The World of the Living (VI–VIII) • Topic 4 of 5

Reproduction in Living Things

Reproduction is how living things produce new individuals of their own kind, and CTET frames it as two broad modes. Asexual reproduction needs only one parent and produces offspring identical to it — examples include budding in yeast and Hydra, binary fission in Amoeba and bacteria, spore formation in fungi (and ferns), and vegetative propagation in plants (a potato sprouting from its 'eyes', a rose from a cutting, a Bryophyllum from leaf buds). Sexual reproduction needs two parents and the fusion of a male gamete and a female gamete (fertilisation). In flowering plants, pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther (male) to the stigma (female); pollen then fertilises the egg in the ovary, the ovule becomes a seed and the ovary becomes a fruit. In humans and most animals, the male gamete (sperm) fuses with the female gamete (egg/ovum) at fertilisation to form a zygote, which develops into a new individual. Animals are oviparous if they lay eggs (birds, frogs, most fish) or viviparous if they give birth to live young (humans, cows, dogs). The misconception worth flagging: children often think a seed or an egg is 'not alive'. It is alive — dormant, but living, and capable of developing into a new organism. How it is tested: classify an example as sexual/asexual, name the process (pollination, fertilisation, budding, fission), or match oviparous/viviparous to an animal.

✅ Solved examples

1. Yeast reproduces by producing a small bulge that grows and detaches as a new individual. Name this method of reproduction.
Budding. It is a form of asexual reproduction (also seen in Hydra) where a new organism grows out as a bud from the parent.
2. The transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma of a flower is called:
Pollination. It is followed by fertilisation, after which the ovule becomes a seed and the ovary becomes a fruit.
3. A hen lays eggs, while a cow gives birth to live young. What are these two types of animals called, respectively?
The hen is oviparous (egg-laying) and the cow is viviparous (gives birth to live young).
4. In sexual reproduction, the fusion of a male gamete and a female gamete is called fertilisation. What is the single cell formed after fertilisation called?
A zygote. The zygote then divides and develops into a new individual.

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. Amoeba reproduces by splitting into two equal daughter cells. Name this type of asexual reproduction.
One parent splits into two.
Common in bacteria too.
Binary fission
2. Growing a new rose plant from a stem cutting is an example of which kind of reproduction in plants?
Only one parent.
A vegetative part is used.
Vegetative propagation (asexual reproduction)
3. How many parents are required for sexual reproduction?
Male and female gametes fuse.
More than one.
Two parents
4. A child says a seed is 'a dead thing'. State the correct idea a teacher should convey.
It can germinate.
Dormant but living.
A seed is alive (dormant) and can grow into a new plant

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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