Reproduction

8.1 Reproduction may be sexual or asexual

1. Reproduction is the production of organisms to replace old ones that die.

2. There 2 types:
a. Sexual: This is the kind of reproduction in which 2 parents are involved who
produce sex cells called gametes. In the process the nuclei of the male and
female gametes fuse to form a zygote, which divides itself through mitosis to
form genetically dissimilar offspring to the parents.
b. Asexual: This is the kind of reproduction in which one parent is involved and
produces genetically identical offspring (this can take place by Mitosis, binary
fission etc.).

Asexual Reproduction

8.2 Growth and asexual reproduction

1. Mitosis is the kind of cell division in which the daughter cells are genetically identical
to the parent cell (they have the same number of chromosomes with the same genes
as the parent cell). It is used during growth, repair and asexual reproduction (that’s
why asexual reproduction produces genetically identical offspring).

8.3 Mitosis makes new cells with the same genes as the old one.

1. In the nucleus of a cell there are long threads of DNA called chromosomes.
2. Different animals have different number of chromosomes, e.g. : humans have 46.
3. The DNA is coded instructions for making proteins.
4. A group of DNA is called a gene. Each gene is responsible for the production one
kind of protein.

8.4 Asexual reproduction produces genetically identical offspring.

1. A group of identical organisms are called clones. Therefore the daughter cells are the
clones of the parent (mother cell).

8.5 Bacteria reproduce by binary fission

1. Bacteria are tiny organisms made of single cells and contain no nucleus. However
they have a circular DNA. Therefore they cannot divide by mitosis.
2. When the bacterium is about to divide a copy of the circular DNA is made. The cell
then divides into 2, with 1 DNA in each.
3. Two new cells have therefore been made, each genetically identical to each other.
4. If the conditions are right, right temp, with plenty of nutrients, a bacteria can divide in
20 minutes.
8.6 Fungi produce spores asexually

1. Fungi are living things that are neither plant nor animal.
2. Like plants they have cell walls of chitin. Like animals they feed on organic food
(they cannot make their own food)
3. Mucor grows on damp bread (moisture is needed to stop it from drying out).
4. The main body looks like a furry growth on the bread is called mycelium and has
many stands called hyphae – one cell thick.
5. Some hyphae grow into the bread and excrete enzymes which digest the starch,
glucose, protein and fat. The digested food diffuses into the hyphae.
6. Other hyphae grow upwards to form aerial hyphae. A swelling called the sporangium
forms at the end of each and inside its cells reproduce asexually to form spores.
7. Each spore is surrounded by a hard resistant coat preventing it from drying out. They
are very light and can be carried away by the wind or a housefly.
8. If they land on another suitable piece of food, they germinate to form new mycelium.

8.7 Plants can be propagated asexually

1. Many plants can be propagated asexually. This is done because many exact plants can
be grown quickly and efficiently.
2. This is useful if the original plant had wanted characteristics.

Tuber formation in potatoes

3. Potatoes can reproduce using stem tubers.

4. Some of the stems grow underground and swellings called tubers form on them.
5. Sucrose is transported from the leaves to the stem tubers where it is converted to
starch and stored. The tuber grown in size. Each plant can produce many stem
tubers. They can be eaten
6. Some tubers are planted where they grown new shoots and roots to form a new plant.
7. Tubers can be cut into pieces and as long as they have a bud on it, it will grow into a
new plant.

Taking cuttings

8. Taking cuttings is another of way of making genetically identical plants. E.g.:

bananas
9. A node is from where a new stem is about to grow.
10. A cutting is made by cutting of a shoot from a plant. The best place to cut is under a
node and the leaves at the bottom of the cutting should be removed.
11. This should be done because roots grow from the cut and also from where the leaves
were removed.

