Question

✏️ Review Questions
1. What is transpiration?
Explain the process and which organisms are involved.

2. How are evaporation and condensation the same? How are they different?
Compare AND contrast.

3. What is the role of the major reservoirs in the water cycle?
Give examples such as oceans, lakes, glaciers, groundwater, etc.

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Short Response Grading (20 points total)
Q1: 6 points (complete definition + explanation)
Q2: 8 points (compare + contrast)
Q3: 6 points (explain reservoir role + examples)
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Answer 1

1) What is transpiration?
Transpiration is the process by which water absorbed by a plant’s roots moves up through the xylem and evaporates from the plant’s aerial parts (mainly leaf surfaces) into the atmosphere. Water enters roots by osmosis, is pulled upward by the cohesion–tension mechanism driven by water loss at the leaf surface, and exits primarily through stomata (tiny pores regulated by guard cells) and to a lesser extent across the cuticle. Organisms involved: vascular plants (trees, shrubs, grasses, crops); non-vascular plants lose water too but the term “transpiration” is usually applied to vascular plants. Transpiration helps nutrient transport, cools the plant, and drives soil–plant–atmosphere water flow.

2) How are evaporation and condensation the same? How are they different?
Compare (similarities)
- Both are phase changes of water and central parts of the water cycle.
- Both involve exchange of energy (latent heat) between water and the surrounding air.
- Both affect atmospheric humidity and participate in moving water between reservoirs (surface and atmosphere).

Contrast (differences)
- Direction: evaporation is liquid → gas; condensation is gas → liquid.
- Energy: evaporation requires energy input (endothermic, cooling the surroundings); condensation releases energy (exothermic, warming the surroundings).
- Conditions: evaporation occurs when liquid water has sufficient energy (from heat, sunlight) and at the liquid surface (can occur below boiling); condensation occurs when water vapor cools or air becomes saturated (relative humidity reaches 100%) or when vapor contacts cooler surfaces.
- Effects: evaporation increases atmospheric water vapor and often cools the evaporating surface; condensation forms droplets, clouds, fog, or dew and can lead to precipitation and release of latent heat that influences weather.

3) What is the role of the major reservoirs in the water cycle? (examples)
- Oceans: the largest reservoir of Earth’s water; main source of evaporation, major driver of global climate and heat transport, and a sink for precipitation and runoff.
- Glaciers and ice caps: long-term (slow) storage of freshwater; they regulate sea level and release meltwater seasonally, influencing river flow and freshwater availability.
- Groundwater (aquifers): subsurface storage that buffers seasonal or drought variations, supplies springs and wells, and slowly exchanges with surface water (streams, lakes); critical freshwater resource for humans and ecosystems.
- Lakes and rivers (surface freshwaters): shorter-term storage and conveyance of freshwater; provide habitats, evaporation surfaces, and routes for runoff to the oceans.
- Atmosphere: a very small fraction of total water but essential for transport—holds water vapor that moves moisture between regions and forms clouds and precipitation.
- Biosphere/soil moisture: water stored in soils and organisms (plants, animals, microbes) that participates in transpiration and evaporation, influences local climate and soil hydrology.

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