SCIENCE LESSON PLAN

TEACHER: Neerja Yadav- Dulalchan

DATE: 16/02/16

CLASS: Form 4
TIME: 1 hour
PERIODS: 1
UNIT: Transport in man
TOPIC: The need for a transport system in large multicellular organisms such as man.
REFERENCES (exclude class text, include page numbers).

CXC Biology- Linda Atwaroo- Ali

PRE-REQUISITES

Knowledge: - 1. Students should know:

1. That oxygen enters the blood via gaseous exchange.
2. That glucose is absorbed into the blood after digestion.
3. That the substances above diffuse into cells from the blood.

Skill:- students should know how to:

1. Work and communicate effectively in groups.
2. Plot simple line graphs.

MATERIALS & RESOURCES

For Teacher

For each group / student

MMP, Laptop, PPP

Textbook, Agar dyed with bromothymol
blue, dilute HCL

(2) 50ml beakers, (2) cubes of agar dyed with

bromothymol blue of different sizes, 50 ml
dilute HCL, measuring cylinder, stop watch,
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activity sheet, pencil, lab coat, latex gloves,

safety goggles, knife, plasticine.

CONCEPT OR PRINCIPLE

Large multicellular organisms like Man need a transport system as they have a lower surface area to
volume ratio and so cannot rely on just diffusion for their cells to get the substances needed for cellular
reactions. This would occur too slowly to sustain life and it would also take too long for waste products
to be removed from cells resulting in death.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

Assess the effect that surface area to volume ratio
has on the cellular transport of substances.

Classification
Cognitive(Evaluate)
Cognitive ( Apply)

Relate surface area to volume ratio to the size of an

organism and its ability to transport substances
efficiently.
Explain the importance of surface area to volume
ratio in sustaining life.

Cognitive ( Understand)

PROCESS SKILLS

During this lesson, students will be engaged in:

Identifying / formulating a problem

Designing and Planning an experimental procedure

Setting-up and executing experimental work

Observing and measuring

Recording of data and observations

Interpreting and evaluating data and observations

Communicating scientific ideas, observations and arguments

Applying scientific ideas and methods to solve qualitative and quantitative problems

Decision-making based on examination of evidence and arguments

Extracting from available information data relevant to a particular situation

ACTIVITIES
Model: Constructivist model and Inquiry model
Strategies: 5 E, concept attainment, group work
Engagement:
Teacher shows students a short video clip of an amoeba and one of a human and asks them what
differences they notice.
Teacher asks if both clips depict organisms and to state the differences.
Students say that the amoeba is unicellular while human is multicellular, human is more active that
amoeba, human is larger than amoeba etc.
Teacher asks students what is going on inside the cells of these organisms.
Students say that chemical reactions are going on.
Teacher asks what kind of substances are needed for these reactions.
Students say the oxygen and glucose are needed for respiration.
Teacher asks students how the amoeba gets these substances.
Students say diffusion.
Teacher asks if the human can rely on just diffusion to get the substances its needs and why.
Students reply.
Teacher then says that today we are going to find out the reason why large multicellular organisms like
man, require a transport system.

Exploration :
Teacher puts students into groups of five, and instructs them to put on their safety goggles and gloves.
Students are given two petri dishes each with a 1cm and 2cm block of agar dyed with bromothymol
blue as well as 50 ml dilute HCL, 2 beakers, a spatula, stopwatch and measuring cylinder.
Teacher asks students to imagine that the two blocks are organisms and to notice the differences
between the two blocks.
Students immediately will say that one block is bigger than the other.
Teacher asks students to state a way to definitely know which block is larger.
Students may say find the area.
Teacher instructs students to calculate the surface area (outside area) and volumes (amt of space inside)
of the two blocks using the formulae provided and write the two values as a ratio.
Teacher tells students that the blue agar block that has been dyed with an indicator that turns
yellow/orange when in contact with acid.
Teacher then asks students which block they think will change colour the fastest.
Teacher asks students how they think the colour change would occur ( from outside in, inside out, at one
instant, gradually)
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Teacher instructs students to place 25 ml dilute HCL in each of the two beakers, to use a spatula to
gently immerse the cubes simultaneously and to time for ten minutes.
Students fill out activity sheet on what is actually happening to the blocks.
After ten minutes students remove the blocks and place them on a white tile and record observations.
Students are then instructed to cut a section of both blocks using a knife and draw it.
Teacher asks students what they noticed. Was is the same as they predicted?
Teacher asks students to find the surface area and volumes for 3cm, 4cm and 5cm blocks (in theory).
Teacher asks students to plot a graph of surface area to volume ratio vs cube size.
Teacher asks students to refer to the graph to come up with an explanation.

