9 GENETIC INFORMATION IS PASSED DOWN FROM ONE GENERATION OF ORGANISMS TO ANOTHER

Worksheet 9: The tulip

WORKSHEET Workshop

Teaching aids:

a real tulip (for demonstration)

Procedure:

Tulips grow every year in spring from onions that rest in the ground for the rest of the year. Tulips can produce offspring by dividing their bulbs during the spring growing season. The divided bulbs, which are also called “breading-bulbs”, are smaller than the original. Later (for example in the next the year), two plants are growing which are genetically identical, but they’re still different.

The teacher gives the following instruction to the students: “Think about which of the two plants in the picture the mother plant is, and which the daughter plant. What‘s the difference? And why?“ The students should discuss their hypotheses in groups of two.

Pic 111: The tulip

Solution: The right bulb is smaller than the left one. Therefore, this is the daughter plant. It is made from a divided onion, also known as “breading-bulbs”. The daughter plant is often smaller than the mother plant in the first year, because in the smaller bulb less nutrients can be collected.

This task is intended to encourage the students in comparing different generations.

The teacher can adjust the worksheet to the abilities of the students. For example, the duration of the discussion and the group size can be varied. Either the children can discuss with each other in pairs or in larger groups of 3–5 children. In addition, some of the tasks can be supplemented by coloring. So, the worksheet can be intended to stronger and weaker students.