Life Cycle of Flowering Plants
Key points to remember for tests and exams.
A. Life Cycle of Flowering Plants
- A flowering plant has 3 stages in its life cycle:
- • Seed
- • Seedling (young plant)
- • Adult plant
- The adult plant produces flowers.
- After fertilisation, flowers develop into fruits.
- Fruits contain seeds, which can grow into new plants.
- Seeds are dispersed away from the parent plant to:
- • Reduce competition for sunlight, water and soil nutrients.
- • Help new plants grow in suitable places.
- • Allow the species to spread to new areas.
B. Germination and Early Growth
- Germination starts when the seed absorbs water.
- The seed leaves provide stored food to the growing root and shoot.
- The mass of the seed leaves decreases as this food is used up.
- The shoot grows true leaves.
- These leaves carry out photosynthesis.
- Once photosynthesis starts, the plant no longer depends on the seed leaves for food.
- Seed leaves: mass decreases over time → stored food is being used.
- Roots and shoots: mass increases → the baby plant is growing.
- Around Day 8, most stored food is used up and the plant becomes fully photosynthetic.
Life Cycle of Flowering Plants – Practice Quiz
Read each question and choose an answer. Click to reveal the correct answer and explanation.
1. Which of the following shows the correct order of stages in the life cycle of a flowering plant?
A. Seed → Adult plant → Seedling B. Seedling → Seed → Adult plant
C. Seed → Seedling → Adult plant D. Adult plant → Seed → Seedling
Answer: C – The correct order is Seed → Seedling → Adult plant.
2. At which stage can a flowering plant produce flowers?
A. Seed B. Seedling C. Adult plant D. Seed leaf stage
Answer: C – Only the adult plant can produce flowers.
3. What must happen to the flower before fruits with seeds can form?
A. Seed dispersal B. Germination
C. Fertilisation D. Photosynthesis
Answer: C – After fertilisation, the flower develops into a fruit containing seeds.
4. Why is it important for seeds to be dispersed away from the parent plant?
A. To grow into taller plants only.
B. To reduce competition for sunlight, water and nutrients.
C. To make the seeds heavier.
D. To stop the seeds from germinating.
Answer: B – Dispersal reduces competition for sunlight, water and soil nutrients between the parent plant and young plants.
5. During germination, what is the main source of food for the young plant?
A. Sunlight
B. Water in the soil
C. Food stored in the seed leaves
D. Nutrients in the stem
Answer: C – The young plant uses food stored in the seed leaves.
6. What happens to the mass of the seed leaves as the seedling grows?
A. It increases steadily.
B. It decreases because the stored food is used up.
C. It remains the same.
D. It decreases at first then increases again.
Answer: B – The mass of the seed leaves decreases as the stored food is used during germination.
7. At which point does the young plant no longer depend on the seed leaves for food?
A. When the seed absorbs water.
B. When the root just appears.
C. When true leaves grow and carry out photosynthesis.
D. When the fruit forms.
Answer: C – Once true leaves form and carry out photosynthesis, the plant can make its own food.
8. Which graph trend correctly describes the mass of the roots and shoots during germination?
A. Decreases over time.
B. Stays the same.
C. Increases over time.
D. Increases then suddenly drops to zero.
Answer: C – The mass of the roots and shoots increases as the young plant grows.
9. Which statement about the life cycle of a flowering plant is TRUE?
A. The life cycle ends at the seedling stage.
B. Adult plants cannot produce seeds.
C. Fruits form before fertilisation happens.
D. Seeds produced by the adult plant can start a new life cycle.
Answer: D – Seeds from the adult plant can germinate and start a new life cycle.
10. Which structure in the seed first grows downward into the soil during germination?
A. Leaf B. Fruit C. Root D. Flower
Answer: C – The root grows downward first to absorb water and anchor the plant.
11. Explain why the mass of seed leaves decreases during germination.
Answer: The seed leaves contain stored food. This food is used by the growing root and shoot, so the mass of the seed leaves decreases over time.
12. State one advantage of seed dispersal away from the parent plant.
Answer: It reduces competition between the young plants and the parent plant for sunlight, water and nutrients.
13. A student says, “Seedlings make their own food from the first day of germination.” Do you agree? Explain.
Answer: No. At the start of germination, the young plant uses stored food in the seed leaves. It can only make its own food after true leaves grow and carry out photosynthesis.
14. Describe how the life cycle of a flowering plant is a cycle.
Answer: A seed grows into a seedling, which becomes an adult plant. The adult plant produces flowers, which form fruits and seeds. These seeds can germinate to form new seedlings, so the stages repeat.
