Download How to Make Red Cabbage pH Indicator Acid

Flower Power
Botany
Mad Science Lab
Introduction:
Where does the water go when a plant is watered? Most
plants like to drink water! Most plants drink from the
ground through their roots. The water travels up the stem
of the plant into the leaves and flowers, where it helps to
make food. But how does water move UPWARD through
a plant? There are two things that combine to move water
through plants – TRANSPIRATION and COHESION!
Water evaporating from the leaves and flowers pulls water
up the stem of the plant (Transpiration) like a straw! Water
is pulled up the stem of the plant because it is very “sticky”.
Water molecules like to stick to other water molecules
(Cohesion). The process of a plant pulling water up is
called CAPILLARY ACTION!
Question/Topic:
What do you observe? Can you see the effects of capillary action in the flowers? Do
different colors travel faster or slower than other colors? How long does it take?
Materials:
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4 Large plastic cups
Water
Large beaker
Food Coloring
4 White Carnation Flowers
2 Celery stalks with leaves
Sharp scissors
Knife (get an adult’s help with this!)
Experiment Procedure:
1. Write your name on each cup with a sharpie
2. Fill each cup half full with water
3. Add about 20-30 drops of food coloring to each cup. You can use the regular
colors or mix them up, but be sure to have different colors in each cup!
4. Take 2 of the carnations, hold the stems under water. Using a knife or sharp
scissors, trim the stem under water. It is important to not get any air in the tubes
that carry water to the leaves/flowers.
5. Place the freshly cut flowers into two of the cups. Record the time so you can
see how long it takes for the capillary action to work.
6. Cut the celery stalks in the same way and place them in other two cups of
colored water. Record the time.
7. The next step requires some help from an adult. Take the remaining two
carnations and trim their stems like you did in step 4. Next, using a knife split the
stem straight down the middle. Make the slit about half way to the flower. Place
each half of the stem into a cup with different colored water.