Flowering Plant Life Cycle: Pollination and Seed Dispersal — Answers
Answer sheet with model answers and success criteria for the Year 7 living things & life cycles worksheet.
Success TutoringWorksheetsAnswer sheetYear 7 · Science · Living Things & Life CyclesFlowering Plant Life Cycle: Pollination and Seed Dispersal — Answers
Part A: Flowers and pollination
Read the passage, then answer the questions.
Flowers are where flowering plants make seeds. The stamen is the male part: its anther makes powdery pollen. The carpel (pistil) is the female part: it has a sticky stigma on top and an ovary at the bottom containing ovules.
Pollination happens when pollen is carried from an anther to a stigma. Many plants are pollinated by animals such as bees, butterflies, birds and bats, which are attracted by colourful petals, scent and nectar. Other plants are pollinated by the wind.
After pollination, a tube grows from the pollen grain down to an ovule. Fertilisation happens when the male and female cells join. The ovule then grows into a seed, and the ovary often grows into a fruit around it.
- petals
- anther
- stigma
- ovary
- sepals
- contains ovules that become seeds
- makes pollen
- protect the flower while it is a bud
- brightly coloured parts that attract insects and birds
- sticky tip that catches pollen
Answer: petals → brightly coloured parts that attract insects and birds; anther → makes pollen; stigma → sticky tip that catches pollen; ovary → contains ovules that become seeds; sepals → protect the flower while it is a bud
- Awhen a seed starts to grow
- Bwhen pollen moves from an anther to a stigma
- Cwhen fruit falls from a tree
- Dwhen leaves make food
Answer: when pollen moves from an anther to a stigma
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male part (anther) to the female part (stigma).
- Ato feed the plant's roots
- Bto attract animals such as bees, which carry pollen between flowers
- Cto keep the flower warm
- Dto make the petals heavier
Answer: to attract animals such as bees, which carry pollen between flowers
Animals visit for nectar and get pollen stuck to their bodies, then carry it to the next flower.
- Aa petal
- Ba seed
- Cpollen
- Da leaf
Answer: a seed
The fertilised ovule develops into a seed, and the ovary around it often becomes a fruit.
- Aby bees
- Bby birds
- Cby the wind
- Dby bats
Answer: by the wind
Wind-pollinated flowers do not need to attract animals. They make large amounts of light pollen that blows away.
Part B: Seeds on the move
Read the passage, then answer the questions.
Seed dispersal means spreading seeds away from the parent plant. Seeds can be carried by wind, water or animals, or flung out when a pod bursts open.
When a seed lands somewhere with enough water, warmth and oxygen, it can germinate: a root grows down and a shoot grows up. The young plant (seedling) grows into an adult plant that makes its own flowers, and the cycle starts again.
- dandelion seeds with fluffy parachutes
- burrs with tiny hooks
- coconuts
- pea pods that dry and split open
- berries
- eaten by animals and passed out in their droppings
- floating on water
- sticking to animal fur
- wind
- bursting open and flinging seeds
Answer: dandelion seeds with fluffy parachutes → wind; burrs with tiny hooks → sticking to animal fur; coconuts → floating on water; pea pods that dry and split open → bursting open and flinging seeds; berries → eaten by animals and passed out in their droppings
Answer: True
Seeds that land far away have a better chance of getting what they need to grow.
Answer: False
Most seeds need water, warmth and oxygen to germinate. Many germinate underground in the dark, using food stored in the seed.
Answer: True
After fertilisation the ovary swells into a fruit that protects the seeds and can help disperse them.
Answer: germination
Part C: Putting it together
Answer: seed → germination → seedling → adult plant with flowers → pollination → fertilisation → seed (forms in fruit) → seed dispersal (and the cycle repeats)
Answer: Fewer bees means less pollen is carried between flowers, so fewer flowers are pollinated and fertilised, and fewer seeds form.
Answer: The wing makes it spin and fall slowly, so the wind can carry it further from the parent tree.
Model answer: My flower is bright red, because birds see red well and are attracted to it. It is shaped like a long tube with lots of nectar at the bottom, so the bird must push its beak deep inside to reach the nectar. Its anthers and stigma stick out of the top of the tube, so pollen brushes onto the bird's head and is carried to the stigma of the next flower it visits. Its stem is strong so a bird can perch nearby.
Success criteria:
- At least three features described
- Each feature linked to attracting birds or transferring pollen
- Correct use of terms such as nectar, pollen, anther and stigma
Marking tips
- Give credit for correct method even when the final answer slips — the working shows where the thinking went right.
- For open-ended tasks, use the success criteria as a checklist rather than looking for one "right" answer.
- Celebrate what went well first, then pick one thing to work on next.