Student Exploration: Fast Plants® 1 – Growth and Genetics Note to teachers and students: The Fast Plants® Gizmo was created in collaboration with the Wisconsin Fast Plants Program of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These lessons can be used independently or in conjunction with classroom Fast Plants experiments. Vocabulary: allele, dominant allele, Fast Plants, gene, genetics, genotype, heterozygous, homozygous, offspring, phenotype, pollen, pollinate, Punnett square, recessive allele, trait Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) 1. What do plants need to survive? Plants need nutrients from the soil, water, air and light. 2. How do plants reproduce? Plants reproduce sexually through the fusion of male and female gametes in the flower. Plants have two types called asexual and sexual. Gizmo Warm-up Several common vegetables, including Bok choy, napa cabbage, and turnips, are varieties of a plant called Brassica rapa. Fast plants are a rapid-cycling variety of Brassica rapa that was developed at the University of Wisconsin. These plants have short growing cycles and are ideal for classroom use. In the Fast Plants® 1 – Growth and Genetics Gizmo, you will learn about the life cycle and genetic traits of Fast Plants. In the Gizmo, drag seed packet A to container 1 and seed packet B to container 2. Click Play ( ), and then Pause ( ) after about 10 simulated days. 1. A plants traits are its characteristics. Drag the magnifying glass over container 1. Describe the traits of these plants. All of them have purple stems and green leaves 2. Drag the magnifier over container 2. How do these plants differ from the container 1 plants? Rather than having purple stems and green leaves , they have green stems and lighter green almost yellow leaves 2019 Introduction: Fast Plants® are grown in wicking systems, typically made of nested plastic containers. The larger container is the water reservoir. Water from the reservoir travels through the wick into the soil, where roots draw the water into stems and leaves. Question: How do Fast Plants grow and reproduce? 1. Grow: With seeds A in container 1, click Play. Click Pause on day 17. A. Is the container full of water? NO If not, drag the water bottle to the container. B. Do the plants look like they are too crowded? Yes If so, use the tweezers to pull out a few plants and discard them in the waste hole. 2. Pollinate: The bee stick should be active at the bottom of the Gizmo. A bee stick is a dead bee glued on a toothpick. Drag the bee stick through the flowers. A. What happens to the appearance of the bee stick as it is dragged through the flowers? It becomes brighter and more yellow , it is showing the pollen on the bee. B. The bee’s hairy thorax (middle section) is covered in pollen. Pollen is produced by male reproductive organs in the flower. Each grain of pollen contains a sperm cell. C. What happens to the flowers? The Flowers change color into an orange. The flowers become fertilized The orange color represents flowers that are pollinated, or fertilized. (In reality, pollinated flowers do not turn orange. This is done to show pollination in the Gizmo.) 3. Grow: Turn on Auto-watering. This will keep the containers full of water automatically. Click Play, and then Pause around day 24. Use the magnifier to observe the plants. A. What do you notice happening at the top of the plants? At the top of the pants flowers start to grow. Pollinated flowers develop into long, thin seedpods. B. Click Play, and then Pause at day 38. Is the container filled with water? YES