Year 3 Science · The life cycle of a flowering plant · Lesson 4.2

Year 3 Science: Flowers and pollination

Part of the Year 3 Science the life cycle of a flowering plant chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

4.2

Flowers and pollination

Year 3
Explore the part that flowers play in the life cycle: the male and female parts, and pollination by insects and by the wind

Story. Noah and Ali watch a bean plant in the school garden. A bee lands on one of the flowers and crawls inside. Ali asks, “Why does it go in?” Noah says, “It is looking for something sweet. And look at its back: it is covered in yellow dust.”

A flower has a few main parts that work together in the life cycle:

the petals, which are often bright and coloured, and sometimes scented. They help to attract insects;
the male part, which makes pollen. Pollen is often a yellow powder;
the female part, in the centre of the flower. Seeds form in its base after pollination.

Pollination is the moving of pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part of a flower. The pollen can move to a flower on the same plant, or to a flower on another plant of the same kind.

Many flowers are pollinated by insects, such as bees, butterflies and hoverflies. An insect visits a flower to feed on nectar, which is a sweet liquid made by the flower. As it feeds, pollen sticks to its body and is carried to the next flower.

Some plants, such as grasses, are pollinated by the wind. Their flowers are often small and plain, and they make lots of light pollen, which the wind can blow to other flowers.

A flower with petals, a male part that makes pollen, a female part where seeds form, and a stem.

A bee carries pollen from flower 1 to flower 2.

Key ideas

Pollination is the moving of pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part.
Insects, such as bees, carry pollen from flower to flower when they feed on nectar.
Wind-pollinated flowers are often small and plain, and make lots of light pollen.
Petals are often bright and sometimes scented, which helps to attract insects.

Worked example 4.2.1

Which part of a flower is often bright and scented, and helps to attract insects? Write the part.

Method. Think about the part of the flower that is coloured.

Read the description. The part that is bright, coloured and sometimes scented is the one that attracts insects.
bright and scented
Name the part. That part is the petals.
petals
Write the answer.
petals

Check. Petals help to attract insects. ✓

Watch out. The male part and the female part make pollen and seeds. They do not attract insects with colour.

Worked example 4.2.2

Pollen moves from the male part of one flower to the female part of another. What is this called? Write the word.

Method. Think about the word for moving pollen.

Read the description. The moving of pollen from the male part to the female part is one process.
moving pollen
Name the process. The process is called pollination.
pollination
Write the answer.
pollination

Check. Pollination is the moving of pollen. ✓

Worked example 4.2.3

A bee carries pollen from one flower to another. Is this insect pollination or wind pollination? Write insect or wind.

Method. Think about what carries the pollen.

Read the description. A bee is an insect, and it carries the pollen.
bee carries
Name the type. So this is insect pollination.
insect
Write the answer.
insect

Check. Insects carry pollen when they feed on nectar. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: pollination is not the same as a seed. Pollination only moves the pollen to the female part. Seeds form later, after pollination has happened.

Try it at home or school (with a grown-up). With a grown-up, sit still in a sunny flower bed or garden, at a safe distance from the flowers and any nests. Watch for five minutes. Tally each kind of insect that lands on a flower: bee, butterfly or fly. Do not touch any insect. Wash your hands afterwards.

Exam tip

Grown-up tip. Ask: “Which insects came to the flowers? What were they doing?” Let your child tally each kind of insect in a simple table.

Exercise 4B Flowers and pollination

FWhich part of a flower makes pollen? Write the part.

Done

FWhich part of a flower is in its centre, and seeds form in its base? Write the part.

Done

FFill in the gaps.

(a)Moving pollen from the male part to the female part is called ___.

(b)A sweet liquid that insects feed on from a flower is called ___.

Done

FIn the story, which insect visits the bean flower? Write the insect.

Done

FLook at the pollination picture. Which flower does the pollen come from? Write 1 or 2.

Done

PSThe table shows the insects that visited a flower bed in 10 minutes. How many more visits did the bee make than the hoverfly? Write the number.

Insect	Visits in 10 minutes
bee	14
hoverfly	6
butterfly	3

Done

PSUse the same table. How many insect visits were there in all? Write the number.

Insect	Visits in 10 minutes
bee	14
hoverfly	6
butterfly	3

Done

PSUse the same table. Which insect visited the flowers the most? Write its name.

Insect	Visits in 10 minutes
bee	14
hoverfly	6
butterfly	3

Done

PSWorking scientifically. Predict: a plant has small, plain flowers with no bright petals, and no insects visit them. Which kind of pollination is most likely? Write insect or wind.

Done

RExplain in one sentence how a bee helps a bean plant to make seeds.

Done

RSam says wind-pollinated flowers need bright petals to attract the wind. Is Sam right? Write no, and give one reason.

Done