Tissue Culture
12. It is also another way of producing genetically identical plants, especially one that are
difficult to grow from seeds eg.: orchids.
13. A small number of cells are taken from the plant and is put in a jelly containing
hormones and nutrients. The hormones stimulate the cells to divide and form a
shapeless lump called a callus.
14. The callus is put in another jelly containing different hormones which stimulate it to
grow roots. Then it put in another jelly containing different hormones which stimulate
it to produce shoots.
15. In this way a large number of plants may be grown from 1 plant.

Sexual Reproduction

8.8 Sexual reproduction involves fertilization.

1. In sexual reproduction, each parent organism produces sex cells called gametes.
2. Fertilization takes place when the gametes join together to form a new cell called a
zygote. The zygote divides again and again to form a new organism.
3. The new organism is genetically dissimilar to either of the parents as it contains a
different combination of genes.

8.9 Gametes have half the number of normal chromosomes.

1. Gametes are different from normal cells because they contain half the number of
chromosomes.
2. This is so that when fertilization takes place, the zygote has the full number of
chromosomes.
3. A cell containing the full number of chromosomes, with complete sets is called a
diploid cell.
a. A human cell contains 46 chromosomes and 23 different types of
chromosomes. There are two of each kind.
4. Cells that contain one set of chromosomes is called a haploid cell.
5. Gametes are always haploid so that when 2 gametes fuse together, they form a
diploid zygote.

8.10 Gametes are made by meiosis

1. Meiosis is the kind of cell division in which 4 haploid gametes, that are
genetically different from each other are made from one diploid cell. Meiosis
produces gametes with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell.
2. Mitosis is not used because in mitosis the daughter cells contain the same number
of chromosomes and the same genes as the parent cell.
3. Meiosis is also known as reduction division.
4. In Meiosis, the pairs of chromosomes exchange some pieces. These pieces carry
different versions of genes.
5. This means they don’t have the same combination as the others or the parent cell,
that’s why gametes that are genetically different from the parent cell.
8.11 Male gametes move, female ones stay still

1. The female gamete is quite large and is unable to move much. E.g., the egg.
2. The male gamete is smaller and moves actively in search of female gamete.
3. Often each individual organism can only produce one kind of gamete.
4. The type of gamete is produced determines its gender, either male or female.
5. Some organisms however can produce both gametes. E.g.: earthworm. Organisms
that do this is called hermaphrodite. Many flowering plants are also hermaphrodite.

8.12 The Female reproductive organs

1. The female gametes called eggs are made in the ovaries.

2. Leading from the ovaries are the oviducts. They are not directly connected with the
ovaries but have a funnel shaped openings just a short distance away.
3. The oviduct leads to the womb or the uterus which has thick walls made of muscles.
It is quite small but can stretch a great deal when the woman is pregnant.
4. At the base of the uterus is a narrow opening guarded by muscles. This is the neck of
the womb called the cervix. It leads to the vagina, which opens to the outside.

8.13 The Male reproductive organs

1. The male gametes, sperm or spermatozoa are made in the two testes
2. These are outside the body in two sacs called the scrotum.
3. The sperm is carried away from each testis by a tube called the sperm duct.
4. The sperm duct join up with the urethra just bellow the bladder.
5. The urethra continues downwards and opens at the tip of the penis. The urethra can
carry both urine and sperm at different times.
6. Where the sperm duct joins the urethra, there is a gland called the prostate gland. This
makes a fluid which the sperm swim in.
7. Just behind the prostate gland is the seminal vesicle that also secretes fluid.

8.14 Ovaries make eggs.

1. Eggs begin to develop in the girls ovaries before she is born. At birth there are already
thousands of partly developed eggs in the ovaries.
2. When she reaches puberty some of theses eggs will start to develop. Usually only one
develops at a time.
3. When it is mature an egg bursts out of the ovary and into the funnel at the end of the
oviduct. This is called ovulation.
4. Usually one egg from one ovary does this at a time

8.15 Testes make sperm

1. Inside the testes, a very number of sperm is formed every day. Sperm are made
continually from puberty onwards.
2. Sperm production is very sensitive to heat.
3. If they get too hot, the cells in the tubules within the testes will not develop into
sperm.
4. This is why the testes are outside the body because it is cooler outside than inside.

