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14.6: Life Cycle Diagram Fold Out

  • Page ID
    33508
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    To help you remember the different life cycles, you are going to make a fold out. When the page is completely unfolded, you’ll see the haplodiplontic life cycle. When you fold down only the top ¼ of the page, you will be looking at the diplontic life cycle. When you fold up only the bottom ¼ of the page, you will be looking at the haplontic life cycle. Make notes on this fold out to help you remember which organisms have these different life cycles and other important aspects highlighted by your instructor.

    1. Remove the last page of the lab and position it so the haplodiplontic life cycle is facing you, right side up. You can find a copy of the folding diagram to print here.
    2. Fold the paper in half by bringing the top of the page down to line up with the bottom of the page: “hamburger style”. Then unfold it again.
    3. Now fold it again so that the top of the page lines up with the fold you made in the middle. If done correctly, you should be looking at a diplontic life cycle. If what you are looking at matches this description, write “Diplontic Life Cycle” at the top of the folded page.
    4. Unfold the paper again, then fold the bottom half up so that the bottom of the page lines up with the middle fold. If you are looking at the haplontic life cycle, write “Haplontic Life Cycle” on the bottom of the folded paper.
    5. Label the important structures and stages in the diagram, including gamete, spore, and zygote.
    6. On thick arrows, label that mitosis is occuring.
    7. Choose a color to represent haploid and another to represent diploid. Make a key and color in the structures in the diagram to match the appropriate ploidy.

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    14.6: Life Cycle Diagram Fold Out is shared under a CC BY-NC license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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