Year 5 Science: Comparing reproduction in plants and animals
Part of the Year 5 Science reproduction in plants and animals chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Comparing reproduction in plants and animals
Plants and animals both reproduce. Both produce new living things of their own kind. Some plants make seeds, and some animals make eggs. Some plants can also make new plants without seeds, by runners, plantlets and tubers.
Comparing them helps us see what is the same and what is different:
- a flowering plant makes seeds after pollination and fertilisation; an animal makes young after fertilisation of an egg;
- both plants and animals produce many seeds or young, so that some will survive;
- a runner or a plantlet is a copy of its parent, so it has the same features.
Key ideas
- Plants and animals both reproduce to make new living things of their own kind.
- A flowering plant makes seeds. An animal makes eggs or young.
- Fertilisation is needed to make a seed or a fertilised egg.
- Many plants and animals produce many seeds or young, so that some will survive.
Method. Think about what fertilisation makes.
- Think about fertilisation. Fertilisation makes the ovule grow into a seed.grow into a seed
- Name it. So the answer is seed.seed
- Write the answer. seed
Check. A runner is made without seeds, so it is not made by fertilisation. ✓
Method. Think about how the new plant is made.
- Think about the runner. The new plant grows from part of the parent, without seeds.grows from the parent
- Decide. So the new plant is a copy of its parent.yes
- Write the answer. yes
Check. Runners give plants with the same features. ✓
Method. Read the animal table in section 3.3.
- Read the table. The cat’s young develop inside the mother.inside the mother
- Name the animal. So the answer is cat.cat
- Write the answer. cat
Check. A frog lays its eggs in water. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: a runner is not a seed. A new plant from a runner is made without seeds, and it is a copy of its parent.
Try it (with your teacher or a grown-up). Make a two-column table with your teacher. In one column write what a plant does to reproduce, and in the other what an animal does. Find one thing that is the same, and one thing that is different. Read your table aloud to a friend.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask: “What is the same about plants and animals when they reproduce? What is different?” Let your child explain using the table.
Exercise 3E Comparing reproduction in plants and animals
Method. Read the first paragraph of section 3.5.
- Read the paragraph. Plants and animals both reproduce.both reproduce
- Name the process. So the word is reproduce.reproduce
- Write the answer. reproduce
Check. Reproduction makes new living things of their own kind. ✓
Method. Read the bullet points in section 3.5.
- Read the bullet. A flowering plant makes seeds after pollination and fertilisation.makes seeds
- Name it. So the answer is seed.seed
- Write the answer. seed
Check. The ovule grows into a seed after fertilisation. ✓
Method. Read the bullet points in section 3.5.
- Read the bullet. An animal makes young after fertilisation of an egg.fertilisation of an egg
- Name it. So the word is egg, which is fertilised first.egg
- Write the answer. egg
Check. The fertilised egg develops into the young. ✓
Method. Think about how a runner grows.
- Think about the runner. A runner grows from part of the parent plant, without seeds.without seeds
- Decide. So a runner is not made by fertilisation.no
- Write the answer. no
Check. Runners reproduce without seeds. ✓
Method. Think about what the new plant comes from.
- Think about the source. The new plant grows from part of the parent.part of the parent
- Decide. So it has the same features, and the answer is yes.yes
- Write the answer. yes
Check. A plant from a runner is a copy of its parent. ✓
Method. Read the word in the key ideas for section 3.4.
- Read the key idea. The mean is found by adding the trials and dividing by how many there are.adding and dividing
- Name it. So the average of the five counts is the mean.mean
- Write the answer. mean
Check. The mean of the five counts is 98. ✓
Method. Read the animal table in section 3.3.
- Read the table. The frog and the butterfly both lay their eggs outside the parent.outside the parent
- Name the animals. So the two animals are the frog and the butterfly.frog and butterfly
- Write the answer. frog and butterfly
Check. Blackbirds and cats do not lay eggs outside the parent in this way. ✓
Method. Think about what plants and animals share.
- Think about the process. Plants and animals both reproduce to make new living things of their own kind.their own kind
- Write one thing. Both also make many seeds or young, so that some survive.some survive
- Write the answer. Accept any one of: both make new living things of their own kind; both make many seeds or young so that some survive.
Check. Reproduction is the same life process in both. ✓
Method. Think about the seeds and the young.
- Think about the seeds. A flowering plant makes seeds in flowers.seeds in flowers
- Think about the animals. An animal makes eggs or young that develop into young animals.eggs or young
- Write the answer. Accept any one of: plants make seeds in flowers, but animals make eggs or young; some plants reproduce without seeds, using runners.
Check. The methods are different, but the life process is the same. ✓
Method. Compare how each starts a new plant.
- Think about the runner. A runner grows a copy of the parent without seeds.without seeds
- Think about the seed. A seed comes from fertilisation and can be spread away from the parent.spread away
- Write the answer. Accept any sentence that says a runner grows a copy of the parent without seeds, while a seed comes from fertilisation and can be spread away.
Check. Both ways make new plants, but they start differently. ✓