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Photo of a Ziplock bag closed around leaves on a bush beside a sign that reads “Transpiration in Progress. Please do not disturb!”. Water condensation is visible inside the bag.
Special Collection

WaterViz: Transpiration Experiment

This hands-on experiment comes between Sessions 4 and 5.

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Materials

  • Transpiration Experiment Instructions & Data Log (BRF *, PDF) 
  • 2 Ziploc bags
  • 2 tactile labels 
  • 2 small plastic cups (3 oz.)
  • 2 small wooden sticks (mini popsicle stick)
  • ruler

Activities

  • Environmental scientists:
    • Decide on one variable they will measure.
    • Formulate a hypothesis about how their chosen variable will impact transpiration. 
    • Use the provided materials (and/or any other materials they wish) to set up their experiment. 
    • Conduct an experiment to test their hypothesis.
    • Collect data.
    • Use critical thinking skills to analyze their data.
    • Present their results. 
  • Note: during in-person programming, environmental scientists used a talking scale to measure and compare the mass of water collected from the transpiration experiment. They recorded the mass of the empty bag and subtracted that from the mass of the bag after transpired water was collected. 

* If you have difficulty downloading a BRF file, see these tips.

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