Answer: Transpiration.
- A Guttation
- B Transpiration
- C Plasmolysis
- D Imbibition
Correct answer: B. Transpiration
Explanation: Transpiration, mainly through stomata on leaves, accounts for the loss of nearly 90% of the water absorbed by roots.
Water can travel through cell walls (apoplast) or cell-to-cell through the cytoplasm (symplast) - but the Casparian strip at the endodermis blocks the apoplast route entirely, forcing everything through a selectively permeable membrane (symplast) before it can enter the xylem.
Concept context
Water and mineral absorption, the ascent of sap, transpiration, and phloem transport via the pressure flow hypothesis.