8.16 Mating introduces sperm into the vagina

1. After ovulation, the egg is caught in the funnel of the oviduct.

2. The funnel is lined with ciliated cells that beat rhythmically wafting the egg towards
the entrance of the oviduct. The cilia in the oviduct also helps this process.
3. The muscles in the wall of the oviduct also help to move the egg by peristalsis.
4. This way the egg moves slowly into the uterus.
5. If an egg is not fertilized 8-24 hours after ovulation, it dies. By this time it has only
traveled a short distance through the oviduct.
6. So a sperm must reach an egg while it is still near the top of the oviduct if fertilization
is to be successful.
7. When a man is sexually excited, blood id pumped into spaces in his penis so that it
becomes erect.
8. To bring the sperm as close to the egg as possible, the penis is placed inside the
vagina.
9. The sperm is pushed out of the penis and into the vagina. This happens when the
muscles of the wall of the tubes carrying sperm contract rhythmically. The wave of
contractions begins in the testes, travel through the sperm duct and into the penis. The
sperm is squeezed out of the urethra into the vagina. This is called ejaculation.
10. The liquid which contains sperm is called semen. Ejaculation deposits semen at the
top of the vagina near the cervix.

8.17 Fertilization happens in the oviduct

1. The sperm is still a quite a long way from the egg. It swims using its tail, up the
cervix, through the uterus and into the oviduct.
2. Sperm can only swim 4mm per minutes so it takes quite a while for it to reach the
egg.
3. In fact many don’t make it but each ejaculation leaves about a million sperm in the
vagina, so there is a good chance that some will reach the egg.
4. One sperm enters the egg, its nucleus fuses with the egg’s. This is fertilization.
5. As soon as the successful sperm enters the egg, the egg membrane becomes
impermeable so no other can get in. The unsuccessful sperms die.
-
8.18 The zygote implants in the uterus wall

1. When the nucleus of the sperm fuses with the nucleus of the egg, it form a zygote.
The zygote continues to move down the oviduct. As it does so it divides by mitosis.
2. After several hours a ball cells is formed It is called the embryo.
3. The embryo gets its food from the egg yolk.
4. It takes several hours for the embryo to reach the uterus and by this time it is a ball of
16-32 cells.
5. The uterus has a thick spongy lining and the embryo sinks into it. This is called
implantation.

8.19 The fetus’s life support system is the placenta

1. As the embryo continues to divide in the uterus wall, a placenta also grows. It
connects it to the walls of the uterus.
2. The placenta is soft, dark red and has finger like projections called villi. The villi fit
close to the uterus wall.
3. After 11 week the embryo has grown into a fetus. It is connected to the placenta by
the umbilical cord. It contains 2 arteries and 1 vein.
4. The arteries carry blood from the fetus to the placenta and the vein returns the blood
to the fetus.
5. The placenta contains capillaries filled with the fetus’ blood. In the walls of the uterus
large spaces are filled with the mother’s blood.
6. The fetus blood does not mix with the mother’s blood because they could have
different blood groups and because the blood pressure is different. But they are
brought very close because the walls of the placenta are very thin.
7. Oxygen and soluble nutrients such as glucose, amino acids, minerals and vitamins
form the mothers blood diffuse across the placenta into the fetus’ blood. Urea and
Co2 diffuse in the opposite direction to be carried away by the mother’s blood.
8. As the fetus grows the placenta grows too, by the time the baby is born, it is 12cm in
diameter and 3cm thick.

8.20 An Amnion protects the fetus

1. The fetus is surrounded by a strong membrane called the amnion.

2. The amnion makes a fluid called the amniotic fluid which helps to protect and support
it.

8.21 The baby develops during gestation

1. No one exactly understands how the ball of cells grows into a baby.
2. The cells gradually divide and grow.
3. By eleven weeks, they become organized into all the different organs.
4. After this fetus just grows. It takes nine months before the baby is ready to be born.
5. The length of time between fertilization and birth is called the gestation period.

