Name: Shah Sadid Date: 5/23
Student Exploration: Flower Pollination
Vocabulary: anther, cross-pollination, filament, fruit, ovary, ovules, petal, pistil, pollen, pollen
tube, pollination, self-pollination, sepal, stamen, stigma, style
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
1. How do insects help a plant to reproduce?
Insects help plants by moving pollen which helps them make seeds
2. Apples, oranges, and watermelons are all examples of fruits. How are they all alike?
Because they grow from flowers and have seeds
3. Based on your answer to question 2, do you think that a pumpkin is a fruit? How about
broccoli? Yes a pumpkin is a fruit. No broccoli is a vegetable
Gizmo Warm-up
Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the male
part of a flower, called the stamen, to the female part of a
flower, which is called the pistil. This fertilizes the female
flower and enables it to produce seeds and fruit. In the
Flower Pollination Gizmo, you will explore how this process
works.
1. On the POLLINATION tab, check that Self-pollination
is selected. How many flowers do you see? 1
Notice the different parts of the flower. The stigma is a sticky surface at the top of the
female pistil. The male stamen consists of a long filament and a pollen-producing anther.
2. Select Cross-pollination. How many flowers do you see now? 2
3. How do you think cross-pollination may be different from self-pollination?
I think cross pollination is different because it is the transfer of one flower to another
to a different plant while self pollination is the transfer of pollen from the same flower
to another of the same plant.
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Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity A: Select the POLLINATION tab.
Pollination Click Self-pollination.
Click Start over.
Question: How are self-pollination and cross-pollination the same and how are they
different?
1. Observe: Follow the directions in the Gizmo to observe the steps of self-pollination. In your
own words describe what happens in each step.
grains of pollen stick to the stigma
1
the pollen tubes grow from the pollen grains to the ovules
2
Ovules are fertilized by the sperm cells
3
The petals on the flower fall off
4
The fertilized ovules turn into seeds and grows into fruit
5
2. Think about it: Read the description of the last step carefully. Why do you think plants
surround the seeds with a yummy fruit?
I think plants surround the seeds with fruit because they want to protect the seeds so
they can keep reproducing once the fruit has been eaten
3. Observe: Click Start over, then click Cross-pollination. Follow the directions to observe
the steps of cross-pollination. How is cross-pollination different from self-pollination?
The only difference between the process of self-pollination and cross-pollination is
that pollen grains move from one plant to another
4. Extend your thinking: In cross-pollination, pollen grains must get from one flower to another.
What are some ways that this might happen? Discuss your answer with your teacher and
classmates.
I think pollen grains get from one flower to another by the pollinators such as insects
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Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready:
Select the IDENTIFICATION tab.
Flower parts and Click Start over.
pollination Check Show information.
Goals: Identify the parts of the flower and describe the function of each.
1. Complete the diagram: Drag the ten listed flower parts to the blanks in the diagram. When a
part is labeled correctly, information about the part appears below.
When your diagram is complete, click the camera icon at upper right to take a snapshot.
You can then paste the snapshot into a blank word-processing document.
2. Test yourself: Uncheck Show information. For each flower part below, write the letter of the
correct description. Use the Gizmo to check your answers.
___B___ Anther A. A small leaf that protects the flower before it blooms
___J___ Filament B. They contain pollen
___L___ Ovary C. Tiny grains that contain sperm cells
___H___ Ovules D. The male part of the flower
___I___ Petal E. The part of the pistil between the stigma and the ovary
___G___ Pistil F. They grow from a pollen grain to an ovule
___C___ Pollen G. The female part of the flower
___F___ Pollen tube H. They contain the egg cells and develop into seeds
___A___ Sepal I. A part of the plant that attracts insects
___D___ Stamen J. A stalk that supports the anther
___K___ Stigma K. The sticky top of the pistil
___E___ Style L. The part of the pistil that contains the ovules
3. Make connections: How might having the anther atop a tall filament make it more likely that
plants will be pollinated?
Having an anther on a tall filament makes it more likely for plants to be pollinated
because it gets the pollen grains up higher which will make it more likely for a pollinator
to go to them
4. Think and discuss: In some plants, the pistils don’t form until a few days after the stamens
do. How might this keep a plant from self-pollinating?
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When the stamens mature first, the pollen will be dispersed throughout insects and
the wind, but by the time the pistil is formed, there is no pollen left in the flower to land
on
the stigma
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