Lesson 5 of 6

Seed dispersal

Goal: Describe how seeds are dispersed and why it matters.

Puzzles for this lesson

Seed dispersal spreads seeds away from the parent plant. Wind, animals, water and exploding pods all do it.

Swipe to see four ways a seed can travel.

Light seeds with a parachute or a wing are carried by the wind.

Hooks catch on fur. Juicy fruits are eaten, and the seeds come out in droppings.

Fruits that float are carried away by rivers and the sea.

A pod dries out and snaps open. The seeds are flung away.

A seed that lands beside its parent has to compete with it for light, water, space and minerals.
Seeds that are spread out compete less with the parent and with each other, so more of them survive.
Dispersal also lets a plant reach new places to grow.

Your turn

This lesson’s activity starts here in a moment.

I can name four ways seeds travel.I can work out how a seed is dispersed from its features.I can explain why dispersal helps a plant survive.

This lesson on one page. Tap it to make it bigger.

Seed Contains the embryo of a new plant and a food store

Fruit What the ovary becomes after fertilisation

Seed dispersal The spreading of seeds away from the parent plant

For teachers: AQA 3.9.2