Jana Scott (2016)1.

Adapted from The Sci Guys (2013) 2 and Shaltrys Biology Zone3

Title: Movement Across the membrane

Grade level: 11 Unit: Wellness and Homeostasis
GLOs:
D4: Understand how stability, motion, forces, and energy transfers and transformations play a
role in a wide range of natural and constructed contexts.
E2: Describe and appreciate how the natural and constructed world is made up of systems and
how interactions take place within and among these systems.
E4: Recognize that energy, whether transmitted or transformed, is the driving force of both
movement and change, and is inherent within materials and in the interactions among them.

SLOs:
B11-1-07: Explain how cell membranes regulate movement of materials into
and out of cells, and recognize the importance of this regulation in managing life processes and
maintaining homeostasis
B11-1-09: Explain the role of energy in maintaining an internal balance in the cell.
Objective:
This lesson is to introduce and explain the mechanisms of how substances move across a cell
membrane depicting both passive and active transport and the importance of ATP in
maintaining homeostasis. Additionally, the lesson is to provide a hands-on investigation and an
active class participation opportunity.

Known students difficulties with this topic:

Students may have trouble comprehending endo and exocytosis examples of white blood
cells and neurotransmitters without having learned about the immune system or neuron
function yet.
Students may struggle hypothesizing which way water will move in the gummy bear
experiment.

Rationale for Activity: Logical

Diffusion is often relatively easy for students to
understand, therefore by starting with an
everyday example of diffusion through
spraying a fragrance, students should be able
to quickly grasp the concept. Osmosis can be
more difficult therefore a demonstration of the
egg is provided to introduce how water moves.
Students are able to see this process again by
imitating this demonstration using gummy
bears. It may be difficult for students to predict
Explanations of passive and active transport
provide students with the necessary
information they will require to understand
further concepts.
Experiential
Seeing the Naked Egg and gummy bear
experiments students are able to observe how
a simulated cell is able to take in or expel out
water in accordance to their environment.
which way water will flow for their gummy
Psychological
bears so having the egg example as a visual
comparison will help them make educated Acting out endo and exocytosis in the context
guesses on the outcomes of their experiment. of a white blood cell and a nerve cell helps
Additionally, using salt water instead of a students visualize these processes as well as
sugar syrup will help students to conclude that understand how and where they occur within
water moves depending on the concentration their own bodies.
of solutes whether they be sugar, salt etc.
Once passive transport has been introduced,
active transport can be discussed. Having
students act out the processes can help to
differentiate between each and supports
students to who learn kinesthetically.

Materials Needed: In advance:

Perfume/ air freshener Three days before:
submerge 2 eggs in
3-4 raw eggs
vinegar
3-4 cups
2 days before: place the
Vinegar (enough to submerge each egg fully- twice) two eggs in fresh vinegar
Corn syrup (enough to submerge one egg) 2 days before: submerge 1
new egg in vinegar
Water (enough to submerge one egg) (control)
Food coloring (optional) 1 day before: place one
Spoon egg from day one of prep in
corn syrup and the other in
Gummy bears (enough for 3 per person/group) food-colored water
Plastic cups (3 per group) 1 day before: place control
Water (if no sink is available) egg in fresh vinegar
Salt (1 box) Gather all materials for
gummy bear experiment
Computer with projector

Timeframe and Description of Activities:

0 5 min Spray perfume or air freshener in the room (would work best in the corner of the
room away from students). Use this to introduce diffusion and follow with
discussion and explanation. You may want to have the song Hotline Bling by
Drake playing in the background as students come in to use as foreshadowing.

5 15 min Bring out Naked Egg examples of osmosis. Ask students to guess what has
happened in each situation. Follow with an explanation of what has happened
and how water moves from low to high concentrations. Provide examples of
when you eat salty food etc.

15 25 min Hand out gummy bear experiment sheet and have students hypothesize what
will happen in each scenario.
25 35 min Have students perform gummy bear experiment and set them off to the side for
study in the following lesson.

35 45 min Introduce active transport. Show the Drake Hotline Bling sodium potassium
pump video4 and give a brief description of how active transport and the pump
works.

45 55 min Provide explanation of endo and exocytosis. Describe the importance of ATP in
cellular homeostasis.

55 70 min Have students act out endo and exocytosis by linking hands in a circular shape
1. Act as a white blood cell phagocytosing a bacterial cell (one student volunteer)
in the immune system
2. A nerve cell releasing neurotransmitters (two student volunteers).