8.22 Muscular contractions cause birth

1. A few before birth, the fetus turns around in the uterus so it is lying downward, its
head just above the cervix.
2. Birth begins when the strong muscles of the uterus wall begin to contract. This is
called labor.
3. To begin with the contractions are quite gentle and only take place once an hour. But
gradually they become stronger and more frequent.
4. The contractions of the muscles slowly stretch the opening of the cervix.
5. After several hours the cervix is wide enough for the head of the baby to pass
through.
6. Now the muscles begin to push the baby down the cervix and vaginia. This stage of
birth is fast. The walls of the vagina can stretch allowing the baby to pushed through.
7. The baby is still attached to the uterus by the umbilical cord. Now that it is open air, it
can breath for itself, so as the placenta is no longer needed, falls away from the uterus
wall and passes out through the vagina. It is called afterbirth.
8. The umbilical cord is cut and clamped just above the point where it joins the baby. It
is completely painless as there are no nerves in the umbilical cord.
9. The stump of the cord forms the navel.
10. The contractions are painful. They feel rather like a crap. Her mother can help herself
a lot by preparing her body with exercises b4 labor and by breathing in a special way
during labor.

8.23 Pregnant women should care for their health

1. When a women is pregnant she should take care of her health for her own benefit and
her baby’s. The is called ante-natal health.
2. She should make sure her diet contains plenty of calcium to help the growing fetus’
bones.
3. She needs extra iron because her body will produce a lot of extra blood to carry
oxygen and nutrients to the placenta and for the fetus to grow blood (haemoglobin).
4. She needs an extra carbohydrate as she needs extra energy to carry her heavier body.
5. And extra protein for forming the fetus cells.
6. She should continue to exercise like walking as this allows her to take an active part
when she’s giving birth.
7. Harmful substances can also pass through the placenta. If she smokes then the baby
will grow more slowly and be smaller at birth and she not drink too much alcohol.
8. The mother also needs to be careful so that she doesn’t get viruses such as HIV or
rubella as this could have severe implications.

8.24 Mammals care for their young

1. Although it has been developing for nine months, the human baby is quite helpless
when it is born. Usually both parents help to care for it.
2. During pregnancy, the glands in the mothers breasts will have become larger. Soon
after birth they begin to make milk. This is called lactation.
3. Many people think that breast milk is better feeding the baby on bottle milk.
4. Bottle milk called formula is bought as a powder, mixed with water and then
sterilized. The baby suck the milk from a bottle.
5. Although this makes it a lot easier on the mother. Brest milk has a lot of advantages.
It is cheaper.
6. If the bottle is not kept clean then bacteria will get into the milk and make the baby
ill. This problem is not there with breat feeding.
7. Also breast milk contains antibodies from the mother, which help the baby to fight of
diseases and it brings a close relationship between the 2.

8.25 The menstrual cycle lasts about 28 days

1. An egg is released from an ovary every 28 days in an adult woman.

2. Before the egg is released, the lining of the uterus wall becomes thick and spongy to
prepare itself for the fertilized egg. It contains many blood vessels to supply the
embryo with food and oxygen if it should arrive.
3. If an egg is not fertilized, it is dead by the time it reaches the oviduct. It doesn’t sink
into the lining but continues down through the vagina.
4. As the lining is no longer needed it disintegrates and it is lost through the vagina. This
is called menstruation and it lasts about 5 days.
5. After menstruation, the lining in the uterus builds up again to receive the next egg if it
is fertilized.
6. The menstrual cycle lasts about 28 days, but it varies from person to person.

