HardBiologyHigh School (11–12)Tissues and Organs › Anatomy of Flowering PlantsTissues and Organs › Plant TissuesConceptualA-LevelIB
Mina drives a nail into the trunk of a young tree, 1.5 m above the ground…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
Mina drives a nail into the trunk of a young tree, m above the ground. Ten years later the tree is much taller and the trunk is much thicker.
- Will the nail still be about m above the ground, or will it have risen with the tree? Explain.
- What will have happened to the part of the trunk around the nail?
- Name the meristems responsible for the change in height and for the change in thickness.
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
A tissue is a group of cells that work together. Meristematic tissue divides; permanent tissue has stopped dividing. Apical meristems lie at the tips of roots and shoots. Intercalary meristems lie at the base of leaves and internodes. The lateral meristems, the vascular cambium and the cork cambium, thicken the plant. Apical and intercalary meristems are primary; lateral ones are secondary.
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. (a) The tree gets taller at the tips of its shoots, where the apical meristems are. The old trunk below does not lengthen. So the nail stays about m above the ground.
Step 2. (b) The trunk gets thicker. The vascular cambium adds new wood around the nail, and the nail may be covered up.
Step 3. (c) Height: the apical meristems. Thickness: the lateral meristems, the vascular cambium and the cork cambium.
Answer: (a) it stays at about m; (b) the trunk thickens and covers it; (c) apical for height, lateral for thickness.
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