Question

Be able to describe briefly the path of water from soil through roots into the xylem

Answer 1

Movement of water through the roots:-

The movement of water up the xylem means more water must be drawn in through the roots from the soil. To do this, water passes from root cell to root cell by process called osmosis.  

As water moves into the root hair cell down the concentration gradient (Passive process), the solution inside the root hair cell becomes more dilute. This means that there is now a concentration gradient between the root hair cell and adjacent root cells, so water moves from the root hair cell and into the adjacent cells by osmosis.

This pattern continues until the water reaches the xylem vessel within the root, where it enters the xylem to replace the water which has been drawn up the stem.