APPROVAL SHEET

The complete report of Plant Physiology with title Measuring the Water
Potential of Plant Tissues created by:
Name : Rissa Megavitry
Reg. Number : 091404177
Class : ICP
Group : IV (Fourth)
After its checked and consulted by Assistant and Assistant Coordinator, it has
fulfilled requirement.

Makassar, May 2011

Assistant Coordinator Assistant


Muh. Nur Qadry S. Yusmar Yusuf
(081404189) (081404172)




Known as,
Lecturer of Responsibility


Drs. Ismail, M.S
19611231 198603 1 015

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Introduction
Have we ever thought how the air and water goes into the plants body?
The plant entire cell was surrounded by membrane. Cell membrane cans across
by all of substances. Membrane cell functions as a gauze screen at your window
which can across by air but not for the big thing like insect or gravel indeed
mosquito. Hows the certain substance can across the cell membrane? Cells of
plant can across by water, solute food substance, oxygen and carbon dioxide
either goes in or out.
Plant cell need oxygen and carbon dioxide, and hows that substance
moves through the cell membrane? The composer of substance at this nature is
always moves. The smallest composer called particle. That particle be spread
evenly to all direction. The substances move from the high concentration to the
lower concentration of place. The moves of those substances called diffusion.
Diffusion will stop if the concentration of both places is balance.
Osmosis also occurs at the cell in this nature. The alteration of cells form
happens if different solution existing. Cell in the isotonic solution the volume
will constant. In this matter, the cell will get and looses the same volume of
water. Many the sea animals, such as sea star (Echinodermata) and crab
(Arthropod) the cell fluid is isotonic with its environment. If cell in the hypotonic
solution, so that cell will get much water and can cause lysis (in the animal cell),
or high turgidity (in the plant cell). On the contrary if cell in hypertonic solution,
so cell will looses many molecules of water, so cell become wrinkled and can
cause death.
In this practicum we will observe the water potential to know the
movement of water in the plant which leftover or deficiency of fluid. We will
observe the water movement in potatoes and sucrose solution. From this
practicum we will know which one that has the higher water potential. But we
also must watch the other factor that can caused deviation of observation result.
According on that mater so the practicum Plant Physiology implements.
B. Purpose
To measures the value of water potential from potato tissue.
C. Benefit
The students know how to measure the water potential of potato tissue




















CHAPTER II
PREVIEW OF LITERATURE
Plant cell has the different characteristic from the animal cell, especially for
the cell wall in plant. Cell wall in high plant is the matrix which inside of it theres
skeleton that cellulose compound as micro fibril or smooth thread. This matrix
compose from some compounds that hemicelluloses, pectin, biologic plastic, protein
and fat. Generally, the cell wall distinguish become primary cell wall and secondary
cell wall. The difference of both cell walls based on the flexibility, thickness;
compose of micro fibril and its growth. All the activity of plant cell depends on the
existence of cell wall. Cell wall also functions as the way of water exchange, foods
and mineral salt to the cell (Anonymous a, 2011).
According to Anonymous b (2011), water is the 89-95% of plant weight
which lives in the water. Inside of cell, water needed as the solvent of nutrition,
besides that water also as the substrate or reactant for the various biochemical
reactions, and also the cause of enzyme formation. Plant which experiences water
deficiency will wilt even dead. Therere five main mechanisms which move the water
from one place to the other place, that through: diffusion, osmosis, capillary pressure,
hydrostatic pressure, and gravitation.
a. Diffusion
Diffusion is the molecule movement or ion from the high concentration to the
lower concentration. The rate of diffusion depends on temperature and density of
medium. Diffusion of gas is faster than the liquid substance, meanwhile the
diffusion of compact substance slower than the liquid. The movement of big
molecule is slower than the little molecule.
b. Osmosis
Osmosis is diffusion through the semi permeable membrane. Those molecules
will diffuse from the high concentration to the lower concentration. The osmosis
process will stop if the concentration of substance in the both place is balance.
Osmosis preventable with pressure, thats why the physiologist always use
osmotic potential term that the pressure which needed to prevent osmosis.
c. Capillary pressure
If capillary pipe immersed to the water, so the water surface in the capillary pipe
will go up until experience the equal between the strains which pull that water
with the height. The pressure which pulls the water called capillary pressure.
Capillary pressure depends on the diameter of capillary: more little the capillary
so the pressure is bigger which pull that water column
d. Hydrostatic pressure
Hydrostatic pressure in the cell also called turgor pressure. The turgor pressure is
important for the cell because can make the cell and tissue become rigid. The
water potential of a plant cell essentially is the combination between osmotic
potential with its pressure potential.
e. Gravitation
Water moves also to respect the earth gravitation, so need the pressure to pull the
water. In herb, the gravitation influence can be ignoring because the different of
elevated in that part of plant is relatively small. In high plant, the influence of
gravitation is very real.
Water potential is the capability of water to moves. Water moves from the
solution with high water potential to the solution with lower potential (water potential
can measure with pressure unit). Pure water (100% water) has
w
= 0 (zero), as the
highest water potential. All of the solutions have
w
< 0. If the diffusion of solute
particle is more definite than solvent, will cause the gradient of water potential. If the
pure water in the one side of membrane and solution in the other side (especially in
osmometer), so the water potential of solution is lower than the water potential of
pure water. According the treaty, water potential of water in the atmosphere pressure
and the same temperature with that solution is equal with 0, so water potential of
water in the atmosphere pressure will be in negative valuable. Therefore, the water
molecule will diffuse from the high potential to the lower potential. As the height of
pressure will increase the water potential, so water potential in osmotic system will
increase to 0 (Ismail, 2008).
Osmotic potential is the potential which caused by the solute substance. The
sign is always negative. Pressure potential is the potential which caused by
hydrostatic pressure of cell contain to cell wall. The value is positive, zero or can also
negative. Adding of pressure (formation turgor pressure) caused the pressure potential
become more positive. Matrix potential caused by water bond in protoplasm colloid
and surface (cell wall). Matrix potential is negative sign, but in generally the cell
which has vacuole, its value can be ignoring (Ismail, 2011).
Plant cell can loss water, if the water potential at outside of cell is lower than
the water potential inside of cell. If the cell loss water in big volume, so is possible
the volume of cells content will decrease dramatically so cant fill all the room
which formed by cell wall. It means, the membrane and cytoplasm will getting loose
from cell wall, it called plasmolysis process. The cell which had plasmolysis
recoverable with entered it to the pure water (Anonymous a, 2011).