8.26 Sexual maturity is reached at puberty.

1. The time when a person is approaching sexual maturity is called adolescence.

2. Sperm production begins in boys and egg production begins in girls.
3. During adolescence the secondary sexual characteristics develop.
a. In boys these include the growth of facial and pubic hair, breaking of the voice
and muscular development.
b. In girls these include, pubic hair, growth of breast and pelvic griddle becomes
broader.
2. These changes are brought about by hormones
a. In boys the hormones are called androgens of which the most important one is
testosterone. The hormones are made in the testes.
b. In girls the hormones are called oestrogen. They are produced in the ovaries.
3. The point at which sexual maturity is reached is called puberty. This happens earlier
in girls.

8.27 Some diseases are transmitted by sexual intercourse

1. The viruses and bacteria which cause diseases can be transferred from 1 person to
another during sexual intercourse.
2. The diseases the viruses and bacteria cause are called sexually transmitted diseases.
3. These include syphilis and AIDS.

8.28 Birth control prevents unwanted pregnancies

1. Birth control can help couples to have no more children than they want.
2. It is necessary for keeping family sizes small and limiting the growth of the
population
3. Methods of Birth control:
a. Mechanical: works by putting a barrier between the egg and sperm. Condom
and cap
b. Hormonal methods: Use hormones to stop eggs being produced. These
hormones are like those made by the women’s body when she is pregnant.
E.g. progesterone.
c. Surgical methods: suitable for couples who already have all the children they
want. The sperm ducts or oviducts are cut.
d. Chemical methods: use chemical called spermicides that kill sperm. Works
best if used with another combination.
e. Natural methods: involve the women keeping records to predict her menstrual
cycle and the

Sexual reproduction in flowering plants

8.30 Flowers are for sexual reproduction

1. Flowering plants can reproduce in more than one way.

2. Many flowering plants can reproduce asexually or sexually by the means of flowers.
3. The function of the flower is to make gametes and to make sure that fertilization will
take place.
4. The flower is held up a receptacle
5. On the outside of the flower, are 4 sepals which protected the flower as a bud.
6. Just inside the sepal are 4 petals with lines on them. The petals attract the insects and
the lines are guide lines because they guide the insect to the base of the flower.
7. At the base of the flower there is a gland called the nectary which produces a sugary
fluid called nectar, which the insects feed on.
8. Inside the petal there are 6 stamens. This is the male part of the flower and it consists
of the filament with an anther at the top. Each anther contain pollen grains which
contain the male gametes.
9. The female part of the flower is called the carpel. Most of it is the ovary which
contains the ovules which contains the female gametes. At the top of the ovary there
is a short style with a fork shaped stigma on top. The function of the stigma is to
catch the pollen grain.

8.31 Pollen grain contain the male gametes

1. The male gametes are inside the pollen grains which are inside the anthers.
2. Each anther has 4 spaces called pollen sacs. Cells around the sacs divide by
meiosis to make pollen grains.
3. When the flower bud opens, the anthers split open so now the pollen is on the
outside of the anther.
 4. Pollen grains look like fine yellow powder. The pollen grain of different plants
have different shapes.
5. The pollen has a hard coat so that it can survive in difficult conditions if
necessary.
6. The pollen of insect pollinated flowers is sticky.

8.32 Each ovule contains a female gamete

1. The female gamete is inside the ovule which is inside the ovary
2. They have been made by meiosis
3. Each ovule contains just one gamete.

8.33 Pollen must be carried from the anther to the stigma.

1. For fertilization to take place, the male gametes must travel to the female gametes.
2. The first stage of this journey is the transfer of pollen from an anther to the stigma.
This is called pollination.
3. In many flowers, pollination is carried out by small insects which are attracted to the
plant because of the sweet sent and bright colour of the petals.
4. The bee follows the guide lines to the nectarines, brushing its way past the anthers as
it does so. Some of the pollen sticks to its body.
5. The bee is then most likely to go to another flower looking for more nectar. Some of
the pollen it picked from the first plant sticks to the stigma as it brushes past it on its
way to the nectaries.
6. The stigma is sticky and many pollen grains get stuck on to it.

