How does water travel from the roots of a plant upwards to the leaves defying gravity??

 Term to glimpse: Capillary Action

From the toolkit: Tissue papers, water, 3 glass beakers, food colour (any colour), dropper

Vocabulary: Capillary action, adhesion, cohesion, surface tension

Procedure A:

1. Take two glass beakers. Fill one with water and add a few drops of food colour. Mix well to make a colored solution.
2. Make a role out of the tissue paper and place one end of it in the dyed water and the other end in an empty glass beaker.
3. Observe the tissue immediately after you put it in the water. Then observe it for 1 hour at different intervals of time since the time you put it in the dyed water
4. How did the tissue paper’s appearance change over this time period? What do you see in the beaker that was empty earlier?
5.  Record your observation!

Know how its works

Interesting facts:

Capillary action occurs when the adhesion to the walls is stronger than the cohesive forces between the liquid molecules. The height to which capillary action will take water in a uniform circular tube (picture to right) is limited by surface tension and, of course, gravity.