted flow of solutes from source to sink
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Which feature of xylem vessel elements allows them to stay open as transpiration rate increases?
The narrow lumen of the xylem vessels
The absence of cross walls within xylem vessels
The lignification of the walls of the xylem vessel elements
Cohesion between water molecules in the xylem vessel elements
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Which of the following statements indicates that the mass flow of sap in the phloem is an active process?
Sap in the phloem can move against the pull of gravity
Sucrose enters the phloem against its concentration gradient
Movement of sucrose in the phloem occurs against its concentration gradient
Water enters the phloem via osmosis
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All of the scenarios in the table involve the movement of water by either the symplast pathway or the apoplast pathway.
Which pathway is being used in each instance?
| water moves between cells via plasmodesmata | water crosses the endodermis in the root | water passes through cell membrane into cytoplasm | water enters cell wall but not the cytoplasm | |
| A | apoplast | symplast | apoplast | symplast |
| B | apoplast | apoplast | symplast | symplast |
| C | symplast | symplast | symplast | apoplast |
| D | symplast | apoplast | apoplast | apoplast |
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Which of the following affect the rate at which water moves up the xylem?
The volume of water absorbed by the roots
The rate at which water diffuses out through the stomata
The rate at which water evaporates from the surface of spongy mesophyll cells
The steepness of the water vapour potential gradient between leaf air spaces and the surrounding environment
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Which statement best explains why the glucose produced by photosynthesis is converted into sucrose before it is transported in the phloem?
Sucrose is a larger molecule and is more easily converted to starch
Sucrose is a non-reducing sugar so is less reactive than glucose
Sucrose can pass through plant cell surface membranes more easily
Sucrose is insoluble and therefore doesn’t affect water potential
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Which of the following correctly explain how root pressure in a plant be affected by waterlogged soil?
Root pressure will not change as waterlogged soil has no impact on root transport
Root pressure will increase due to a high water potential in the soil
Root pressure will increase due to an increased transpiration pull
Root pressure will decrease due to a lack of oxygen in the soil
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