14. List the two gametes produced during sexual reproduction in mosses. (2 marks) i. ii.

15. What is formed when the two gametes meet and fertilization occurs? (1 mark) 16.

Which generation is dominant in mosses? (1 mark) ___________________________

Use the following information to label question 17.

The life cycle of bryophytes is tied to a source of water because they have sperm that must
swim through water to fertilize the eggs. Moss GAMETOPHYTES have reproductive
structures at their tips. The ANTHERIDIUM (male gametophyte) produces haploid SPERM
(male gametes). The ARCHEGONIUM (female gametophyte) produces haploid EGGS (female
gametes). When a sperm fertilizes an egg, a diploid ZYGOTE is produced through the process
of FERTILIZATION. The zygote grows into a diploid SPOROPHYTE plant, which grows on top
of the GAMETOPHYTE plant and is dependent on it for water and nutrients. The sporophyte
produces haploid SPORES within a CAPSULE. If a spore lands in a favourable place when it is
released, it grows into a algae-like mass of tiny filaments called a PROTONEMA. The
protonema eventually develops into a gametophyte plant.

17. The diagram below shows the life cycle of mosses. Label the parts. (7 marks)
 a. ______________________________ (phase in life cycle)

b. ______________________________ (phase in life cycle)

c. ______________________________ (structure)

d. ______________________________ (structure)

e. ______________________________ (structure = produces sperm) f.

______________________________ (structure = produces egg) g.

______________________________ (process = egg + sperm)

Use the following information to answer questions 18 to 24.

Mosses are extremely important during the early stages of ecological succession. Succession
can occur by the formation of sand dunes, the exposure of land by deglaciation, or by the
radical disturbance of a previously vegetated landscape as when an area is logged or burned
by wildfire. In such cases, the ground becomes vegetated by the process of succession,
during which various different plant communities dominate the site in turn. Because of their
ability to reproduce asexually by fragmentation and gemmae combined with sexual
reproduction, which produces enormous numbers of tiny, easily-dispersed spores, mosses
play a vital role in being among the first colonizers of disturbed sites. They stabilize the soil
surface, thereby reducing erosion, while at the same time reducing the evaporation of water,
making more available for succeeding plants. Because peat moss absorbs large amounts of
water readily, peat improves the water-holding capacity of soil. Peat mosses are
characteristically acidic which prevents the growth of most bacteria. They have therefore
been used by indigenous peoples for diapers, and during the World Wars, when bandages
were in short supply, peat mosses were a commonly used antiseptic dressing for wounds.

18. What biological process do mosses play an important role? (1 mark)

19. Name three things that can lead to ecological succession. (3 marks) i.

ii.

iii.

20. Name two methods of asexual reproduction in mosses. (2 marks) i. ii.

21. During sexual reproduction, what structures are dispersed? (1 mark) _____________

22. List three important things that moss do as first colonizers of disturbed areas. (3
marks)
i.

ii.

iii.

23. What can peat moss do to help the environment? (1 mark)

24. Name two things that peat moss can be used for. (2 marks)
i.

ii.
NAME:
BLOCK:
LIFE SCIENCES 11: FERNS WORKSHEET

Match each Description on the left with the correct Term on the right.
Each term may only be used once.
Place the correct letter in the space provided. (10 marks)

Description Term
 ________ 1. leaf of a fern a. stipe

________ 2. underground stem b. sorus

________ 3. stalk below the blade c. blade

________ 4. curled top of a young fern d. pinna

________ 5. tiny little leaflets on a fern e. frond

________ 6. part of the fern that has spores f. rhizoids

________ 7. the whole fern leaf (blade and stipe) g. rhizome

________ 8. roots that anchor the fern to the ground h. prothallus

________ 9. flat green heart-shaped gametophyte of the fern i. fiddlehead

_______ 10. a cluster of sporangia found on the underside of the j. sporangium

fern frond

11. What is an example of a vascular seedless plant? (1 mark) ______________________ 12.

What part of the male gametophyte produces sperm cells? (1 mark)

13. Name the part of the female gametophyte that produces egg cells. (1 mark) 14. Name the

cell is produced when a sperm fertilizes an egg. (1 mark) _______________

15. What generation is dominant in ferns? (1 mark) _______________________________

16. The pinna of ferns are covered with a waxy coating called a cuticle. What is the
function of a cuticle? (1 mark)

17. Label the different fern parts found on the underside of each pinna on a frond. (3
marks)
a. _______________________________
 b. _______________________________

c. _______________________________

18. Consider the underside of each pinna on a frond. (3 marks)

a. The brown structures made of __________________________.

b. The round brown structures called ______________________.

c. The reproductive cells that are produced in brown structures are called
__________________.
19. Label the different parts of the frond shown below. (9 marks)
a. _______________________ f. _______________________ b.

_______________________ g. _______________________ c.

_______________________ h. _______________________ d.

_______________________ i. _______________________ e.

_______________________

Use the following information to label the life cycle of the fern.
The large, leafy fern frond is the SPOROPHYTE that alternates with a small (3–4 mm), flat
green GAMETOPHYTE, called a PROTHALLUS, in the typical life cycle. The sporophytes of
ferns are independent, divided into leaflets (PINNA), stems (RHIZOMES), and roots
(RHIZOIDS), and have vascular tissues. The sporophyte has SORI on the back of the frond
which consist of SPORANGIA with SPORES inside of them. The heart-shaped gametophytes
are small, photosynthetic prothallus live anchored to the ground with rhizoids. Fern sperm
have several flagella (hundreds in some species) and are produced by the male gametophyte
(ANTHERIDIUM). When the sperm are released through a pore at the tip of the antheridium,
they swim in a film of external water to the opening at the top of the female gametophyte
(ARCHEGONIUM) and down the neck to the egg where fertilization takes place. The ZYGOTE
divides within a few hours after FERTILIZATION and is supplied at first with nutrients
through an absorbing foot attached to the gametophyte. A tiny frond with a rhizome, tiny
rhizoids along its surface, and a juvenile FIDDLEHEAD soon pushes out from under the
prothallus, establishes independence, and the prothallus whithers and dies.

20. Label the parts of the fern life cycle. (6 marks)

a. _____________________________ d. _____________________________ b.

_____________________________ e. _____________________________ c.

_____________________________ f. _____________________________