Learn about flower biology, including flower anatomy and the microscopic cells inside.
Flowers, both beautiful and functional, are vital to the survival of the plant, and even though we can’t see them with our eyes, they are made of cells, which are the building blocks of all living things!
Flower shapes, brightly colored petals, stamens and anthers attract pollinators, helping plants reproduce! Some of these features can be seen with the naked eye, but flower parts have hidden microscopic features that attract pollinators.
To begin this activity, you will need a flower. You can either go outside and pick one (make sure you have permission!) or choose one from a bouquet of flowers.
Use tweezers to dissect the flower and identify the petals, stigma, style, ovary, anther, and filament.
Once you have observed the flower parts on the macroscopic scale, it is time to explore the microscopic features of the flower! Use your tweezers (and maybe a scalpel or other sharp blade) to prepare slides of the different parts of the flower.
Start with the flower petal. Cut a small piece off of the petal and place it on a slide. Cover it with a cover slip and secure the coverslip with tape. Observe the flower petal with a microscope. If you have a microscope with different lenses, observe the flower petal under different levels of magnification. What shapes do you see? What colors do you see? Record your observations in your science notebook - and don’t forget to draw and label what you see! Repeat this with each of the flower parts that you were able to identify.
Bonus: Are plant cells the same from flower to flower? Compare and contrast the shapes of the cells from different flower petals and pollen grains. How can a scientist use that to help them understand more about flowers?
Need help answering the questions on the card? Want to learn more about flowers? Check out these resources to follow your curiosity!
Exploratorium Science of Gardening: The Secret Lives of Flowers
MS-LS1-1: Conduct an investigation to provide evidence that living things are made of cells; either one cell or many different numbers and types of cells.
Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on developing evidence that living things are made of cells, distinguishing between living and non-living things, and understanding that living things may be made of one cell or many and varied cells.
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