Flowering Plants

Flowering plants are a type of vascular plant that produces flowers in order to
reproduce. Flowering plants produce seeds within a fruit. The scientific name for
flowering plants is angiosperms.

Life-cycle of a Flowering Plant

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Flowering plants follow a specific life cycle.

 Seed - They begin their lives as seeds. Seeds are like baby plants. They have a
hard outer shell that protects the seed embryo inside.
 Germination - The seed ends up on the ground. It needs air, water, and soil to
grow. When a seed begins to grow, this is called germination. The first growth
will usually be some small roots. Then stems will grow.
 Sprout or seedling - When the first sign of life appears above the soil, this is
called a sprout or seedling.
 Mature plant - The seedling will continue to grow into a full mature plant with
leaves, roots, and stems.
 Flowering - The mature plant will grow flowers. Through pollination, the flowers
will produce seeds. When the seeds end up on the ground, the cycle will begin
again.

Flower

Flowers are the reproductive organs of the flowering plant.

The main structures of a flower include:

 Sepal - The sepal is a support structure for the petal. It is typically green and
helps to protect and hold up the petal. All the sepals together are called the
calyx.
 Petal - The petals are the bright colorful leaves of the flower. The petals are often
bright and colorful in order to attract insects that help with pollination. All of the
petals together are called the corolla.
 Stamen - The stamen is the part of the flower that produces pollen. There are
two main parts of the stamen: the filament and anther.
 Filament - The filament is the stalk that holds the anther.
 Anther - The anther is made up of lobes that attach to the filament. These lobes
hold sacs which contain pollen.
 Pistil - The pistil is the female part of the flower. It contains the carpel and the
stigma.
  Stigma - The stigma is the area where pollen is received. The stigma may be
located at the end of a stalk called the style.
 Carpel - The carpel is the ovary of the flower and contains ovules which are
potential seeds.

Fruit

Fruits are a way which many plants spread their seeds. Fruits are formed after the
flower is fertilized with pollen. The ovules in the pistil will become seeds and the flower
will transform into a fruit.

Seed

The seed is the embryo of a plant. Sort of like a baby plant. Seeds come in all sizes
shapes and colors depending on the type of plant. Inside the seed is a plant embryo,
food for the embryo, and a seed coat to protect it.

Seeds may be dispersed by a number of ways including air, water, and animals. Some
seeds are light and have hairs or wings that help them to float in the air. Other seeds
can float on the water and disperse by riding on rivers and streams. Still other seeds
have tasty fruit that animals eat and then get dispersed in the animals' droppings.

Parts of an avocado seed

Pollination

In order for an ovary to become a seed, it must receive pollen. Insects and birds can
play an important role in pollinating plants. When an insect or bird is attracted to a
flower by its bright color, they get pollen on them. As they move from plant to plant, they
move the pollen from one plant to another. This helps the plants to reproduce by
creating seeds.

Flower Parts
Flowers are important in making seeds. Flowers can be made up of
different parts, but there are some parts that are basic equipment.
The main flower parts are the male part called the stamenand the
female part called the pistil.

The stamen has two parts: anthers and filaments. The anthers carry
the pollen. These are generally yellow in color. Anthers are held up by a
thread-like part called a filament.

The pistil has three parts: stigma, style, and ovary. The stigma is the
sticky surface at the top of the pistil; it traps and holds the pollen.
The style is the tube-like structure that holds up the stigma. The style
leads down to the ovary that contains the ovules.
Other parts of the flower that are important are the petals and
sepals. Petals attract pollinators and are usually the reason why we buy
and enjoy flowers. The sepals are the green petal-like parts at the base
of the flower. Sepals help protect the developing bud.

Factors effecting the rate of evaporation

Transparent

┗ A material through which light can pass completely.

┗ We can clearly see through these objects. They can also be called see-through
objects.
┗ The color of this material depends on the light it emits.
┗ An object on the other side of this material is clearly visible.
┗ This concept can be best illustrated with the diagram represented in the image
above A wine glass contains red wine. A torch light focused onto the glass passes
through it. Due to this, the color of the wine is visible too. This is because, all the colors
of the spectrum of light are reflected by the glass. Thus, it is transparent.

