Test your knowledge of the flower with these advanced, application-based questions.
Read the following scenario and answer the questions:
Scenario: A gardener noticed that while his pumpkin vines produced many beautiful, large yellow flowers, only about half of those flowers eventually swelled up at the base to become pumpkins. The other flowers simply withered and fell off after a few days without producing any fruit.
Q1. Based on your knowledge of flower structure, explain why only some of the pumpkin flowers developed into fruits.
Q2. What specific process must occur between the two types of flowers for the pumpkins to form, and what agents usually help in this process?
Q3. Observe the cross-section of a typical bisexual flower. If a researcher surgically removes the anthers from the flower before it opens, can the flower still produce seeds? Explain your reasoning.
Q4. Why are the petals of insect-pollinated flowers usually brightly colored and scented, whereas the sepals are usually green and leaf-like?
Directions: For the following questions, a statement of Assertion (A) is followed by a statement of Reason (R). Choose the correct option:
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
Q5.
Assertion (A): The ovary is the part of the flower that eventually develops into a fruit.
Reason (R): After fertilization, the ovules inside the ovary develop into seeds, and the ovary wall thickens and ripens into a fruit to protect them.
Q6.
Assertion (A): Self-pollination requires the help of many insects or a strong wind.
Reason (R): Self-pollination involves the transfer of pollen from the anther to the stigma of the exact same flower.
Q7. A horticulturist is breeding a new variety of rose. She wants to ensure that the flower only receives pollen from a specific donor plant and not from itself or random plants. Describe the biological steps she must take to achieve this controlled reproduction.