Biology · Professor Darwin

Every card in Reproduction, Year 8: animals and flowering plants

The whole deck, in order — so you can read it through before your child ever sees it.

1 KS3-BIOL-REP-0037

Reproduction that needs two parents and the joining of two gametes

Sexual reproduction

HintThe offspring are a mix of both parents.

WhyA male gamete and a female gamete fuse at fertilisation, so each offspring gets half of its genetic information from each parent.

2 KS3-BIOL-REP-0038

Reproduction from a single parent, with no gametes involved

Asexual reproduction

HintThe offspring are identical copies of the parent.

WhyBacteria dividing in two, a potato growing from a tuber and a spider plant making plantlets are all examples.

3 KS3-BIOL-REP-0039

A strawberry plant sends out runners that take root and grow into new plants. Is this sexual or asexual reproduction?

Asexual

HintCount how many parents are involved.

WhyThere is one parent, no flowers are involved and nothing is fertilised. The new plants are genetically the same as the parent.

4 KS3-BIOL-REP-0040

Offspring from asexual reproduction are genetically identical to their parent. What are such offspring called?

Clones

HintNews stories have used this word for a famous copied sheep.

WhyWith only one parent and no mixing, every offspring carries exactly the same genetic information as the parent.

5 KS3-BIOL-REP-0041

Why do offspring from sexual reproduction differ from both of their parents?

They inherit a mix of genes from two parents

HintHalf of the instructions are supplied by each side.

WhyEach gamete carries half of one parent's genetic information. Fertilisation combines two halves into a set that neither parent had.

6 KS3-BIOL-REP-0042

The pair of human organs where sperm cells are made

The testes

HintThey hang outside the body, where it is slightly cooler.

WhySperm are made continuously from puberty onwards. The slightly lower temperature outside the body cavity suits their production.

7 KS3-BIOL-REP-0043

A sperm cell has a long tail. What is the tail for?

Swimming to the egg

HintFor its size, this cell has a very long way to travel.

WhyThe tail lashes from side to side to drive the sperm forward. It is one of the features that make the sperm a specialised cell.

8 KS3-BIOL-REP-0044

A flower has large, bright, scented petals and makes nectar. Is it pollinated by wind or by insects?

Insects

HintAsk who the colour and scent are meant to attract.

WhyColour, scent and nectar are advertisements and rewards. An insect visiting for the nectar picks up pollen and carries it to the next flower.

9 KS3-BIOL-REP-0045

A grass flower has no petals, and its anthers dangle outside in the open air. How is it pollinated?

By the wind

HintIts pollen is light, dry and made in huge amounts.

WhyWith nothing to attract animals, the plant releases clouds of light pollen and relies on some of it landing on another flower's feathery stigma.

10 KS3-BIOL-REP-0046

A burdock seed head is covered in tiny hooks. How are its seeds dispersed?

By catching on animal fur

HintThe inventor of Velcro copied it.

WhyThe hooks cling to a passing animal and the seeds are carried away, dropping off far from the parent plant where there is less competition.

Keep what you learn

Here, nothing is saved. In your child’s own sky every card is scheduled — it comes back just before they’d forget it — and the professor who wrote it is one tap away.