CHAPTER III
OBSERVATION METHOD
A. Date and Time
Day/Date : Wednesday/May, 4
th
2011
Time : 07.30 09.10 am WITA
Place : Laboratory Biology FMIPA at 2
nd
floor, east side
B. Tools and Materials
1. Tools
a. Razor blade
b. Analytic weights
c. 12 pieces of petri dish
d. Cork drill with 0.6-0.8 cm diameter
2. Materials
a. Plant material: Solanum tuberosum (potato)
b. Chemical materials: Aquades, and sucrose solution: 0.1 M, 0.2 M, 0.3 M,
0.4 M, 0.5 M, 0.6 M, 0.7 M, 0.8 M, 0.9 M
C. Work Procedures
1. Prepared 12 petri dishes and filled with 100 ml of solution: aquades, sucrose
solution 0.1 M, 0.2 M, 0.3 M, 0.4 M, 0.5 M, 0.6 M, 0.7 M, 0.8 M, 0.9 M
2. Made 12 cylinder of potato with 4 cm long. Removed the skin. Then cut into
small part used razor blade.
3. Washed the sliced potato by water the dried in filter paper then weighed. Next
entered to the sucrose solution. Did it in every potato cylinder. Entered the
sliced potato in same time to sucrose solution.
4. After 10 minutes, put outside that potato slices then dried used filter paper and
weighed again. Did it to all sample of observation.

5. Calculated the weigh exchange of potato used the formula below:
weight alteiation
enu weight initial weight
initial weight

6. Then made the graphic and plotted the percentage of weight in ordinate and
concentration of sucrose solution in abscissa.
7. Calculated the osmotic potential (
s
) for each concentration of sucrose
solution, to determinate the water potential of tissue by used formula below:

s
= -miRT
Whereas,
s
: osmotic potential
m : molarities of solution
i : ionisation constanta (sucrose = 1)
R : gas constanta (0.00831 bar/mol
o
)
T : absolute temperature (
o
C + 273)
8. Determinated with interpolated from the graphic, concentration of sucrose
which not caused the alteration of weight. And calculated the
s
from this
solution. The value of
s
is comparable with water potential (
w
) of tissue.













