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Thinking about Fruit
1.
What is a fruit?
2.
How does a plant’s fruit help it
survive and reproduce?
3.
What is a seed?
4.
What function does a plant’s seed have?
Brightly colored, sweet fruit attracts animals. The animals carry the
fruit away to eat it. But sometimes they don’t eat all the seeds. They
drop them far away from the parent plant. The fruit helps the plant
reproduce by attracting animals to carry the seeds to new locations.
Seeds come in all sizes and shapes. Fruits come in all sizes and colors.
Even though there is a great variety in seeds and fruits, their purpose
is always the same. Seeds and fruits are structures that help plants
survive and reproduce.
What do Thompson grapes, bananas, and navel oranges have in
common? They are all seedless fruits. Sometimes an individual plant
will bear fruits that don’t have seeds. This is not a good thing for
the plant. You probably know why. It is nice for people
because seedless fruits are easier to eat.
That’s why seedless fruits are found in the
market. Did you ever wonder how plants
that don’t have seeds reproduce?
Navel
oranges
Thompson grapes
Bananas
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