Name _____________________________________ Date __________________ Hr. _____
Capillary Action: Celery Lab
Background:
Capillary action is when some substance, usually a liquid, is pulled up into another substance
(usually a solid). For instance, capillary action allows water to be picked up by a sponge. We are
going to see an example of this with celery stalks.
Has anyone ever seen a bouquet of flowers in a vase of water? Why do we put the flowers in
water? ______________________________________
Can you see the water going into the
flowers? __________________, but we’re going to do an experiment with celery and food
coloring to try to visualize this process. Capillary action is a force that draws liquid through a
thin tube or porous material.
Materials
Celery stalks (leafy is best)
Red food coloring
Cup or beaker
100 ml warm water
Scissors to freshly cut a stalk
Procedure
1. Place approximately 10-20 drops of food coloring into a transparent cup of 100 ml warm
water. You want your color to be dark!
2. Using a pair of scissors freshly cut the celery.
3. Place celery in cup. Use a piece of masking tape and write your class hour and group
number on the tape. Place the tape on the cup.
4. Check back on your celery during class and tomorrow to see the results.
Data
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
water (ml)
water (ml)
water (ml)
water (ml)
water (ml)
Qualitative
Observations
Quantitative
Observations
Difference from
previous day
0
Transpiration:
One of the reasons that even wet summers can still end in drought is the efficiency of plants at
moving water from the ground to their upper reaches where it evaporates from the surface of the
foliage. The process is called transpiration and it's essential for moving water to all parts of
plants, even to the tops of the tallest trees. It’s how plants contribute to the water cycle! The
experiment with a stick of celery reveals that this happens through special tubes, called xylems,
which take up the food coloring (or water in the plant).
The process is accelerated by evaporation from the celery leaves and you can make it go even
faster by using a hairdryer on the leaves. Try this at home: Compare the rate at which the color
is taken up between three celery sticks: one with no leaves, one with leaves, and one with leaves
applying a hairdryer. Using the hairdryer simulates a warm, windy summer's day when water in
the ground from a recent downpour can soon find itself being transpired back into the
atmosphere.
You can imagine with the tallest trees that each water-carrying xylem contains a continuous, thin
column of water over a hundred feet in length and reaching from the roots to the uppermost
leaves. The effect of evaporation at the top of the tree literally pulls this column of water up the
tree. The ability of these thin columns of water to be pulled in this way – without breaking – is
attributed to the special forces between the water molecules in the liquid; this is called capillary
action.
On the attached sheet of paper write up how you would set up this experiment. Include all
necessary information:
problem
hypothesis
materials
procedure
data collection tables/graph
conclusion
2-3 analysis questions
possible errors
You may perform this experiment at home (comparing the three (3) celery stalks) and have your
parent sign your lab report verifying that you completed this experiment to receive some extra
credit.
Capillary Action Lab Sheet
Problem:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Hypothesis:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Materials:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Procedure:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Data collection tables/graph:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________