Transport and exchange surfaces in plants
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Why this why now
This unit builds on pupils’ prior learning from Aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration, where they explored how energy is released from glucose. It deepens their understanding by examining how plants transport water, minerals, and gases through specialised exchange surfaces like roots and leaves. This prepares pupils for the next unit, Coordination and control: maintaining a constant internal environment, where they will explore how organisms regulate processes like temperature and water balance to maintain homeostasis.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Plants are multicellular organisms – they are made up of millions of living cells.
- Plants do not have a circulatory system (they do not have blood, blood vessels or a heart).
- Cells need to be supplied with nutrients including carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and water for growth and repair.
- Cells need to be supplied with oxygen and glucose for cellular respiration to provide energy for life processes.
- Cells with chloroplasts need to be supplied with carbon dioxide and water for photosynthesis.
- Particles of substances move by diffusion into and out of cells through selectively-permeable cell membranes.
- Exchange surfaces are adapted to maximise the surface area for diffusion of particles across membranes.
- In humans, the circulatory system transports essential substances around the body and minimises the distance they have to diffuse so cells can be supplied quickly.
Threads
Why this why now
This unit builds on pupils’ prior learning from Aerobic and anaerobic cellular respiration, where they explored how energy is released from glucose. It deepens their understanding by examining how plants transport water, minerals, and gases through specialised exchange surfaces like roots and leaves. This prepares pupils for the next unit, Coordination and control: maintaining a constant internal environment, where they will explore how organisms regulate processes like temperature and water balance to maintain homeostasis.
Prior knowledge requirements
- Plants are multicellular organisms – they are made up of millions of living cells.
- Plants do not have a circulatory system (they do not have blood, blood vessels or a heart).
- Cells need to be supplied with nutrients including carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and water for growth and repair.
- Cells need to be supplied with oxygen and glucose for cellular respiration to provide energy for life processes.
- Cells with chloroplasts need to be supplied with carbon dioxide and water for photosynthesis.
- Particles of substances move by diffusion into and out of cells through selectively-permeable cell membranes.
- Exchange surfaces are adapted to maximise the surface area for diffusion of particles across membranes.
- In humans, the circulatory system transports essential substances around the body and minimises the distance they have to diffuse so cells can be supplied quickly.
Biology
Transport and exchange surfaces in plants
This unit covers water and mineral uptake in plants, focusing on root hair cells, xylem, and phloem. It includes transpiration, translocation, and factors affecting water uptake. Emphasis is on rate calculations, graph interpretation, experiments, and data analysis.
8 lessons in unit
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