Sexual reproduction in plants

A plant produces flowers in which the anthers ripen and drop away before the stigma has finished developing. What will this stop?

May/June 2015

Immediately after the pollen tube has entered which structure does a male gamete leave the pollen tube?

May/June 2015

What is always necessary for seeds to start germinating?

May/June 2015

Describe the external features of one named example of a fruit or seed dispersed by wind. State why this dispersal method is important to the plant.

May/June 2015

Fig. 2.1 presents a plant known as the ghost plant together with an enlarged drawing of its flower. It is referred to as a ghost plant because it is usually completely white in colour. The cells of the ghost plant do not contain chloroplasts.

May/June 2015

For a named fruit or seed, describe the adaptations that make animal dispersal possible.

May/June 2015

Which statements give a description of self-pollination?

May/June 2016

Dry mass is the total mass of all chemicals in an organism apart from water. Fig. 2.1 shows the stages of seed germination. Fig. 2.1 also shows how the plant’s dry mass changes during these germination stages.

May/June 2016

The grape plant bears numerous flowers gathered in clusters on each flowering head. Fig. 1.1 illustrates the layout of one fully developed grape flower.

May/June 2016

Before a seed can germinate, it needs specific conditions. Name these conditions and, for each one, explain why it is important in germination.

May/June 2016

The diagram shows a flower sectioned into two halves. Which two parts of the flower produce haploid gametes?

May/June 2017

The diagram depicts a cross-section of a plum fruit. Which structure has a genotype that differs from the other three?

May/June 2017

Fig. 3.1 shows flowers of the same plant species at two different developmental stages, D and E.

May/June 2017

Fig. 7.1 shows a cross-section through a fruit.

May/June 2017

The diagram illustrates the stigma, style and ovary of a flower. In which part does fertilisation occur?

May/June 2018

The diagram illustrates a cross-section of a flower. Which statement is true?

May/June 2018

The diagram illustrates the fruit of a plant.

May/June 2018

The diagrams depict the bud of an insect-pollinated flower together with a magnified transverse section of that same flower bud. The transverse section was cut at the point marked by the dotted line.

May/June 2018

After the pollen tube has entered which structure does a male gamete leave it?

May/June 2019

After the pollen tube has entered which structure does a male gamete leave the pollen tube?

May/June 2019

The diagram illustrates a seed just after planting.

May/June 2019

The diagram illustrates different stages in the life cycle of this same plant.

May/June 2019

The diagram shows a cross-section of a bean seed. Identify the labelled part that is the testa.

May/June 2022

The diagram shows the parts of a flower. Which labelled part will become a seed after fertilisation?

May/June 2023

What role do the sepals of most flowers play?

May/June 2023

The diagram illustrates the life cycle of one species of plant. In which stage does meiosis (reduction division) take place?

May/June 2024

State one advantage of sexual reproduction in plants.

May/June 2024

The table gives some characteristics of four flowers, A, B, C and D. Which flower is most likely to be pollinated by wind?

May/June 2024

This seaweed inhabits shallow waters near the coast. The stages of its life cycle are illustrated. At which points in its life cycle are its cells diploid?

May/June 2024

The diagram illustrates a carpel following pollination. Pollen grains from two different species of flower have landed on the stigma. What accounts for the different germination of the two kinds of pollen grains shown?

May/June 2024

A student carried out an investigation into the flower’s structure and nutrient content. Fig. 1.1 shows the flower. Some petals have been removed so that the internal arrangement can be seen clearly.

May/June 2024

The diagrams illustrate the fruits of some plants. Which fruit disperses its seeds by wind?

May/June 2025

Sycamore trees ($Acer\ pseudoplatanus$) occur across much of Europe.

May/June 2025

A pea seed is placed in a pot of soil and kept under the ideal conditions needed for germination. The pot is then left in a dark room for 10 days. Fig. 1.1 shows how the germinating seed appears on different days.

May/June 2025

The diagram illustrates peas developing on the plant. What are the structures that have been labelled?

Oct/Nov 2015

What travels down a pollen tube after pollination?

Oct/Nov 2015

What is transported through a pollen tube following pollination?

Oct/Nov 2015

The diagram illustrates a broad bean seed. A section has been removed to reveal its internal structure. Which structures together form the complete embryo?

Oct/Nov 2015

Fig. 1.1 shows a flower carpel with two pollen grains resting on its top.

Oct/Nov 2015

The diagram illustrates the formation of a pollen tube and its passage into the ovule. Which structure develops into the testa after fertilisation?

