Sexual Reproduction
Asexual Reproduction
Uniform Offspring
Diverse Offspring
Example:
A pug-a-doodle
is a dog that is
half pug and
half poodle.
Characteristic:
Offspring
inherit half of
their DNA from
each parent.
Example:
Jason has blue
eyes, bus his
sister has
brown eyes.
Characteristic:
Organisms have
to search for a
mate, which can
take a long time.
Example: Ecoli is a
type of bacteria
that has the
ability to replicate
itself rapidly.
Characteristic:
Organisms can
reproduce a large
number of
offspring quickly.
Characteristic:
Organisms have to
grow and develop
until they are
mature enough to
produce sex cells.
Characteristic:
Fertilization cannot
take place during
pregnancy, which can
last as long as two
years for some
animals.
Characteristic:
Organisms can
reproduce
without a mate.
Characteristic:
Offspring are
genetically
identical to the
one parent.
Example: Over time,
some plants have been
bread and reproduced
in order to produce
bigger and bigger fruit
that will sell for higher
prices.
Example: A white
cat had a litter of
kittens that were
orange, grey, and
black and white
spotted.
Name: ________________________________________________________________________Date: __________
Sexual vs. Asexual Reproduction
Instructions:
A. Classify and Organize the cards into two categories: sexual vs. asexual reproduction. Answer the following
questions based on your classifications.
1. Compare sexual vs. asexual offspring: __________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. List 1 card that you classified as sexual reproduction. _______________________________________
Explain why: _______________________________________________________________________
3. List 1 card that you classified as asexual reproduction.______________________________________
Explain why: _______________________________________________________________________
4. What are the advantages of sexual reproduction? _________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
5. What are the disadvantages of asexual reproduction? ______________________________________
B. Flip over the title cards. Mix up the picture & sentence cards. Organize your cards again based on diverse
vs. uniform offspring. Answer the following questions.
1. Compare diverse vs. uniform offspring: _________________________________________________
List 1 card that you classified as uniform offspring. ________________________________________
Explain why: _______________________________________________________________________
2. List 1 card that you classified as diverse offspring.__________________________________________
Explain why: ______________________________________________________________________
3. What are the advantages of diverse offspring? ___________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
4. What are the disadvantages of uniform offspring? ________________________________________
Instructions: Read each situation below and determine if reproduction is accomplished sexually or
asexually. Determine if the offspring will be uniform or diverse.
1
2
3
Platypuses are the only egg laying, duck billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal. For defense,
platypus have a sharp talon called an ankle spur behind their back webbed feet. Male platypus ankle
spurs actually contains venom to help them when they are in danger. The platypus reproduces by laying
eggs. After hatched, the young platypus is blind and hairless until they mature.
A labradoodle is a type of dog that is crossed between a labrador retriever and a poodle. The
labradoodle puppy takes on the traits of both of its parents. Female dogs have a pregnancy period of
almost 70 days.
Fishermen work hard to catch and remove all the starfish that get into their favorite shell fishing beds
and the “underwater farms” where they raise clams and oysters. In the past, they put the starfish into
their boats, cut them up with knives, and then throw the pieces of starfish overboard. They thought this
would kill the starfish. What they did not know was that each piece of starfish will grow into a whole new
animal.
5
Guppies are the only fish that give live birth to their offspring and do not lay eggs. Guppies can vary in
color and grow up to 2 inches at adulthood.
Hydra is a freshwater animal that is mainly found in freshwater sources like ponds, lakes, and streams.
Hydra is a small animal that is most likely seen with a microscope. Its offspring are identical to the
parents and contain the same genetic coding as the parent as well. A new hydra is produced by budding.
6
A planarian is a non-parasitic flatworm. If a planarian was injured by a predator, it could re-grow its lost
body parts. If the body parts were not eaten by the predator, the part could re-grow into a whole new
planarian as well.
4
7
8
Salamanders have a lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. The female
salamander lays its eggs on a stick or rock near water or on land. Some salamander species bury
themselves with their eggs underground to keep them safe. There are several different species of
salamdars with different colorful patterns.
A plant called a Lily cannot self-fertilize. For lilies to become fertilized, pollen must be moved from the
anther (male part) of one lily plant to the stigma (female part) of another plant. In most cases, birds and
bees help transfer the pollen in a process called pollination. There are several different lily species of
different colors and patterns.
Asexual or
Sexual?
Uniform or
Diverse
Offspring?
9
10
A “hen and chicks” plant grows close to the ground with their leaves formed around each other. This
plant grows best in rocky soil. The plant received its name because the hen is the main plant and the
chicks are its identical offspring. If a “chick” was to become detached from the parent plant, it would
form its own colony of “hen and chicks”.
Mold is the discoloration or fuzzy appearance found on food when left out for a certain amount of time.
Mold can reproduce rapidly and spread to the whole loaf. Mold produces spores that reproduce into
more mold spores and are identical to the parent. Mold reproduces very rapidly in dark, moist
environments.