Plant & Animal Reproduction · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

How Plants and Animals Make More of Their Kind

Science · Ecosystems & Habitats · ages 9-10
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which of these is an example of asexual reproduction in plants?

    • A bee carrying pollen to a flower
    • A seed sprouting after fertilisation
    • A strawberry plant growing from a runner

  2. What happens right after pollen reaches a flower's egg cell?

    • The flower wilts
    • Fertilisation happens
    • The pollen turns into a seed by itself

  3. Birds hatch from eggs, but most mammals are born live.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A gardener wants a new tulip plant without waiting for a seed. What could she use?

    • A pollen grain
    • A frog egg
    • A bulb

  5. Pollen lands on a flower, then ____, then a seed forms. What goes in the blank?

    Pollen lands?Seed forms
    • A runner grows
    • Asexual reproduction
    • Fertilisation

  6. Why do frogs usually lay many eggs at once, while a cat has just a few kittens?

    • Cats cannot make more than a few babies in total
    • Eggs laid outside the body face more danger, so more are laid to make sure some survive
    • Frog eggs need less food than mammal babies

  7. A turtle lays 80 eggs on a beach and swims away. An elephant gives birth to one calf and cares for it for years. Which idea explains this difference?

    • Turtles are asexual and elephants are sexual
    • Egg-laying animals often produce many young with little care; live-bearing animals often produce fewer young with more care
    • Elephants cannot lay eggs so they have no offspring at all

  8. Milo says, 'Cuttings are a type of sexual reproduction because a new plant appears.' What is wrong with his idea?

    • Cuttings only work on animals, not plants
    • Milo is right, cuttings are sexual reproduction
    • Cuttings make a plant without pollen or seeds, so it is asexual reproduction
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

How Plants and Animals Make More of Their Kind W1-mt_yNWt3GQBNp-s1

  1. A strawberry plant growing from a runner · A runner is a stem that grows a new plant without any seed. That makes it asexual reproduction.
  2. Fertilisation happens · The pollen joins with the egg cell. That joining is called fertilisation, and it starts a new seed.
  3. True · Birds and frogs lay eggs; most mammals give birth to live babies that grew inside the mother.
  4. A bulb · Tulips can grow from bulbs, underground parts that sprout into a new plant without needing a seed.
  5. Fertilisation · Between pollen landing and a seed forming, the pollen and egg cell must join. That step is fertilisation.
  6. Eggs laid outside the body face more danger, so more are laid to make sure some survive · Eggs left outside the body can be eaten or damaged, so laying many eggs increases the chance some hatch and survive.
  7. Egg-laying animals often produce many young with little care; live-bearing animals often produce fewer young with more care · Animals that lay eggs outside their body often produce many, since fewer survive. Live-bearing animals usually have fewer babies but protect them longer.
  8. Cuttings make a plant without pollen or seeds, so it is asexual reproduction · Sexual reproduction needs pollen and fertilisation to make seeds. A cutting grows into a new plant without any of that, so it is asexual reproduction.
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