Life Cycle of Plants – Drag-and-Drop Practice
Drag each stage into the correct order. Then tap “Check Answers”.
Drag the correct stages into the boxes to complete the life cycle of a flowering plant.
Drag the steps into the boxes in the correct order for germination and early growth of a seed.
Life Cycle of Animals
Understand three-stage and four-stage life cycles and how young animals compare with adults.
A. Three-Stage Life Cycles
- Stages: Egg → Young → Adult.
- The young of chickens look similar to the adult chickens.
- The young of frogs, called tadpoles, look different from adult frogs.
- Tadpole: fish-like, lives in water, breathes using gills.
- Adult frog: has legs, breathes using lungs and moist skin.
- Frogs lay many eggs to increase the chance that some young survive to adulthood.
- Nymphs resemble the adult but are smaller.
- Nymphs moult as they grow larger.
- Examples: cockroach, grasshopper.
B. Four-Stage Life Cycles
- Stages: Egg → Larva → Pupa → Adult.
- Examples: butterfly, moth, beetle, housefly, mosquito.
- Larva (e.g. caterpillar, maggot) does not resemble the adult.
- Its main roles are to eat, grow and moult.
- In the pupa, the insect is usually inactive.
- Major changes happen inside as the organism transforms into the adult form.
- In many three-stage cycles (e.g. grasshopper), the young (nymph) looks like the adult.
- In four-stage cycles, the larva looks very different from the adult.
Life Cycle of Animals – Practice Quiz
Choose an answer, then click to reveal the correct explanation.
1. Which animals have a three-stage life cycle?
A. Butterfly B. Grasshopper C. Mosquito D. Beetle
Answer: B – Grasshopper has a three-stage life cycle: Egg → Nymph → Adult.
2. Which sequence shows a four-stage insect life cycle?
A. Egg → Nymph → Adult
B. Egg → Larva → Pupa → Adult
C. Egg → Young → Adult
D. Egg → Tadpole → Adult
Answer: B – This is the four-stage life cycle of insects such as butterflies and beetles.
3. Which animal’s young looks different from the adult?
A. Grasshopper B. Chicken C. Frog D. Cockroach
Answer: C – A tadpole looks very different from an adult frog.
4. What is the role of the larva in a four-stage life cycle?
A. To fly
B. To eat, grow and moult
C. To reproduce
D. To look like the adult
Answer: B – The larva mainly eats, grows and moults. It does NOT resemble the adult.
5. Which statement about nymphs is TRUE?
A. Nymphs look like the adult
B. Nymphs remain inside a cocoon
C. Nymphs have wings like adult insects
D. Nymphs cannot moult
Answer: A – Nymphs resemble the adult but are smaller and moult as they grow.
6. Which animal goes through complete metamorphosis?
A. Grasshopper
B. Cockroach
C. Butterfly
D. Chicken
Answer: C – The butterfly goes through complete metamorphosis (Egg → Larva → Pupa → Adult).
7. Which stage of the four-stage life cycle does the most body transformation occur?
A. Egg B. Larva C. Pupa D. Adult
Answer: C – Major changes happen in the pupa as the insect changes into its adult form.
8. The young of which animal resembles the adult?
A. Beetle B. Mosquito C. Chicken D. Butterfly
Answer: C – Young chickens look similar to adult chickens.
9. What is the correct sequence for a grasshopper’s life cycle?
A. Egg → Larva → Pupa → Adult
B. Egg → Young → Adult
C. Egg → Nymph → Adult
D. Egg → Tadpole → Adult
Answer: C – Grasshoppers follow Egg → Nymph → Adult.
10. Which life cycle includes a stage that does NOT feed?
A. Three-stage insect life cycle
B. Frog life cycle
C. Four-stage insect life cycle
D. Chicken life cycle
Answer: C – The pupa does not feed.
11. Give one difference between a larva and a nymph.
Answer: A larva does not resemble the adult, while a nymph looks like a smaller version of the adult.
12. Why do frogs lay many eggs?
Answer: To increase the chance that some young survive to adulthood.
13. Describe one change that happens during the pupal stage.
Answer: The insect undergoes major body transformation as it develops into the adult form.
14. Why is the larval stage important in a four-stage life cycle?
Answer: The larva eats and grows rapidly, storing energy needed for transformation during the pupal stage.
Life Cycle of Animals – Drag-and-Drop Practice
Drag each stage into the correct order. Then tap “Check Answers”.
Drag the correct stages into the boxes to complete the life cycle of a grasshopper.
Drag the correct stages into the boxes to complete the life cycle of a butterfly.