List of Transparent Materials

Spectacle
Glass
Sand timer
Window
Computer screen
Prism
Fish tank
Camera Lens

Opaque
┗ A material through which light cannot pass at all.
┗ We cannot see through these objects. They can also be called not-see-through
objects.
┗ The color of this material depends on the light it absorbs.
┗ An object on the other side of this material is not visible at all.
┗ Let us understand this concept through an example of a red-colored apple. When we
look at it, red color is reflected. This is because, all the colors of the light spectrum are
absorbed by the apple. No light is passed through the object. Thus, it is opaque.

List of Opaque Materials

Cardboard
Wooden cupboard
Metal
Cell phone
Flower pot
Dice
Monument
Motorbike

Translucent
┗ A material through which light can pass partially.
┗ We can partly see through these objects. They can also be called partially-see-
through objects.
┗ The color of this material depends on the amount of light absorbed, scattered, and
reflected.
┗ An object on the other side of this material is visible to some extent.
┗ Consider the example of a frosted glass. We can barely see what's outside the
window. This is because the partially-absorbed light scatters in different directions. The
image above represents the concept of translucency. Light is focused onto a frosted
glass having thickness. It allows the light to pass through it diffusely.

List of Translucent Materials

Wax paper
Colored plastic bottle
Tracing paper
Frosted glass
Jelly
Paper cup
Cloud
Colored Balloon

Liquids boil when their temperature reaches their boiling point, changing from liquid to gas.
Solids melt when their temperature reaches their melting point and change from solid to
liquid. Liquids freeze when their temperature reaches their freezing point and change from
liquid to solid.
Consider water: When water boils, it changes from water to steam.

H2O (l) → H2O (g)

When water freezes, it becomes ice.

H2O (l) → H2O (s)

Finally, when ice melts, it turns into water.

H2O (s) → H2O (l)

The compound remains the same, but in each formula its phase changes.

Freezing and melting occur at the same temperature.

1) What is a shadow ?

When an opaque object is lighted, some areas, located behind the object,
don't receive light and form the shadow of the object.
How are shadows formed?
Sometimes objects can block light which means that no light is able to pass through that
object. An object from which no light can pass through is called an opaque object. The
easiest example is our body. Stand in the way of a beam of a light from a small torch.
Ask someone to stand behind you and spot the beam of light. The person behind you
will see no light since your body did not allow it to pass. Whenever light is not able to go
through an object, it creates a dark area around the object. This patch where the light
can not reach is called a shadow. Opaque objects create clear dark shadows.
The opaque stem of the pumpkin blocks the light to form a sharp shadow, Image Credit: Flickr user Muffet, via cc

Why do shadows keep changing sizes?

The size of the shadow depends on the angle at which the light is falling on the object.
Your shadow keeps changing throughout the day. It is longest in the early morning and
the late afternoon? At noon, when the sun is overhead there is little or no shadow at all.
Why? The position of sun changes throughout the day, thus changing the angle at
which the rays fall on the ground. A long time ago people tracked the length of shadows
throughout the day to keep track of time. The world’s earliest clock was a sun clock.
Why does our shadow chase us?
Shadows are our constant companions, Image Credit: Flickr User: Georgie Pauwels, via cc

If the source of the light is moving, the direction of the light rays in which they fall on the
object also changes. This movement of light from the source makes the shadow move.
In the case when the object is moving, the shadow moves as it is formed where all the
moving object blocks light. It is that simple!

REFLECTION OF LIGHT

When a ray of light falls on a polished and shining surface of an

object, then it is sent back in the same medium. The process of
sending back the light rays after falling on the shining surface of an
object is called reflection of light.

Reflection of Light from a Plane Mirror

When a ray of light (AO) falls on a plane mirror at the point O then
it gets reflected by the mirror in the direction OB. Now we shall
discuss some important terms related with the reflection of light by a
mirror.