Unit A Reproduction

3A
Investigation
Examining Flowers
As you learned in Section 3.3, many flowering plants
are hermaphrodites. They contain both male and
female reproductive organs on the same plant.
There are many different types of flowers, with
different colours and fragrances. Pollination is most
often accomplished by animals, such as insects, birds,
and bats. Animals are attracted to flowers by the
colour, pattern, or fragrance. They land in the flower
to collect nectar and, at the same time, inadvertently
pick up pollen. When the animals move on to the
next flower in search of more nectar, they deposit
some of the pollen onto the female part the flower.
Pollination is also accomplished by the wind.
Wind-carried pollen often bothers people with
asthma and allergies.
Question
Are the reproductive structures of all flowers the same?
Prediction
Predict any similarities or differences you may
observe in the structures of two different flowers.
INQUIRY SKILLS
Questioning
Hypothesizing
Predicting
Planning
Conducting
Recording
Analyzing
Evaluating
Synthesizing
Communicating
Materials
• disposable gloves and masks (if needed)
• variety of flowers
• magnifier (lens or loupe) or dissecting microscope
• forceps
• dissecting scissors
• scalpel
Be careful using the scissors and scalpel. Cut on your
desk, not in your hand. If you have allergies to pollen,
wear a disposable mask and gloves.
Procedure
1. Review the diagram of a flower (Figure 1).
Re-read the descriptions of the various
structures on page 85. Your flowers may
look different than the diagram.
Experimental Design
In this investigation, you will examine and
compare the structures involved in sexual
reproduction in several different flowers.
anther
stamen
filament
petal
stigma
pistil
style
sepal
ovary
Figure 1 A typical flower
98 Unit A Reproduction
NEL