These eight original questions follow the chain in flowering-plant reproduction. Try each before opening the answer.
Questions
Q1. Name the part of a flower that produces pollen and the part that receives it.
Answer
The anther produces pollen, and the stigma receives it.
Q2. A flower has its ovary removed. Which stage can no longer happen, and why?
Answer
Seed and fruit formation cannot happen, because the ovary holds the ovules and becomes the fruit. The flower could still produce pollen from its anthers.
Q3. Give two features of a wind-pollinated flower and a reason for each.
Answer
Large, feathery stigma, to catch light pollen from the air. Anthers hanging outside, so the wind can blow the pollen away. (Small dull petals, because they do not need to attract insects, is also correct.)
Q4. Why does a wind-pollinated plant produce a much larger amount of pollen than an insect-pollinated plant?
Answer
Wind carries pollen at random, so most grains never reach a stigma. A large amount raises the chance that some do.
Q5. Distinguish pollination from fertilisation.
Answer
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther to a stigma. Fertilisation is the fusion of a male nucleus with a female nucleus, and it occurs later inside the ovule.
Q6. Describe the two fusions in double fertilisation.
Answer
One male nucleus fuses with the egg cell to form a diploid zygote. The other fuses with the two polar nuclei to form a triploid endosperm nucleus.
Q7. A plant has 16 chromosomes in its body cells. Give the chromosome number of its zygote and endosperm nucleus.
Answer
Each gamete nucleus has 8 chromosomes. The zygote has 8 + 8 = 16. The endosperm nucleus has 8 + 8 + 8 = 24.
Q8. An ovary has four ovules and three are fertilised. State the number of seeds and what the ovary becomes.
Answer
Three seeds form, one per fertilised ovule, and the ovary becomes the fruit.
If you got these wrong
Q1 and Q2 point to flower structures and roles. Q3 and Q4 need comparing pollination mechanisms.
Q5 to Q7 use explaining double fertilisation. Q8 links to tracing seed and fruit development.
Use the timed practice builder to repeat questions and the mistake log to record slips. If you want a teacher to hear your explanations, see online one-to-one Biology tuition.