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Movement of Water Across the Leaf

OCR AS-level BiologyMass Transport in PlantsLesson 6 of 18

Water moves from the xylem to the mesophyll cells by osmosis.

Water evaporates from the mesophyll cells into the air spaces in the leaves.

The water then diffuses across the air spaces and through the stomata into the environment down a diffusion gradient.

Diagram

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Key terms in this lesson

diffusion
The net movement of molecules or ions from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration, down a concentration gradient.
osmosis
The net movement of water molecules from a region of higher water potential to a region of lower water potential through a selectively permeable membrane.
water potential
A measure of the tendency of water molecules to move out of a solution; pure water has a water potential of zero and adding solute lowers it.

More in Mass Transport in Plants

All 18 lessons in Mass Transport in Plants · All OCR AS-level Biology topics