What is the difference between evaporation and transpiration?

What is the difference between evaporation and transpiration?

• A. Evaporation is water loss from surfaces; transpiration is water loss from plant leaves as part of photosynthesis.
• B. Evaporation is plant-based; transpiration is surface evaporation.
• C. They are identical.
• D. Evaporation occurs only at night.

Answer: (A)

Evaporation is water turning into vapor from any surface—soil, a pond, a wet leaf, or any exposed area—driven by heat and air movement. Transpiration is water vapor lost specifically from plant leaves as water is transported from the roots to the leaves and the stomata open for gas exchange, a process linked to photosynthesis. So the difference lies in where the water leaves and how it happens: evaporation is non-biological surface evaporation, while transpiration is a plant-driven leaf process associated with photosynthesis.

Evaporation is water turning into vapor from any surface—soil, a pond, a wet leaf, or any exposed area—driven by heat and air movement. Transpiration is water vapor lost specifically from plant leaves as water is transported from the roots to the leaves and the stomata open for gas exchange, a process linked to photosynthesis. So the difference lies in where the water leaves and how it happens: evaporation is non-biological surface evaporation, while transpiration is a plant-driven leaf process associated with photosynthesis.