Flowers reproduce sexually !?!
Hundreds of millions of years ago, the Earth was dominated by ferns and conifers. Then, about 150 million years ago, the first flowering plants appeared on the scene. Now, flowering plants make up about 90% of all living plant species, including most food crops. But, the reasons behind the incredible success and diversity of flowering plants have been debated for centuries.
[CER] AGREE or DISAGREE? The loss of bee populations around the world is not a problem.
Make a claim. Provide your evidence and justify your reasoning. |
/ iI / Level Up!
During this lesson you will learn more about how organisms grow and develop.
✎Notes:
- Organisms reproduce, either sexually or asexually, and transfer their genetic information to their offspring.
- Animals engage in characteristic behaviors that increase the odds of reproduction.
- Plants reproduce in a variety of ways, sometimes depending on animal behavior and specialized features (such as attractively colored flowers) for reproduction.
- Plant growth can continue throughout the plant’s life through production of plant matter in photosynthesis.
- Genetic factors as well as local conditions affect the size of the adult plant.
- The growth of an animal is controlled by genetic factors, food intake, and interactions with other organisms, and each species has a typical adult size range.
/ iiI / Investigate
/ IV / Reflection Options
EXPERT [+5 points]
Using your research and evidence, evaluate your evidence and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence you used to support your claim including the validity and reliability of the sources, sufficiency of evidence- including relevance, validity, and reliability of the evidence your using to make your claim. What could be some alternative interpretations of your evidence? |
/ V / Knowledge Check
A fruit bat picks up a piece of fruit and then flies it to another location to eat it. If you were stuck in one place and couldn't go anywhere, what would be the best way to move something that is important for the success of your offspring? Plants use a variety of ways to move or disperse their seeds containing their offspring. Some seeds are spread by the wind, such as the fluffy seeds of a dandelion. Other seeds simply drop to the ground close by the parent plant. However, if a plant requires more space, they must grow far apart from each other to survive. Being rooted in place doesn't give many plants the option to move about to spread their seeds to new locations. So, plants have developed specialized plant structures that help seeds chances of finding new homes where they can grow.
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You have eaten one of these specialized plant structures if you've ever eaten fruit. The body of fruit protects the developing seeds from the environment. More importantly, the fruit is full of sugar, nutrients, and minerals animals love so that these creatures will eat them. Animals also find structures of the plant such as bright colors and different flavors, attractive. When a creature eats the fruit, the seeds pass out of the creature's body undigested and unharmed in its feces. And when birds and other animals carry fruit to different habitats, they end up dispersing the seeds far away from the parent plant.
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The Sulawesi fruit bat, for example, which lives in Indonesia eats pollen, nectar, and fruit. When the bat finds a piece of fruit, it may fly away to another location to eat it. As the bat eats the fruit, seeds are dispersed if they are dropped or may pass undigested through the bat's digestive system. So, plant structures such as brightly colored, flavorful, nutritious, and sweet fruits help with seed dispersal and thus increase the survival rate of the plant's species.
✓ MASTERY CHECK
National Research Council 2012. A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13165
This site contains original content that may not be authorized for use by the creator and is legally used under the fair use principles section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1986 (17 U.S. Code § 107)
The official NGSS website. https://www.nextgenscience.org
LS1.B, MS-LS1-4
USE ARGUMENT BASED ON EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE AND SCIENTIFIC REASONING TO SUPPORT AN EXPLANATION FOR HOW CHARACTERISTIC ANIMAL BEHAVIORS AND SPECIALIZED PLANT STRUCTURES AFFECT THE PROBABILITY OF SUCCESSFUL REPRODUCTION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS RESPECTIVELY. (CAUSE AND EFFECT) [MS-LS1-4]
This site contains original content that may not be authorized for use by the creator and is legally used under the fair use principles section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1986 (17 U.S. Code § 107)
The official NGSS website. https://www.nextgenscience.org
LS1.B, MS-LS1-4
USE ARGUMENT BASED ON EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE AND SCIENTIFIC REASONING TO SUPPORT AN EXPLANATION FOR HOW CHARACTERISTIC ANIMAL BEHAVIORS AND SPECIALIZED PLANT STRUCTURES AFFECT THE PROBABILITY OF SUCCESSFUL REPRODUCTION OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS RESPECTIVELY. (CAUSE AND EFFECT) [MS-LS1-4]