StudyQuestionofPlantPhysiology.doc

Study Question of Plant Physiology Chapter One Water metabolism 1. What is the importance of the water potential concept in plant physiology? What are the components of water potential? 2. List three unique properties of water that make it such a good medium for cellular functioning, and explain how each property is useful to the plant. 3. What is turgor pressure(膨压)? Can plant cells have negative turgor pressure values? Can you calculate the turgor pressure of a cell from water potential and osmotic potential(渗透势) values? 4. How does water move across a largely hydrophobic(疏水性的) plasma membrane? 5. Define and give an example of osmosis in a plant cell. What is the driving force for osmosis（渗透作用）? 6. Describe the path followed by water from the soil, through the plant and into the atmosphere. Where in the path are the important resistances to water movement? 7. What is the driving force for the movement of water from the soil to the top of a tree and into the atmosphere? 8. Describe root pressure and indicate when it might occur. 9. How does air relative humidity affect the transpiration rate of a leaf? If the air surrounding a transpiring leaf gets warmer, how will such a change affect the transpiration rate of the leaf? Chapter Two Mineral Nutrition 1. What does a plant need to grow from seed and complete its life cycle? What is the difference between the requirements of a plant and an animal? 2. What is an essential element? How many have been identified? What is the difference between an essential element and a beneficial one? Provide an example of each. 3. What is a nutrient solution? Why is it more convenient to use liquid medium, as opposed to soil, to grow plants in nutritional studies? In nutrient solutions, nitrogen can be supplied as NH4+ or NO3–. Which one would use in a nutritional study? 4. What is the difference between a macronutrient and a micronutrient? Provide a reason for the inability of plant physiologists to identify micronutrien