What are the xylem & phloem?

What are the xylem & phloem?

• A. Xylem carries water and minerals, whereas Phloem carries nutrients and sugars
• B. They are protective tissues
• C. Xylem carries sugars; Phloem carries water
• D. They are root hairs

Answer: (A)

Xylem and phloem are the plant’s transport system, the vascular tissues that move substances around the plant. The xylem carries water and dissolved minerals from the roots up through the stem to the rest of the plant, usually moving upward as a result of transpiration and the cohesion-tension mechanism. The phloem, on the other hand, distributes sugars and other organic nutrients produced by photosynthesis from where they’re made (mostly the leaves) to places that need them (growing tissues, roots, fruits) using the pressure-flow process. This combination—water and minerals moving through xylem and sugars moving through phloem—is why the statement about their roles is correct. They aren’t protective tissues, and root hairs are not vascular transport channels.

Xylem and phloem are the plant’s transport system, the vascular tissues that move substances around the plant. The xylem carries water and dissolved minerals from the roots up through the stem to the rest of the plant, usually moving upward as a result of transpiration and the cohesion-tension mechanism. The phloem, on the other hand, distributes sugars and other organic nutrients produced by photosynthesis from where they’re made (mostly the leaves) to places that need them (growing tissues, roots, fruits) using the pressure-flow process. This combination—water and minerals moving through xylem and sugars moving through phloem—is why the statement about their roles is correct. They aren’t protective tissues, and root hairs are not vascular transport channels.