Student Exploration: Fast Plants® 1 – Growth and Genetics
Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the
... [Show More] questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.
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.)
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.
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Name: Date:
1. What do plants need to survive? sun light, water, food, space
2. How do plants reproduce? Asexual reprodction pollination
1. A plant's traits are its characteristics. Drag the magnifying glass
over container 1. Describe the traits of these plants.
What do plants need to survive?
The plants seem very purpley
and unsuccessful. They need
light, water, and oxygen.
2. Drag the magnifier over container 2.
How do these plants differ from the container 1 plants?
The plant stems are far
greener and seem to be
healthier than container 1´s
plants.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.
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?
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.
B. What happens to the flowers?-
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