CHAPTER IV
OBSERVATION RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A. Observation Result
Table of relationship between concentrations with weight alteration of potato
SOLUTON
INITIAL
WEIGHT (g)
END WEIGHT
(g)
ALTERATION
OF WEIGHT (g)
PERSENTAGE
OF WEIGHT
ALTERATION
(%)
AQUADES 0.7 0.6 0.1 14.28%
0.1 0.7 0.6 0.1 14.28%
0.2 0.6 0.4 0.2 33.33%
0.3 0.6 0.4 0.2 33.33%
0.4 0.9 0.7 0.2 22.22%
0.5 0.7 0.5 0.2 28.57%
0.6 0.7 0.5 0.2 28.57%
0.7 0.8 0.5 0.3 3.57%
0.8 0.6 0.6 0 0%
0.9 0.6 0.4 0.2 33.33%
B. Analysis of Data
Formula:
weight alteiation
enu weight initial weight
initial weight

1. Aquades
weight alteiation

2. Sucrose 0.1 M
weight alteiation

3. Sucrose 0.2 M
weight alteiation

4. Sucrose 0.3 M
weight alteiation

5. Sucrose 0.4 M
weight alteiation

6. Sucrose 0.5 M
weight alteiation

7. Sucrose 0.6 M
weight alteiation

8. Sucrose 0.7 M
weight alteiation

9. Sucrose 0.8 M
weight alteiation

10. Sucrose 0.9 M
weight alteiation

Formula to calculate the osmotic potential is:

s
= -miRT
Whereas,
s
: osmotic potential
m : molalities of solution
i : ionisation
R : gas constanta
T : absolute temperature
1. Aquades

s
= -miRT
= - 0 x 1 x 0.00831 x 298
= 0 bar
2. Sucrose 0.1 M

s
= -miRT
= - 0.1 x 1 x 0.00831 x 298
= - 0.248 bar
3. Sucrose 0.2 M

s
= -miRT
= - 0.2 x 1 x 0.00831 x 298
= - 0.495 bar
4. Sucrose 0.3 M

s
= -miRT
= - 0.3 x 1 x 0.00831 x 298
= - 0.743 bar
5. Sucrose 0.4 M

s
= -miRT
= - 0.4 x 1 x 0.00831 x 298
= - 0.991 bar
6. Sucrose 0.5 M

s
= -miRT
= - 0.5 x 1 x 0.00831 x 298
= - 1.238 bar
7. Sucrose 0.6 M

s
= -miRT
= - 0.6 x 1 x 0.00831 x 298
= - 1.486 bar

8. Sucrose 0.7 M

s
= -miRT
= - 0.7 x 1 x 0.00831 x 298
= - 0.733 bar
9. Sucrose 0.8 M

s
= -miRT
= - 0.8 x 1 x 0.00831 x 298
= - 1.981 bar
10. Sucrose 0.9 M

s
= -miRT
= - 0.1 x 1 x 0.00831 x 298
= - 0.248 bar
C. Discussion
Observation of water potential in plant tissue did by used potato cylinders
which were soaked in different concentration of sucrose solution and in aquades
for 10 minutes. The concentration of sucrose solution is different in order to
know the influence of concentration with osmosis process. Meanwhile the
aquades here is as a control. From the observation explained that the water
potential in aquades and sucrose solution is lower than water potential of potato
cylinder, so we can conclude that liquid from potato cylinder flow out to the
environment.
The table shown that alteration value from aquades until sucrose 0.9 M
solution is change and negative except for sucrose 0.8 M solution which shown
nothing alteration of weight. This because the initial weight of potato is bigger
than the end weight, as the result of weight reduction because the water goes out
from cell to sucrose solution. The other factor that can influence in negative
weight alteration is inequality of cylinder thickness, the duration of soaking, and
also drying process which not good so the potato which should weighing in dry
condition still contains water.
Water movement from potato to sucrose solution shown that
concentration of potato higher than the outside of cell (sucrose solution), so this
solution is hypertonic solution (the solute level is higher than its surrounding). In
this observation potato in sucrose 0.1 M 0.7 M solution experience the
alteration of weight and also in sucrose 0.9 M solution because the gradient of
solution in outside of cell is different with at inside of cell which called isotonic
solution. So the result of this observation is appropriate with the theory that water
moves from the high potential to the lower potential, this process called osmosis.





















CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion
Water potential is the capability of water to moves. Water moves from the
solution with high water potential to the solution with lower potential (water
potential can measure with pressure unit). Pure water (100% water) has
w
= 0
(zero), as the highest water potential. Water potential of a solution is influential
to liquid movement in the plant tissue. Bigger the water potential so the
capability of liquid to osmosis is bigger too. The different from observation result
with theory caused by the mistakes which happen when observation, such as
drying process of cylinder potato using filter paper, difference thickness of potato
cylinder caused difference the membrane thickness, and also duration of soaked.
B. Suggestion
1. Assistant must be on time when attend in practicum and must lead the
apprentice when the practicum goes on.
2. The tools in the laboratory must be complete in order the practicum can goes
on good.
3. Apprentice must be on time and more carefully when does observation.









