Pieces of leaf epidermis were peeled from the plant Commelina communis - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 6 - 2005 - Paper 1
Question 6
Pieces of leaf epidermis were peeled from the plant Commelina communis. The pieces were then placed in a solution of a dye that binds to potassium ions. You would ex... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Pieces of leaf epidermis were peeled from the plant Commelina communis - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 6 - 2005 - Paper 1
Step 1
A. guard cells when the stomata are open.
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Answer
When the stomata are open, guard cells take up potassium ions to swell and allow gas exchange. The dye, which binds to potassium ions, would likely accumulate in the guard cells, indicating their role in the opening of the stomata.
Step 2
B. stomatal pore when the stomata are closed.
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Answer
When the stomata are closed, there would be no potassium uptake in the guard cells, and therefore, the dye would not concentrate in the stomatal pore.
Step 3
C. epidermal cells when the stomata are open.
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While epidermal cells may be present during gas exchange, they primarily do not take up potassium ions to the same extent as guard cells, thus the dye concentration would not be significant here.
Step 4
D. intercellular spaces of the leaf when the stomata are closed.
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With closed stomata, potassium uptake does not occur, meaning that there would be little to no dye concentration in the intercellular spaces as they remain largely unaffected.