Explanation
Teacher, who had mentioned before to imagine that the two blocks were organisms, asks students to
think about what the HCL represents (substances that the organism needs).
Teacher then asks students to recall how the colour of the block changed and explains that as the HCL
diffused across the cells of the organism i.e into the agar block it caused a colour change from the
outside to inside the block.
Teacher asks students why the smaller block completely changed colour but the bigger block did not in
ten minutes?
Teacher asks students to refer to the table and graph they plotted and eventually explains that as an
organism gets bigger the surface area to volume ratio decreases, meaning the volume is greater in
relation to the surface area and so diffusion would take longer as the substances would have to move
over a greater distance.
Teacher explains that this is why large multicellular organisms like man cannot rely on just diffusion
and other types of cellular transport across cells to survive. Man is especially active (as seen in the video
above) and so requires substances to arrive at cells quickly and for waste products to be removed
quickly eg. For processes such as respiration. Therefore a transport system is indeed necessary. This is
the circulatory system.
Teacher asks students how the substances are transported around the body (blood) to all cells deep
within the body, what pushes the blood around the body (heart) and what the blood is contained in
(vessels).
Teacher also stresses that although man has a transport system that diffusion still has to occur for cells to
get the substances and so it is important that cells with in the organism have a large surface area to
volume ratio to speed up the rate at which cells receive and get rid of substances.
Elaboration
Create a model of a cell that is present in an active multicellular organism.
Teacher gives students a ball of plasticine and asks them to create a cell present in an active
multicellular organism, with a transport system, which would speed up transport of substances to and
from cells even faster.
(Students should make cells with shapes that would increase its surface area in comparison to its volume
i.e. long or thin cells, cells with a folded membrane).
Evaluation
Students fill out their activity sheet.
Student self-assessment
- Students are asked in their groups to come up with two questions based on the lesson for the other
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groups to answer.

TEACHERS REFLECTION

TUTORS COMMENTS

The need for a transport system in Man

Activity sheet

Table 1: What do you think will happen?

Block

Changes colour
the fastest

Colour change
from outside to
inside

Colour
change
from inside
to outside

Gradual
colour
change

Colour
changes
instantly

A (1cm)
B (2 cm)
Table 2: Fill out the table below
Length(L) of one
side of the cube / cm

Surface
area/ cm
(Lx Lx6)

Volume/ cm
(LxLxL)

Surface area: volume

1(block A)
2(block B)
3
4
5

SURFACE AREA TO VOLUME RATIO/cm:cm

Graph of Surface area: volume vs Length of side of cube

LENGTH OF SIDE OF CUBE/ cm

Drawing of sections taken from each block:

Fill in the blanks below:

1. From the graph it can be seen that as the size of an organism _________________ the
surface area to volume ratio ____________________ and therefore the rate of diffusion
_________________.
2. Small organisms/cells have a _____________ surface area in relation to their volume and
so there is a ______________ surface area for diffusion of substances to occur. The
lower volume means that the amount of space within the organism/cell is less and so the
distance over which substances have to diffuse is __________ and therefore the process
occurs ________________.
3. Larger organisms/cells have a _____________ surface area in relation to their volume
and so there is a _________________ surface area for diffusion of substances to occur.
The greater volume means that the amount of space within the organism/cell is more and
so the distance over which substances have to diffuse is _______________ and therefore
the process occurs _______________.
4. The cells in Man are more metabolically ____________ and so cannot rely on diffusion
alone. This is why a transport system called the ______________ _______________ is
needed so that the cells can receive necessary substances fast enough and get rid of
_______________ quickly so that cells are not poisoned.
5. This transport system comprises the _____________ which pumps blood around the
body, the blood which carries the dissolved substances around the body and the
___________ ___________ through which the blood flows.