Living things reproduce to ensure the continuity of their kind. If a type of living thing stops reproducing, its numbers will decrease and it will become endangered. If numbers keep falling, it will eventually become extinct — meaning all individuals of that kind have died and there are none left.

After a pollen grain lands on the stigma, it produces a pollen tube. The pollen tube, carrying male reproductive cells, grows down through the style towards the ovule. Inside the ovule, the male and female reproductive cells fuse — this is fertilisation. The ovary then develops into the fruit, and each ovule develops into a seed.

Seeds need to be dispersed away from the parent plant to reduce overcrowding and competition for water, space, mineral salts and light between the parent plant and the young plants, and among the young plants themselves. If seeds stay close to the parent, there will be too much competition and the young plants may not survive.

This is not correct. Seeds do not need light to germinate — they can germinate in the dark. The three conditions needed are water, oxygen and suitable temperature (warmth). Light is only needed once the young plant develops leaves and begins making its own food.

Similarity: Both involve fertilisation — the fusion of the male and female reproductive cells. Both also involve the passing on of characteristics from parents to offspring.

Difference: Flowering plants need the help of animals or wind for pollination before fertilisation can occur. Humans do not need animals or wind for reproduction.