Lotus is an aquatic plant. Arham noticed that it has swollen leaf stalks. He decided to carry out an experiment to find out whether there is air in the swollen leaf stalks. He was given only the following: Lotus, a pair pf scissor and a tank of water .Using only the materials given , how should Arham carry out the experiment?
Answers
Arham can perform the following activity:
1) Taking the stem of the lotus.
2) Cutting the stem of the lotus from one end, preferably from downwards.
3) dipping the lotus stem immediately into the water and looking for any possible air bubble.
4) pressing the stem slightly and then observing again.
Performing the given activity will confirm the presence of air in lotus stem if there are any air bubbles observed by Arham.
As he doesn't have access to microscope he won't be able to observe the presence of aerenchyma cells which are responsible for storing air in the stem of a water plant.
EXPLANATION:
Lotus is an ‘aquatic plant’. Arham noticed that it has ‘swollen leaf stalks’. He decided to find out whether there is air in the ‘swollen leaf stalks’. So to check the air space in the stem and leaves of Lotus plant, he used Lotus, a pair of scissor and a tank of water.
To continue the experiment, he should try to sink the stem and leaves of lotus plant in water. He will notice that the leaves and stem of lotus would not sink in water. This is because of the presence of air space in the leaves and stem of lotus.