Oct/Nov 2016

The diagram illustrates the development of a pollen tube and its entry into the ovule. Which structure develops into the testa after fertilisation?

Oct/Nov 2016

The diagram shows a broad bean seedling. Structure X developed from which part of the seed?

Oct/Nov 2016

Fig. 2.1 presents enlarged pollen grains from two plant species, A and B.

Oct/Nov 2016

The diagram displays the components of a flower. On which part must pollen land in order to pollinate the flower?

Oct/Nov 2017

During seed germination, which structure emerges first above the surface of the soil?

Oct/Nov 2017

What conditions are required for most seeds to germinate?

Oct/Nov 2017

Fig. 5.1 shows the fruits of two plants, A and B. Both fruits are dispersed by animals.

Oct/Nov 2017

The diagram illustrates a cross-section of a flower. What are the names of the labelled structures?

Oct/Nov 2018

Four dishes each contain some seeds under different conditions, as shown in the table. In which dish will the seeds germinate the fastest?

Oct/Nov 2018

State two male parts found in a flower.

Oct/Nov 2018

The diagram shows a seed (Fig. 1) together with a plant that is developing from it (Fig. 2).

Oct/Nov 2018

The diagram presents a pollen grain with a pollen tube extending from it. Pollen grains taken from the same plant species were added to sucrose solutions of varied concentrations and left there for a set period. Once that period had passed, the pollen grains and tubes were viewed under a microscope. For each sucrose concentration, the observations recorded were: • how many pollen grains had germinated to form a pollen tube, • the length of every pollen tube. The table gives the findings from the investigation.

Oct/Nov 2018

The diagram illustrates the formation of a pollen tube and how it enters the ovule. Which structure becomes the testa after fertilisation?

Oct/Nov 2019

The diagram illustrates the life cycle of a plant species. During which stage does meiosis (reduction division) take place?

Oct/Nov 2019

Which structure houses the ovary in a flowering plant?

Oct/Nov 2019

The diagram illustrates a part of a flower. In which part are the male gametes produced?

Oct/Nov 2020

Which condition is not essential for seed germination?

Oct/Nov 2020

The diagram depicts a flower split in two. Which two parts of the flower make haploid gametes?

Oct/Nov 2020

The diagram shows a cross-section of a non-endospermic seed. Which structures grow into the mature plant?

Oct/Nov 2020

The flow chart outlines the stages in the life cycle of a flowering plant.

Oct/Nov 2020

The diagram illustrates a cross-section of an insect-pollinated flower.

Oct/Nov 2021

The diagram illustrates bees visiting a flowering plant species with tall spikes of flowers. In the flowers at the base of the spike, the carpels are mature whereas the anthers are still immature. In the flowers at the top of the spike, the anthers are mature whereas the carpels are still immature. Which statements are correct?

Oct/Nov 2022

The diagram illustrates a cross-section of a dicotyledonous seed. Which structure supplies most of the nutrients required for the seed’s growth after germination?

Oct/Nov 2022

The diagram shows a cross-section of a flower. In which part does fertilisation happen?

Oct/Nov 2022

The picture shows a tomato plant fruit that has been sliced in two so the parts marked P and Q can be seen.

Oct/Nov 2022

During plant reproduction, these processes happen. What is the correct sequence in which they occur?

Oct/Nov 2023

Which flower structure makes pollen?

Oct/Nov 2023

Fig. 2.1 presents the life cycle of the plant Coffea arabica. This plant makes seeds that are used to produce coffee.

Oct/Nov 2023

Which diagram shows the correct match between each type of flower and its features?

Oct/Nov 2024

The seeds of certain plants usually do not germinate until they have remained in the soil for several months. Seeds were taken from a plant of this kind. Some students wanted to investigate whether a chemical in the testa was stopping germination. The seeds were split into three groups, as outlined. Only the seeds in group 2 germinated. What would be the most sensible next step in this experiment?

Oct/Nov 2024

The castor oil plant is a flowering plant that produces seeds. Each seed has an extra structure called an oil body, which contains oil.

Oct/Nov 2024

Fig. 3.1 illustrates the entire one-seeded fruit from a dandelion flower. One dandelion flowerhead may form as many as 200 of these one-seeded fruits. The mass of one fruit is $0.0005\,\text{g}$.

Oct/Nov 2024

Which part of the flower later becomes a fruit?

Oct/Nov 2025