NOTES:
If there is time at the end of class, a video describing transport can be shown or the link can be
provided to students to view on their own to better understand the concepts.
Link 1 http://www.sumanasinc.com/webcontent/animations/content/diffusion.html
Link 2 Endo and exocytosis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuDmvlbpjHQ
The gummy bear activity can be used as assessment for learning and can be taken in after the
following lesson to determine if students were able to correctly hypothesize with rationale and/or
if they were able to determine why their initial hypotheses did not follow what was observed.

References:
1. Scott, J. (2016). Movement across the membrane.
2. The Sci Guys (2013,July18). Science at home Se1- Ep14: Naked egg and osmosis. [Video File].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrON0nEEWmo
3. Shaltrys Biology Zone. Lab: Observing osmosis in gummi bears. Retrieved from
biozone.weebly.com/uploads/2/7/4/2/274298/gummy_bear_osmosis.pdf
4. (2016, March 20). NaK pump x3. [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF6QoED_Aho
 Naked Egg Experiment
The Naked Egg is used to demonstrate the direction of water movement in hypotonic and
hypertonic solutions in relation to a cell. Once the shell is removed, the egg is held together by
two semi-permeable membranes. Although the egg is not one giant cell, it can simulate the
movement of water across a tiny cell membrane.

Time requirements and explanations:

1. Remove the egg shell

a. 48 hours in advance submerge the egg in white vinegar. The acetic acid reacts
with the calcium carbonate of the shell to produce calcium acetate, carbon dioxide
and water.
b. 24 hours in advance pour vinegar down the drain and re-submerge the egg in
fresh vinegar.
Notice that the egg is now slightly larger as water in the vinegar has moved in to the cell
via osmosis.
2. Submerge egg in corn syrup
a. 24 hours in advance place egg (shell removed) in to a cup and submerge with
corn syrup. Use a spoon or other tool to keep egg submerged so as to not float to
the top. The egg should shrink as water is moving into the corn syrup from the
egg. There is a higher solute concentration within the corn syrup (hypertonic)
causing the water to flow from the egg to the corn syrup.
3. Submerge egg in water
a. 24 hours in advance place egg (shell removed) in a cup of water that has been
dyed using food coloring. The food coloring helps to show that the colored water
has moved in to the egg as it will take on the color. The water is hypotonic in
relation to the egg.

*Note: This provides the time requirements for best results NOT the timeline for preparation. If
you would like to have a control egg, you should start the process for a control egg 48 hours in
advance of your class period and the others three days in advance so they will all be complete at
the same time.

It may also be beneficial to show the Sci Guys video or document your own process to show
students. The following link can be used to show the video this has been adapted from.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrON0nEEWmo
 Gummy Bear Osmosis
Adapted from Shaltys Bio Zone Laboratory: Observing Osmosis in Gummi Bears

Teacher Instructions:

Provide each student (or pair of students) with

1. 3 gummy bears.
a. Control gummy bear (not submerged in water)
b. Salt water gummy bear
c. Tap water gummy bear
2. 3 plastic cups
3. Water source (ex. jug of distilled water)
4. Salt for the salt water solution (the saltier the better!)

Hand out the student instruction sheet and have students complete their hypotheses for
each situation.
Let the gummy bears sit in their solutions until the next class period
Provide time in the following class for students to observe the results and see if their
hypotheses match their observations. If not, have students describe what has happened in
order to explain their observations.

Assessment:
The student worksheet can be handed in for use as formative assessment. Explanations/reasoning
for each gummy bear trial can be used to observe each students level of understanding of how
water moves by osmosis.
 Gummy Bear Osmosis!
Materials you will need:
3 gummy bears
3 plastic containers
Water
Salt

Once you have obtained your materials complete the following steps.

1. Label the containers control, water, and salt water

2. In the container labeled water pour enough water in to be able to completely cover a
gummy bear.
3. In the container labeled salt water add enough salt that not all of it will dissolve after
being stirred.
*You dont need a thick layer of salt at the bottom but add enough to make the
water really salty!
4. Place one gummy bear in each container and set aside in a safe place for the next class
period.

Hypothesis: Make sure to describe what you believe will happen to the gummy bear, which way
you think the water will move, and why.

Control:

Tap Water:

Salt Water:

Observations:
In a neat and organized manner, record your observations for each gummy bear. This can be on
the back of this sheet or on a piece of loose-leaf. If your hypotheses do not match your results,
explain why and which way the water has moved for your observed results to have occurred.