Name: Haley Marks-George Date: May 23, 2017

Biology 11 Unit 6 Assignment 1: What is the life cycle of a Simple Plant Virtual Lab

Instructions:
Please complete the What is the Life Cycle of a Simple Plant Virtual Lab.
External Link:
http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/science/virtual_labs/LS10/LS10.html

Read the information and procedures provided in the lab and complete the journal questions
(provided below). Please note you should be answering your questions in detail, by providing
support in the form of data values (external or from the lab) and/or scientific
information/research to explain your statements.

Journal Questions:

1. What is meant by an alteration-of-generations life cycle?

All plants undergo a life cycle that takes them through both haploid and diploid
generations. The multicellular diploid plant structure is called the sporophyte, which
produces spores through meiotic (asexual) division. The multicellular haploid plant
structure is called the gametophyte, which is formed from the spore and gives rise to the
haploid gametes. The fluctuation between these diploid and haploid stages that occurs in
plants is called the alternation of generations. The way in which the alternation of
generations occurs in plants depends on the type of plant. In bryophytes (mosses and
liverworts), the dominant generation is haploid, so that the gametophyte comprises what
we think of as the main plant. The opposite is true for tracheophytes (vascular plants), in
which the diploid generation is dominant and the sporophyte comprises the main plant.

2. What is the main function of the mature gametophyte?

The mature gametophyte grows sex organs that produce ova and sperm. The sperm swim
to the ova and fertilization occurs. Through fertilization, a diploid zygote is formed. It
divides to form a multicellular sporophyte.

3. What is the main function of the mature sporophyte?

The mature sporophyte is what we call the fern. This is where the spores form that are
used to grow the next generation of ferns.

4. Discuss in detail how a fern plant can reproduce both sexually and asexually. You may
want to use or sketch out images to reference your explanation.

The recognizable plants we call ferns are only one step in a bi-generational life cycle. As
flowerless plants, ferns do not bear seeds. Instead, they produce spores typically on the
backs of their leaves, which are called fronds. When the spores mature, they are ejected
from their cases and dispersed by the wind. If they fall on a favorable substrate, they
germinate into second-generation plants called prothalli, which do not resemble their
first-generation predecessors. The prothalli contain male reproductive organs that fertilize
 the female reproductive structures. After successful fertilization, the life cycle is
complete with the production of new fern fronds.

Ferns reproduce asexually by their modified stems, which are called rhizomes. Rhizomes
spread just above or below the soil surface where they form roots on their undersides and
new plants above. Some ferns have clumping forms and others have spreading habits, but
both kinds reproduce by their rhizomes.

5. Based on what you know about fern reproduction, why do you think ferns tend to inhabit
moist environments? What adaptations does it have to this environment?

The sperm need to swim through water in order to get to the eggs, the eggs are housed or
maintained in the gametophyte, and that dependence on water is why ferns are so often
linked to wet habitats. If the sperm do manage to get to an egg, fertilisation occurs and
that is where the two, the sperm and egg come together. That doubles the number of
chromosomes and that gives rise to a whole new typical fern plant again and the cycle
repeats.
Image of your Lab: