Reproduction: How Life Continues: common misconceptions

If your child says… “Every new plant starts from a seed.”

Ask together

Is this eye part of a seed or the potato stem?

What’s true

Roots, stems or leaves can also produce plants.

If your child says… “Fertilisation halves the chromosomes.”

Ask together

Where does the count fall from 46 to 23: before the gametes join, or afterwards?

What’s true

Meiosis halves chromosome numbers; fertilisation restores them.

If your child says… “Pollination is fertilisation.”

Ask together

Has reaching the stigma brought the male gamete inside the ovule?

What’s true

Pollen arriving and gametes joining are separate events.

If your child says… “The ovary becomes a seed.”

Ask together

Which surrounds the seeds here: the fruit or another seed?

What’s true

Each seed develops from an ovule inside the ovary.

If your child says… “Sperm and egg meet in the uterus.”

Ask together

Is the fertilisation mark inside the tube or on the uterus lining?

What’s true

Fertilisation and implantation happen in different places.

If your child says… “A period means the egg was fertilised.”

Ask together

Why keep a lining for an embryo that has not formed?

What’s true

Fertilisation does not trigger a normal period.

If your child says… “Every contraceptive protects against infections.”

Ask together

Which rows show pregnancy prevention without reduced infection risk?

What’s true

Preventing pregnancy does not automatically prevent infections.