BIOL 1202 Chapter : BIOL 1202 Chapter 36 Notes
Document Summary
Adaptations for acquiring resources were key steps in the evolution of vascular plants. The broad category of nutrition includes all of the materials and energy needed for an organism to live and reproduce. Nutrition in all organisms involves four main steps: Required to break large molecules down to building blocks. Must acquire some through diet: transport of water and solutes by individual cells. Plants acquire all their nutrients from soil (minerals), water (hydrogen and oxygen), or air (co2) Transport in vascular plants occurs on three scales: Plasma membrane controls movement of solutes into and out of the cell. Concentration of solutes controls the movement of water. Solute potential ( s) determined by concentration of dissolved molecules. Pressure potential ( p) determined by the physical pressure on a solution. When the water potential inside the cell is lower than the water potential outside the cell, water moves in (osmosis).