8.34 Flowers can be self or cross pollinated

1. Sometimes pollen is carried to the stigma of the same flower or a stigma on a flower
of the same plant. This is called self pollination.
2. If pollen is taken to the stigma of a flower of a different plant of the same species,
then it is called cross pollination.
3. Self pollination results in less variation in the offspring than cross pollination.

8.35 Some flowers are wind pollinated

1. In some plants, the pollen is carried from the anther to the stigma by wind. Such
plants are called wind pollinated plants.
2. Wind pollinated plants produce a large amount of pollen, the anthers and stigma
(which is large and feathery) are dangling outside the flower

8.36Pollen tubes take male gametes to the ovules

1. After pollination, the male gamete on the stigma has still not reached the female
gamete in the ovule which is in the ovaries.
2. If it has landed on the right type of stigma then, then the pollen grain begin to grow a
tube through the style and ovary towards the ovule. It secretes an enzyme to digest a
hole through the style
3. The ovule is surrounded by a double layer of cells called the integuments. IT has a
tiny hole called the micropyle. The pollen tube grows through the micropyle, into the
ovule.
4. The male gamete travels through the pollen tube and into the ovule. The nucleus of
the male gamete fuses with nucleus of the female to form a new cell called a zygote.
Fertilization has taken place
5. One pollen grain can only fertilize one ovule. If there are several ovules, then many
pollen grains are needed to fertilize all of them.

Insect-pollinated Wind Pollinated

They have large conspicuous petals with
guide lines
Petals are scented
Often have nectaries at the bottom of the
flower
Anther inside the flower where the insect
has to brush past it
Stigma inside the flower where the insect
has to brush past it
Pollen are hairy and sticky to stick on to
the insects
Large quantity of pollen produced because
some will be eaten and will land on the
wrong stigma
Flowers usually appear at warm times of
the year, when there are plenty of active
insects.
They have small inconspicuous petals or no
petals
Petals are not scented
Don’t have nectaries
Anthers dangling outside , so that they
catch the wind
Large and feathery stigma outside the
flower so that pollen in the air may land on
them
Pollen are light and smooth so that they can
be easily be carried by the wind
Very large quantity of pollen produced
because many will be blown away and be
lost.
Sometimes appear during cold times.

8.37 Fertilized ovules become seeds.

1. Once the ovule has been fertilized many parts of the flower are no longer needed. The
sepals, the petals and the stamens wither and fall off.
2. Inside the ovary the ovules start to grow after fertilization. The zygote that is formed
divides by mitosis to form an embryo plant.
3. When the ovule contains an embryo plant it is called the seed.
4. The integuments of the ovules become hard and dry to form the testa of the seed.
Water is withdrawn from the seed so it becomes dormant.
5. The ovary is also grows. An ovary that contains seeds is called a fruit. The wall of the
fruit is called the pericarp.
8.38 Fruits help to disperse seeds.

1. The function of the fruit is to protect the seeds inside until they are ripe and to also
help disperse the seeds.
2. Dispersal of the seeds is important because if too many plants are growing close
together they compete for light, water and nutrients so none of them can grow
properly.
3. Dispersal also helps the plants to colonize new areas.

8.39 Fruits are ovaries after fertilization

1. The biological definit0ion of a fruit is an ovary after fertilization containing seeds.

2. You can tell if something is fruit if it has (i) 2 scars – one where it was attached to the
plant and where the style and stigma was attached to it (ii)it contains more than one
seed.
3. A seed only has one scar where it was attached to the fruit, called the hilum.

8.40 A seed contains an embryo plant (French bean example)

1. A seed contains an embryo plant. The embryo has 2 parts, the plumule which grows
into the shoot and the radicle which grows into the root.
2. There is also food for the embryo which is stored in the cotyledons (a French bean
has 2 cotyledons). The cotyledons contain starch protein and enzymes.
3. Surrounding the cotyledons is a tough protective covering called the testa. It stops the
embryo being damaged and bacteria and fungi from entering the seed.
4. The testa has a tiny hole called the micropyle. Near the micropyle is a scar called the
hilum where the seed was joined onto the seed.

