transport system[7]
4:00 AM
Today, we will start off with the roots of a plant. Plants usually obtain their water and dissolved minerals from the soil through their root hairs near the tip of each root. Water moves into the root hairs near the tip of each root. Water moves into the root hairs by osmosis.
Osmosis is the process by which water molecules move from the soil with a high concentration of water molecules into the root hair cell with a lower concentration of water molecules through the partially permeable cell membrane.
Dissolved mineral salts are absorbed into the root hairs by diffusion or active transport. When the concentrarion of mineral salts in the soil water water is higher than in the root hairs,the mineral salts diffuse into the cells of the root hairs.
When the concentration of mineral salts in the soil water is lower than in the root hairs, the mineral salts are absorbed into the cells of the root hairs by active transport. Active transport is a process that uses energy from the respiration of a plant.
Through the process of osmosis, diffusion and active transport, the water and dissolved mineral salts in the roots move from cell to cell towards the xylem vessels that carry them up the plant.
