Life Science Lesson 10: Flowers and Plant Reproduction

1. Obtain a flower. Closely examine and identify its parts. Draw a picture of the flower, identify and label the parts of its reproductive system.

I did! See pic below.

2. What are the three ways that pollination can occur? Describe each one.

Self-Pollination: Is when a flower's pollen touches it's own stigma.

There are two kinds of cross-pollination: Insect and wind. Insect is when a bee or butterfly carries pollen from one flower to another. Wind is when wind blows pollen to another flower. This probably happens very rarely.

3. Make a list of ten plants that your family eats and decide whether the parts you eat are fruits or seeds or both. Record your resulsts.

Avocado Enlarged Ovary, Fruit

Tomato Enlarged Ovary, Fruit

Carrot Root, Vegetable

Celery Stem, Vegetable

Broccoli Bud, Vegetable

Soybeans Seed, Vegetable

Oranges Enlarged Ovary, Fruit

Potatoes Root, Vegetable

Grapes Enlarged Ovary, Berry

Strawberries Enlarged Ovary, Berry

4b. Press flowers to make stationary, framed wall art, flower prints using paints etc.

I finished my flower press. See below.




EXAM

1. What is the difference between and angiosperm and a gymnosperm. Give 2 examples of each.

Angiosperms are flowers and deciduous trees. They are different from gymnosperms because they can grow flowers and their leaves stop photosynthesizing in fall and winter. A maple or sea daisy is an angiosperm. A coastal redwood or a Japanese fir is a gymnosperm.

2. What does deciduous mean? Give and example of a deciduous plant that you know.

It means they lose their leaves in fall. An example is a Trembling Aspen (see pic of Trembling Aspen below).
3. What are the main parts of a flower? Describe each one in a few words or a sentence. Assume that the flower has both male and female reproductive parts.

Petals are colorful leaves that form a ring around the flower's reproductive parts. Petals attract insects so they can pollinate the flower.

Pistils are female parts that, if pollen touches the top, an egg down inside the pistil is fertilized.

Stamens are male parts. The top bead, called an anther, contains pollen grains. Inside each pollen grain is a sperm cell. *coughFLAGELLUM!!!cough*

4. Name three ways tha ta flower can be pollinated. Why is pollination so important? What do you think would happen if there was no more pollination of flowers on earth?

Self-Pollination: Is when a flower's pollen touches it's own stigma. There are two kinds of cross-pollination: Insect and wind. Insect is when a bee or butterfly carries pollen from one flower to another. Wind is when wind blows pollen to another flower. This probably happens very rarely. Pollination is important because without pollination, no fruit can grow. Most animals would starve.

Without pollination, all the fruit would disappear quickly. The herbivores, with nothing to eat, would starve. The carnivores, with the herbivores gone, would starve too. The humans might stay along a bit, but with fruit gone, there would be a huge economical crash. After all that, the humans would starve. Earth would be perfectly suited for life, but have none except for ocean life. A playground for genetic experiments, if you please.