Virginia Department of Education
Structure and Function of Cell Membranes
Lead your high school class on an exploration inside the cell. Individuals investigate the relationships between cells structure and function given their relative locations on the cell membrane. They explore the concept of homeostasis...
Teach Engineering
Cell Membrane Structure and Function
Teach your class how to get out of a cell — or break in. The third installment in a seven-part series introduces the class to cell membranes and their functions. The lesson plan includes information to present to the class,...
Curated OER
Cell Structures and Their Functions
Life science learners investigate live cells. They examine wet mount slides of cyanobacteria and Elodea plants. They peer into the dynamic microscopic world of protists. Afterward, they construct a model of a cell, including rudimentary...
Curated OER
Cell Size and Shape; Diffusion and Osmosis Processes
Use salmon eggs as a cell model for demonstrating the movement of water over concentration gradients. Junior scientists examine the same process microscopically with an onion cell. They use a thistle tube and a semipermeable membrane to...
Curated OER
Osmosis and the Cell Membrane-part 2
Students participate in a review of diffusion and the basic properties of the cell membrane before exploring the process of osmosis in a lab activity. Using shell-less eggs that have soaked in various solutions, students make...
LABScI
Cell Diffusion and Permeability: The See-Thru Egg Lab
Create a model to study a microscopic phenomenon. The seventh of 12 lessons uses an egg (without its shell) to represent a cell membrane. Using different solutions, learners explore the concept of cell diffusion. They monitor...
Curated OER
Dissecting Frog Embryos: Cell Membranes and Mitosis
Students use high powered dissection microscopes to dissect and examine frog embryos as well as see balls of cells that were produced by rapid division. The concept of mitosis links to the lesson.
Curated OER
How do Hypotonic, Hypertonic, and Isotonic Solutions Affect the Water Movement of a Cell?
After removing the shell from a raw egg, cell biologists soak the egg in either a hypotonic, hypertonic, or isotonic corn syrup solution. They calculate the percent change in mass and compare it to the strength of the solution in a...
Curated OER
WET Science Lesson #5: Pass the Salt Please! (How Road Salt Affects Wetlands)
As an anticipatory set, biologists listen to the story of Ruth Patrick, a scientist who used algae to detect water quality. They observe a demonstration of osmosis and diffusion. In their lab groups, they place Elodea stalks in...
Curated OER
Diffusion
Students design and carry out an experiment according to the scientific method. The experiment must test the effects of time and concentration on the rate of diffusion of potassium permanganate into potato cubes. After performing the...
Curated OER
Semipermeable Membranes and Bioaccumulation
Beginning biologists place a drop of food coloring into water of differing temperatures to observe the effect on the diffusion rate. They remove the shells from raw eggs and then experiment with osmosis over the remaining membranes....
Curated OER
Movement Across the Membrane (Diffusion)
Students investigate the concept of diffusion and how materials enter and leave a cell. In this movement across a membrane lesson plan, students use perfume, food coloring in water and a sugar cube in water to observe diffusion. They...
Curated OER
Plasmolysis in Elodea Plant Cells
Students microscopically observe various subcellular components. They determine the effects of different salt solutions on Elodea plant cells. They detect the presence of chloroplasts, cell walls, and cell membranes of Elodea.
Virginia Department of Education
Osmosis, Diffusion, and Active Transport
No, it really is okay to play with your food! Emerging scientists manipulate popcorn, eggs, and other household objects as they demonstrate multiple cellular processes. The activity, capable of modifications, is designed to reflect the...
Curated OER
Osmosis and Diffusion: Egg Lab
Learners examine why diffusion and osmosis happen in an egg cell. In this diffusion lesson students demonstrate a semi permeable membrane.
Teach Engineering
Active and Passive Transport: Red Rover Send Particles Over
I can move about freely, but you cannot. The class models the movement through cell membranes by way of passive and active transport. Members of the class play the roles of various proteins, atoms, compounds, and cell actions and mimic...
Curated OER
Mystical Membrane
Students investigate osmosis, diffusion and a semi-permeable membrane. In this cell membrane lesson plan, students observe the movement of molecules out of a bag filled with sugar and starch into a beaker of water. They test the beaker...
Curated OER
Diffusion
Learners describe and illustrate the process of diffusion in selelctively permeable cell membranes. They are asked to respond to what they think will happen when food coloring is dropped in a bowl of water. Other activities will be...
Curated OER
Diffusion through Membranes
Students identify diffusion and its processes through experimentation and calculations. They also use a CBL and conductivity probe to measure the conductivity of various solutions and study the effect of concentration gradients on the...
Virginia Department of Education
The Ratio of Surface Area to Volume
Demonstrate the ratio of surface area to volume in your high school class by using phenolphthalein, gelatin, and an onion. Intrigue the class by leading a discussion on osmosis and diffusion, then making "scientific jello." Participants...
Curated OER
Cell 5 Diffusion and Osmosis
Students distinguish between active and passive transport. Students identify key words associated with active and passive transport. They draw and explain the structure f the cellular membrane. They are able to define phospholipid...
Curated OER
Cell (Biology)
Students conduct a series of activities to explore the nature of cells. In this biology activity, students observe plant and animal cells under the microscope and compare them. They differentiate osmosis and diffusion.
Curated OER
Cells
Middle schoolers explore the cell and cell processes. They create "cytoplasm", make a model of the cell and its organelles, and simulate the osmosis and the diffusion of materials into and out of the cell.
Curated OER
Diffusion Across a Selectively Permeable Membrane
Students investigate how water passes through cell membranes. In this biology lesson, students differentiate osmosis and diffusion. They illustrate the movement of water in both processes.