At the end of this topic,

Students Will Be Able To

What are
fruits?
How are
seeds formed?

What happens
after pollination?

Describe the processes of

fertilisation and seed formation.
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After Pollination,

1 The pollen grain contains

two cells – a tube cell and
a generative cell.

2 The tube cell starts

growing downwards to
form the pollen tube.

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After Pollination, (cont’d)

3 The generative cell

divides to form two sperm
nuclei.
They travel through the
pollen tube to reach the
ovule.

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After Pollination, (cont’d)

4 One of the sperm nuclei

fuses with the egg (ovum)
nucleus in the ovule to
form a zygote (fertilised
egg).

5 The other sperm nucleus

fuses with the central
nucleus, which will form
the endosperm (food
store for the seed).

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Fertilisation

The fusion of a sperm with an egg to form

a zygote or fertilised egg is called
fertilisation.

• The nuclei of cells contain information

that is transferred from the parents to
their young during fertilisation.
• This is why young organisms share
many similar characteristics with their
parents.

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Seed Formation
After fertilisation, the petals and other parts that help in pollination
wither and drop off. Seed formation begins.
The zygote develops into an
embryo. This embryo will eventually
develop into a young plant.
The endosperm starts to form.
It stores and provides food for the
developing embryo. Each ovule develops into a
seed, which carries the embryo
and the endosperm.

Seed

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Fruits

The ovary develops into a fruit, which carries and protects the seeds.
The seeds are released when the fruit is ripe.

How a guava fruit develops

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Fruits
• Fruits develop from the ovaries of flowers after fertilisation.
• They carry seeds inside them.
• They may or may not be edible, sweet or juicy.

Examples of fruits

Papaya Vanilla orchid Green bean

Oak Wheat Mango

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© 2020 Marshall Cavendish Education Pte Ltd