Get a close analysis report about the transportation in plants and xylem transport in plant based on previous 22 years exam questions. Read about means of transport in this analysis report

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Introduction :
A close analysis of Physics Chapter ‘Transport in Plants’ based on previous 22 years exam questions
(between 2000-2021) suggests that overall weightage of this chapter in the NEET Exam is 2% which
means on an average 1-2 questions are asked from this chapter each year.
The high priority topics of the chapter ‘Transport in Plants’ from which there is greater chance of occurrence
in the NEET Exam are listed below.
1. Transpiration
2. Plant-water relations
3. Long distance transport of water
4. Means of Transport
The students are advised to practice at least 200-300 questions from the high priority topics mentioned
above.

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Noteworthy Points of the Chapter :
1. Transport over long distance proceeds through the vascular system which is called translocation.
2. Transport in xylem is essentially unidirectional, however in phloem it is multidirectional.
3. In diffusion, substances move from regions of higher concentration to regions of lower concentration.
4. Diffusion is very important in plants since it is the only means for gaseous movements within the plant
body.
5. The diffusion of any substance across a membrane also depends on its solubility in lipids, the major
constituent of the membrane.
6. In facilitated diffusion special proteins help to move substances across membranes without
expenditure of ATP/energy.
7. The porins are proteins that form huge pores in the outer membranes of the plastids, mitochondria and
some bacteria allowing molecules upto the size of small proteins to pass through.
8. Water channels are made of eight different types of aquaporins .
9. In a symport, both molecules move across the membrane in the same direction; and in an antiport
they move in opposite direction.
10. Pumps are proteins that use energy to carry substance across the cell membrane during active
transport.
11. A watermelon has over 92% water, most of the herbaceous plants have only about 10-15% of its
fresh weight as dry matter.
12. Terrestrial plants take up huge amount of water but most of it is lost through evaporation from the
leaves due to transpiration.
13. Water potential is potential energy of water that helps in movement of water.
14. Water potential of pure water at standard temperature and without any pressure is zero.
15. Solute potential and pressure potential are the two main components that determine water
potential.

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essed in pressure units such as
pascals(Pa).
17. For a solution at atmospheric pressure, water potential (w ) = solute potential (s) .
18. Osmosis is the term used to refer specifically to the diffusion of water across a differentially or
semi-permeable membrane.
19. The net direction and rate of osmosis depends on both the pressure and concentration gradient.
20. More the solute concentration, greater will be the osmotic pressure required to prevent water from
diffusing in.
21. Numerically osmotic pressure is equivalent to the osmotic potential, but the sign is opposite.
22. Osmotic pressure is the positive pressure applied, while osmotic potential is negative.
23. If the external solution balances the osmotic pressure of the cytoplasm, it is said to be isotonic.
24. Cells swell in hypotonic solution and shrinks in hypertonic solution.
25. Plamolysis occurs when water moves out of the cell and the protoplast shrinks away from the walls.
26. When the cell is placed in an isotonic solution, there is no net flow of water inside or outside the cell.
27. Water diffuses into the cell causing the cytoplasm to build up a pressure against the wall, which is
called turgor pressure.
28. The turgor pressure is ultimately responsible for enlargement and extension of growth of cells.
29. Imbibition is a special type of diffusion when water is absorbed by solids-colloids-causing them to
enormously increase in volume.
30. Absorption of water by seeds and dry wood are examples of imbibition.
31. The movement of a molecule across a typical plant cell takes approximately 2.5 seconds.
32. The movement of water exclusively through the intercellular spaces and the walls of cells occur
through apoplastic pathway.
33. During symplastic movement, the water travels through the cells- their cytoplasm; intercellular
movement of water is through the plasmodesmata.
34. Symplastic movement may be aided by cytoplasmic streaming.

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35. Most of the water flow in the roots occurs via the apoplast.
36. The endodermis is impervious to water because of a band of suberised matrix called the casparian
strip.
37. Mycorrhiza is a symbiotic association of fungi with root system of higher plants.
38. Pinus seeds cannot germinate and establish without the presence of mycorrhiza.
39. Various ions from the soil are actively transported into the vascular tissue of the roots, water follows
and increases the pressure inside the xylem, this positive pressure is called root pressure.
40. Water loss in its liquid phase from plants in known as guttation.
41. Root pressure does not account for the majority of water transport; most plants meet their need by
transpiration pull.
42. Water is mainly pulled through the plant, and that the driving force for this process is transpiration
from the leaves, this is referred to as cohesion-tension-transpiration pull model for water transport.
43. The evaporative losses of water by plants occur mainly through the stomata in the leaves.
44. The opening of the stomata is also aided due to the orientation of the microfibrils in the cell walls of
the guard cells.
45. Cellulose microfibrils are oriented radially rather than longitudinally making it easier for the stoma to
open.
46. The inner cell wall of each guard cell, towards the stomatal aperture is thick and elastic.
47. Usually the lower surface of a dorsiventral leaf has greater number of stomata while in an isobilateral
leaf they are about equal on both surfaces.
48. Attraction of water molecules to polar surface such as the surface of tracheary elements is called
adhesion. Whereas mutual attraction between water molecules is called cohesion.
49. Measurements reveals that the forces generated by transpiration can create pressure sufficient to lift
a xylem sized column of water over 130 meters high.
50. Most minerals enter the root by active absorption into the cytoplasm of epidermal cells

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51. Transport proteins of endodermal cells are control points, where a plant adjusts the quantity and
types of solutes that reach the xylem.
52. The root of endodermis, because of the layer of suberin, has the ability to actively transport ions in
one direction only.
53. Food, primarily sucrose, is transported by the vascular tissue phloem from source to sink. Usually
the source is understood to be that part of the plant which synthesizes the food, i.e., the leaf, and
sink, the part that needs or stores the food.
54. The accepted mechanism used for the translocation of sugars in the form of sucrose from source to
sink is called the pressure flow hypothesis.
55. The sugar enter in the form of sucrose into the companion cell and then into the living phloem sieve
tube cells by active transport.
56. Phloem sap is mainly water and sucrose but other sugars, hormones and amino acids are also
transported through phloem.
57. Elements most readily mobilized are P, N , K etc. while some elements like Ca are not remobilised.
58. C4 plants are twice as efficient as C3 plants in terms of fixing carbon because they loses only half as
much water as a C3 plant for the same amount of CO2 fixed.