DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGY

FACULTY OF SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS

UNIVERSITI PENDIDIKAN SULTAN IDRIS

SBI3013

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN BIOLOGY

SEMESTER 1 2016/2017

DATA LOGGER

By:

NAME MATRIC GROUP

NUMBER
AISYAH NAZURAH BINTI MOHAMMAD TAMIZI D20162075554
SUZICA JOHNNY JUSIM D20162075560 B
KAMILIA BINTI SALEHUDDIN D20162075561

Lecturer:

DR AZMI BIN IBRAHIM

Introduction
A data logger is an electronic instrument that records measurements at set intervals over a period
of time. It is used in a variety of applications such as in-vehicle data logging, environmental
monitoring, structural health monitoring, and machine condition monitoring. Common
measurements include temperature, strain, voltage, current, pressure, force, and acceleration,
light intensity, room occupancy and many more.

Data loggers are typically compact, battery-powered devices equipped with an internal
microprocessor, data storage, and have one or more sensors. They can be deployed indoors,
outdoors, and underwater, and can record data for up to months at a time, unattended. A data
logger may be a single-unit, stand-alone device with internal sensors, or it may be a multi-
channel data collection instrument equipped with one or more external sensors.

Data-logging implies data collection with storage for later data processing. A data-logging
system has three main components: an interface to link to a computer, sensors and software.

Data logging process

Sensors have an important role in the data logging process. All physical properties can be
measured with sensors such as light, heat, sound, pressure, acidity and humidity.

The sensors send signals to an interface box, which is linked to a computer. The interface box
converts analogue signals to digital signals that the computer can understand. The computer
controlling the process will take readings at regular intervals. The time interval for data logging
is the time between readings. The logging period is the total length of time over which readings
are taken.

The readings are stored in tables and can be displayed in graphs or passed to an application, such
as a spreadsheet, for later analysis. Sometimes it is necessary to record data 'out in the field'. This
is called remote data logging. Readings are stored and brought back to a computer where they
are downloaded and analyzed. The equipment in these situations needs to be very robust, for the
example, equipment used to monitor water levels would have to be waterproof; similarly
equipment working in a satellite would have to be able to withstand vibration during launch and
recovery.

Advantages
There are many advantages conducting experiment using data logging equipment such as, the
readings taken are high degrees of accuracy, can be left without human intervention and can be
set to take readings over a long time period of time, for example, the experiment that need hourly
temperature reading everyday. It is also can be set to take many readings in a short period of time
and can be used when there is a safety risk involved, for example, with the extreme cold or heat.

Data logging provide better processing and presentation of results. The data collected from the
science experiment can be processed by the specialist software or put into a spreadsheet. The
examples of the result that presented are in line, pie or graph. The report can then be saved and
widely distributed in different ways, such as email, post, or fax.

Disadvantages

There are several disadvantages of data logging. If the data logging equipment breaks down or
malfunctions, some data could be lost or not recorded. The equipment also can be expensive for
small tasks and will only take readings at the logging interval which has been set up. If
something unexpected happens between recordings, the data will not be collected.

Experiment using data logger

Title

Transpiration

Introduction

Transpiration is the loss of water by evaporation of water, usually through the stomata in the
leaves. Water is taken into a plant through roots and hairs by osmosis, and it exits the plant
through the opening on the underside of leaves known as stomata. Oxygen and carbon dioxide
are exchanged through the stomata. Transpiration is also the major that powers the movement of
water throughout a plant. This transportation of water through the plant is due to water potential.
Water potential is the potential energy created by the water molecules within the plant stem.
Water always flows from areas of high water potential to areas of low water potential. Gravity,
pressure, and solute concentration are factors determining water potential in a plant.

There are three main kinds of cell in plants, the most abundant is parenchyma cells. These cells
are unspecialized and make up the mesophyll layer in leaves. Most parenchyma cells store food
such as starch to be used later in the plant. Sclerenchyma cells are lignified and dead at maturity.
These cells make up fibers and have thick secondary cell walls. They serve as support in plants.
Collenchyma cells can be found in young stems and leaves. They are living at maturity and thick
primary cell walls. There are also three types of tissues found in plants which are xylem, phloem
and epidermal. The epidermal cells make up the outermost layer of cells on a plant and function
in protection in plant. Xylem is the conducting tissue of plant, while phloem is the food
conducting plant tissue.

Objective

1. To understand the stomata as a source of water loss in plants

2. To understand the transpiration process in plants
3. To investigate the effect of humidity to plant transpiration

Hypothesis

The higher the humidity the lower the rate of transpiration in plants

Inference

The higher the humidity have affected the rate of transpiration.

Material
 DrDAQ educational data logger, humidity sensor, temperature sensor, computer, retort stand,
plastic bag and plants.

Figure 1

Methods

1. The apparatus was setup as shown in the figure 1.

2. The temperature sensors and humidity sensors are connected to DrDAQ data logger,
which is turn plugged into the PC.
3. One branch of the plant, the humidity sensor and the temperature sensor are placed into
plastic bag and tied up with string.
4. Pico Log is set to record at one sample per second, with a maximum of 1200 sample (20
minute worth of data).
5. The graph is set to show humidity
6. The spreadsheet is set to show both humidity and temperature.

