how does water move through a plant?

Question

I know plants have to have water to survive, i also know it moves up from their roots to their leaves, but how does it do this w/o having any muscles or anything? is there a scientific term for this process?

Answer 1

Water is absorbed at the root level through a process called osmosis. It travels through the plant tissue called the xylem. It leaves the plant by transpiration from the leaves' stomata. The water carries dissolved mineral nutrients from the roots to where it is needed in the upper part of the plant. This is called mass flow and is caused by the decrease in hydrostatic pressure in the upper parts of plants due to diffusion of water out of the stomata.

Answer 2

There are three ways that water moves through a plant. The three ways are root pressure, capillary action and transpiration pull.

The living cells around the xylem vessels in the root use active transport to pump ions into the vessels. This lowers the water potential in the xylem vessels. Water therefore passes from the living cells into the xylem vessels by osmosis, which hence pushes water up the xylem vessels. This is called root pressure.

The second method is called capillary action. Water tends to naturally move up inside fine capillary tubes by capillary action. Since xylem vessels are like capillary tubes (as they are very narrow), capillary action hence helps in moving water up the vessels. Capillary action plays a part in an upward movement of water in small plants, but it cannot account for water rising up a tall tree.

Transpiration is the last process and is the main method of moving water through a plant. The loss of water vapour from the aerial parts of a plant, especially through the stomata of the leaves is transpiration. As transpiration occurs, there will be a resulting suction force in the leaves which pulls the water up the xylem vessels. (This is because as water escapes the plant, something would be needed to take the place of the water, and the 'something' would be the water in the xylem vessels.) This suction force is called the transpiration pull.

Answer 3

It is called capillary action.

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...Water travels through long, thin tubes running up from the roots through the stems and leaves called xylem.

Water moves up the xylem through a process called capillary action. Capillary action allows water to be pulled through the thin tubes because the molecules of the water are attracted to the molecules that make up the tube. The water molecules at the top are pulled up the tube and the water molecules below them are pulled along because of their attraction to the water molecules above them.

A sponge also absorbs water through capillary action. The sponge is filled with thin spaces that act like thin tubes....

Answer 4

Water moves through the tube-like xylem structures in green plants.

The mechanism by which water is carried upward through the xylem is called
TATC= Transpiration Adhesion Tension Cohesion.

Answer 5

Xylem

Answer 6

Through the process of osmosis.

Answer 7

Very fluidly.