Put the cut end of the plant into the bung and grease the joint with plenty of Vaseline…, …this makes sure that no air can get in through the sides of the bung., Make sure the tap on the reservoir is closed…, …this makes sure no extra water gets in, otherwise, the air bubble might be pushed the wrong way., Leave the end of the capillary tube out of the water until an air bubble forms…, …then put the end into a beaker of water so no more air bubbles form, When the bubble is in line with the beginning of the scale, start timing., As the leaf loses water by transpiration, it sucks up water through the stem…, …this means the air bubble also gets sucked along the tube towards the plant., Measure how far the air bubble moves along the scale in a given period of time (e.g. one minute)…, …this tells you how much water is moving through the plant every minute., To take another reading (so you can find the average), you must reset the potometer…, …To do this, open the reservoir tap so water comes out and pushes the air bubble back to the start of the scale.

Setting up a potometer

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