cucumber/carrot - ?/? (Nov/11/2005 )

hi...


i noticed that when making salad, carrot slices sink to the bottom of a container of water, while cucumber slices don't..............

i think this is related to xylem and phloem....


who can explain this for me?

Oh.....

you don't think perhaps density is the more relevent property?

I don't know it for sure, but I believe that's because cucumber has a higher water content...

Hi

it's very simple, and that your thinking is correct. carrot is a type of root and it has conducting ducts like xylem and phloem with hard tissue. But in cucumber it's a product( Fruit) and it is a light weigt tissue fruit. It also contains that same ducts for water and other materials conduction.

It may satisfy you

ok

you mean that cucumber has also xylem and phloem but with lese density than carrot. right?

Sure a cucumber has phloem and xylem. But it is not as densly packed as in a carrot. You can squish a cucumber, but you cant do that to a carrot (well maybe if you were really strong).

I wonder if fruits float and vegetables sink.
No, lettuce leaves floats, but I bet if you put a head of lettuce in water it would sink. But you know, I can't think of a fruit that sinks off the top of my head... well maybe blueberries and currants because they are so small.

Apples float... bobbing for apples and all that.

Avacado, apple, banana etc all sink, while passionfruit , coconut float!!!
Try to buy many different type of fruit and throw them into the swimming pool to see whether they float or sink!!!!