Results
Discussions:

Water is the most abundant compound in a living cell. Without water solutes cannot move

from place to place, and enzymes cannot acquire the three dimensional shape that they need for

catalytic activity. As much as 85% of the weight of growing herbaceous plant is water. Because

water molecules are connected to each other by hydrogen bonds, the water in a plant forms a

continuous network of molecules. This network extends into every apical bud, leaf, and root cell.

It permeates, with a few exceptions, every cell wall and much of the intercellular space. Because

the network is continuous, a loss of water from one area affects the entire system.

Although the cuticle that covers the stems and leaves of terrestrial plants is relatively

hydrophobic and thus mostly impermeable to the diffusion of water, the stomata, lenticels, and
cracks in the cuticle allow a loss of water vapour from the interior of plant. This loss is called

transpiration. The remaining 9799.5% is lost by transpiration and guttation. Leaf surfaces are

dotted with pores called stomata, and in most plants they are more numerous on the undersides

of the foliage. The stomata are bordered by guard cells and their stomata accessory cells that

open and close the pore.

Transpiration occurs through the stomata apertures. Transpiration also cools plants,

changes osmotic pressure of cells, and enables mass flow of mineral nutrients and water from

roots to shoots. Two major factors influence the rate of water flow from the soil to the roots: the

hydraulic conductivity of the soil and the magnitude of the pressure gradient through the soil.

Both of these factors influence the rate of bulk flow of water moving from the roots to the

stomata pores in the leaves via the xylem.

Wind

Factors that affect

Humidity the rate of Light
transpiration

Temperature
 The first factor is relative humidity. Relative humidity is the amount of water vapour in

the air compared to the amount of water vapour that air could hold at a given temperature. A

hydrated leaf would have a relative humidity near 100% just as the atmosphere and thus, the

greater the driving force of transpiration. When relative humidity is high, the atmosphere

contains more moisture, reducing the driving force for transpiration. The second factor is wind.

Wind can alter rates of transpiration by removing the boundary layer, that still layer of water

vapour hugging the surface of leaves. Wind increases the movement of water from the leaf

surface when it reduces the boundary layer, because the path of water to reach the atmosphere is

shorter.

The third factor is temperature. Temperature greatly influences the magnitude of driving

force for water movement out of a plant rather than having a direct effect on stomata. As

temperature increases, the water holding capacity of that air increases sharply. As warmer air can

hold more water, its relative humidity is less than the same air sample at lower temperature.

Therefore, warmer air will increase the driving force for transpiration and cooler air will

decrease the driving force for transpiration.

The last factors that affect the rate of transpiration are light. Stomata are triggered to open

in the light so that carbon dioxide is available for the light-dependent process of photosynthesis.

Stomata are closed in the dark in most plants. Very low levels of light at dawn can cause stomata

to open so they can access carbon dioxide for photosynthesis as soon as the sun hits their leaves.

Stomata are most sensitive to blue light, the light predominating at sunrise.

Based on the experiment, the rate of transpiration is increase as the humidity decrease. As

we had mentioned above, the relative humidity in a plants environment rises, as its rate of
transpiration lowers, and a decrease in humidity cause the transpiration rate to rise. Air that is

humid does not accept water vapour easily, and drier air makes it easier for a plant to release

water by evaporation through the stomata on its external surfaces. Plants cannot continue to

transpire without wilting if the soil is very dry because the water in the xylem that moves out

through the leaves is not being replaced by the soil water.

The apparatus is set up as shown in the photo. The humidity and temperature sensors are

connected to the data logger, which is turn is plugged into the 45. One branch of the plant that

humidity sensor and the temperature sensor are placed into the polythene bag and end tied up

with string. The graph is set to show humidity. The spread sheet is set to show both humidity and

temperature.
Questions:

1. What the cause the plastic bag to turn cloudy at the end of the experiment?

Transpiration occur

2. What is the small pores found underside of leaf?

Stomata with guard cell

3. Does the water content in plant influence transpiration rate?

Yes

4. What will happen to the leaf when transpiration rate is on maximum?

This condition causes the leaf to lose turgor or firmness, and the stomata to close. If this

loss of turgor continues throughout the plant, the leaf will wilt.

5. What happen to the transpiration rate when there is high humidity?

The transpiration rate will increase as humidity decrease, so if high humidity, the

transpiration rate will decrease. Diffusion of water vapour out of the leaf slows down if

the leaf is already surrounded by moist air

6. What happen to the transpiration rate when there is high temperature?

The transpiration rate will increase.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the transpiration rate in this experiment is affected by the humidity. As the

humidity increase, the rate of transpiration will start to decrease because dry air caused diffusion

of water out of leaf increased.

References:

James D. Mauseth (2014). Botany: An Introduction to Plant Biology. Jones & Barlett Learning,

LLC, Ascend Learning Company.

Taiz, Lincoln (2015). Plant Physiology and Development. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates,

Inc. p.

Thomas L. Rost, Michael G. Barbour (1998). Plant Biology. Wadsworth Publishing Company, A

Division of International Thomson Publishing Inc.

Educational Experiments: Transpiration (2014). Retrieved on 2017, May 16 from

https://www.picotech.com/library/results/transpiration