8Bd – Fertilisation and Dispersal
Fertilisation – How Seeds Form
Paste Picture A (flower with pollen tube) here
• When pollen lands on the stigma, a pollen tube grows down the style to the ovary.
• The male nucleus moves down the tube to reach the ovule.
• The male and female nuclei fuse → this is fertilisation.
• Fertilisation forms a zygote (fertilised egg cell).
• The zygote divides repeatedly (cell division) → forms an embryo.
Seeds and Fruits
Paste Picture C (inside seed diagram) here
Key Notes
• The ovule becomes the seed.
• Inside the seed:
o embryo (tiny new plant)
o food store (starch)
• The ovary becomes the fruit, which protects the seed.
Paste Picture D (nutmeg fruit) here
Seed Dispersal
Why dispersal is important
• Helps seeds grow away from parent plant.
• Reduces competition (light, water, minerals).
• Increases survival chances.
Methods of dispersal
Paste Picture F
• Animals: eat fruits → seeds passed out. The fruits are eaten and when the seeds are egested from the animal
they will be in a different place.
Cocklebur fruits have hooks that trap the fruits in animal fur and so animals carry the fruits away.
• Wind: seeds light and float (dandelion).
Dandelion fruits float in the wind, carrying the seeds away from the parent.
• Water: coconut floats.
Coconut fruits float on water and carry the seeds to new places by water currents.
• Explosion: Himalayan balsam pods burst.
Himalayan balsam spreads its seeds using fruits that explode and fling the seeds away from the parent plant.
8Be – Germination and Growth
What is Germination?
Paste Picture A (seed germination stages) here
• Germination = when a seed starts to grow into a new plant.
• Needs water, oxygen, and warmth.
• First the seeds absorb the water, then root appears, next the shoot, then the first leaves open.
• Water is essential for germination.
• It allows the cells in the embryo to swell up and begin cell division.
• Water also softens the seed coat, making it easier for the embryo to grow through it.
• Water activates enzymes inside the seed.
• These enzymes break down the food store into smaller molecules such as glucose, which the plant uses for
energy and growth.
Respiration During Germination
• The energy for growth comes from respiration.
• Respiration uses oxygen to release energy from glucose.
• It happens in the mitochondria of cells.
Word equation for respiration
glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water (+ energy)
Conditions Needed for Germination
• Seeds need warmth. Chemical reactions (like respiration) happen very slowly if it is too cold.
• If a seed is not germinating, it may still be alive but dormant (inactive).
Dormancy
• Most seeds stay dormant until the right conditions (water, oxygen, warmth) are available.
• Some seeds need to be frozen first before they can germinate.
• This ensures they only grow in spring, when more resources are available.
STOP FROM HERE!!!
Growth after Germination
Paste Picture C (photosynthesis diagram) here
Key Notes
• Leaves grow and start photosynthesis.
• Photosynthesis word equation:
carbon dioxide + water → glucose + oxygen
(in the presence of light and chlorophyll)
• Plants need minerals: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium.
Life Cycle of a Plant
Paste Picture D (life cycle chart: seed → seedling → mature plant → flower → fruit → seed)
Interdependence
Key Notes
• Plants depend on animals for pollination and seed dispersal.
• Animals depend on plants for food.
• This relationship is called interdependence.
8Be – Animals Using Plants
How Animals Use Plants
Paste Picture A (bowerbird nest) here
• Animals use plants for food, shelter, protection, and tools.
• Bowerbirds decorate nests with fruits and flowers to attract females.
• Crested rats chew poisonous tree bark and apply it to fur for protection.
• Some insects use plants as camouflage to hunt or hide.
Why This Matters
• Plants and animals rely on each other → interdependent.
• If one species decreases, others are affected (e.g., fewer bees → fewer seeds formed).