BIBILIOGRAPHY
Anonymous a. 2011. Fisiologi Tumbuhan Potensial Osmosis. iqbalali.com. Accessed
on 16
th
May 2011
Anonymous b. 2011. Air Dalam Tumbuhan. klimatologi.wordpress.com. Accessed on
16
th
May 2011
Ismail. 2008. Fisiologi Tumbuhan. Jurusan Biologi FMIPA UNM: Makassar
Ismail. 2011. Penuntun Praktikum Fisiologi Tumbuhan. Jurusan Biologi FMIPA
UNM: Makassar





























Anonymous a
Sel tumbuhan memiliki ciri fisiologi yang berbeda dengan sel hewan khususnya
dengan keberadaan dinding sel pada sel tumbuhan. Dinding sel pada tumbuhan tinggi
merupakan matriks yang di dalamnya terdapat rangka, yaitu senyawa selulosa yang
berwujud mikrofibril atau benang halus. Matriks pada dinding sel ini tersusun dari
beberapa senyawa yaitu hemiselulosa, pektin, plastik biologik, protein dan lemak.
Dinding sel secara umum dibedakan menjadi dinding sel primer dan dinding sel
sekunder. Perbedaan antara kedua macam dinding ini terletak pada fleksibilitas,
ketebalan, susunan mikrofibril dan pertumbuhannya. Seluruh aktivitas sel tumbuhan
sangat tergantung dengan keberadaan dinding sel ini. Dinding sel selain berfungsi
untuk proteksi isi sel juga berperan sebagai jalan keluar masuknya air, makanan dan
garam-garam mineral ke dalam sel.

Anonymous b
Air merupakan 85 95 % berat tumbuhan herba yang hidup di air. Dalam sel, air
diperlukan sebagai pelarut unsur hara sehingga dapat digunakan untuk
mengangkutnya; selain itu air diperlukan juga sebagai substrat atau reaktan untuk
berbagai reaksi biokimia misalnya proses fotosintesis; dan air dapat menyebabkan
terbentuknya enzim dalam tiga dimensi sehingga dapat digunakan untuk aktivitas
katalisnya. Tanaman yang kekurangan air akan menjadi layu, dan apabila tidak
diberikan air secepatnya akan terjadi layu permanen yang dapat menyebabkan
kematian. Terdapat lima mekanisme utama yang menggerakkan air dari suatu tempat
ke tempat lain, yaitu melalui proses: difusi, osmosis, tekanan kapiler, tekanan
hidrostatik, dan gravitasi.
a. Difusi
Difusi adalah pergerakan molekul atau ion dari dengan daerah konsentrasi tinggi ke
daerah dengan konsentrasi rendah. Laju difusi antara lain tergantung pada suhu dan
densitas (kepadatan) medium. Gas berdifusi lebih cepat dibandingkan dengan zat cair,
sedangkan zat padat berdifusi lebih lambat dibandingkan dengan zat cair. Molekul
berukuran besar lebih lambat pergerakannya dibanding dengan molekul yang lebih
kecil.
b. Osmosis
Osmosis adalah difusi melalui membran semipermeabel. Molekul-molekul tersebut
akan berdifusi dari daerah dengan konsentrasi tinggi ke konsentrasi rendah. Proses
Osmosis akan berhenti jika konsentrasi zat di kedua sisi membran tersebut telah
mencapai keseimbangan.Osmosis dapat dicegah dengan menggunakan tekanan. Oleh
karena itu, ahli fisiologi tanaman lebih suka menggunakan istilah potensial osmotik
yakni tekanan yang diperlukan untuk mencegah osmosis.
c. Tekanan kapiler
Apabila pipa kapiler dicelupkan ke dalam bak yang berisi air, maka permukaan air
dalam pip a kapiler akan naik sampai terjadi keseimbangan antara tegangan yang
menarik air tersebut dengan beratnya. Tekanan yang menarik air tersebut disebut
tekanan kapiler. Tekanan kapiler tergantung pada diameter kapiler : semakin kecil
diameter kapiler semakin besar tegangan yang menarik kolom air tersebut
d. Tekanan hidrostatik
Tekanan hidrostatik dalam sel disebut tekanan turgor. Tekanan turgor yang
berkembang melawan dinding sebagai hasil masuknya air ke dalam vakuola sel
disebut potensial tekanan. Tekanan turgor penting bagi sel karena dapat menyebabkan
sel dan jaringan yang disusunnya menjadi kaku. Potensial air suatu sel tumbuhan
secara esensial merupakan kombinasi potensial osmotic dengan potensial tekanannya.
e. Gravitasi
Air juga bergerak untuk merespon gaya gravitasi bumi, sehingga perlu tekanan untuk
menarik air ke atas. Pada tumbuhan herba, pengaruh gravitasi dapat diabaikan karena
perbedaan ketinggian pada bagian tanaman tersebut relatif kecil. Pada tumbuhan yang
tinggi, pengaruh gravitasi ini sangat nyata.