| Capillary action |
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Interplay of adhesive and cohesive forces to draw water upward through narrow tubes is called capillary action. Cohesion due to hydrogen bonding contributes to the transport of water and dissolved nutrients against gravity in plants. Water from the roots reaches the leaves through a network of water-conducting cells. As water evaporates from a leaf, hydrogen bonds cause water molecules leaving the veins to tug on molecules farther down, and the upward pull is transmitted through the water-conducting cells all the way down to the roots.
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Water transport in plants: Because of Cohesion and adhesion properties, the tallest trees can transport water more than 100 meters upward. |
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