8.41 Uptake of water begins seed germination

1. A seed contains no water. When it was formed, all the water was drained out of the
seed so that it becomes dehydrated.
2. Without water no metabolic reactions can take place inside the seed. The seed is
inactive or dormant .
3. This is useful because this means a seed can survive harsh conditions that would kill a
growing plant.
4. A seed must have certain conditions before it will germinate. Heat, and water.
5. When a seed germinates, it first takes up water through the micropyle . As the water
goes into the cotyledon, they swell. Eventually they burst the testa.

8.42 During germination, enzymes digest food stores.

1. When a seed begins to germinates, it increases in mass, because it absorbs water from
the soil.
2. As soon as the seed begins to grow, it starts to use its food stores. When there is
sufficient water in the seed the enzymes become activated. Amylase breaks down
starch into maltose and proteases break down protein into amino acids.
3. Maltose and amino acids are soluble; they dissolve in the water and diffuse into the
embryo plant which uses it for food and growth.
4. The amino acids are used to make cell membrane and cytoplasm. Some of the sugar is
made into cellulose to make cell walls for the new cells.
5. All this requires energy and it gets its energy from respiration of glucose. Quite a lot
of the glucose is used for respiration, so it looses weight.
6. After a few days, the plumule of the seed grows above the surface of the ground. The
leaves open and begin to photosynthesis. The plant can make its own food faster than
it is using it. It increases in mass
7. An annual plant is one that lives for less than 1 year.

8.43 Growth is an increase of dry mass.

1. When an organism grows, its cells divide by mitosis to produce new ones. These new
cells grow larger and some of them will divide again. So growth involves both cell
division and cell growth.
2. One way to measure its growth is to measure its mass. If you just find the mass of an
organism including all the water in it, this measurement is called wet mass.
3. However the amount of mass in an organism can vary a lot from day to day. So it is
often better to remove all the water before measuring its mass. This measurement is
called dry mass.
4. Growth can be defined as the increase of dry mass.
5. However, while an organism is growing it becomes more complex at the same time.
E.g. as a human embryo grows, it grows from a ball of cells into a human being with
the full set of organs. This increase in complexity is called development.

Sexual and Asexual reproduction

8.44 Sexual reproduction produces variation.

1. Asexual reproduction involves one parent and the offspring that are genetically
identical to the parent (they have the same genes and the same number of
chromosomes as the parent cell). Therefore asexual reproduction does not produce
variation.
2. In sexual reproduction involves two parents and they produce of sex cells called
gametes (by meiosis). Gametes have half the number of chromosomes as the parent
cell. When fertilization takes place, the nucleus of the male and female fuse together
to produce a new cell called the zygote (with the full number of chromosomes). The
zygote has a different combination of genes as the parent cell. Therefore sexual
reproduction produces variation.
8.45 Sexual and asexual reproduction each have advantages

1. Sometimes it is good not have variation in offspring.

2. For example, there is a plant growing well in a particular place, and if there is plenty
of room for it then it is advantageous if it produces lot more plants just like itself. The
plant is adapted well for living in these conditions ands if its offspring are identical to
it, then they will be well adapted, too.
3. Asexual reproduction is a quicker method than sexual reproduction because there is
no need to find a mating partner.
4. However if the plant is having difficulty in surviving, or if the space is limited, then
sexual reproduction might more advantageous.
5. The seeds produced could be scattered over a wide area. The new plants which grow
from them will all be slightly different from one another and there is a good chance
that some of them will be well adapted to the new conditions they find themselves in.
6. In general asexual reproduction is beneficial in an unchanging environment, or when
spreading out in a new area where the parent organism is well adapted to survive
7. Sexual reproduction is useful in an unstable environment where variation in the
offspring might produce organisms able to survive in a variety of conditions. It also
helps organisms to colonize new areas.