Lesson plan

Osmosis: why the potato gains mass in water

Biology · Unit 3.2 Cells and transport · Kastanjehof College, Deventer

Level Year 9 (havo 3) · 27 learners
Duration 60 minutes
Date 8 Sep 2026
Teacher N. Aalbers · lab B14

Learning objectives

By the end of the lesson, learners can …

  1. define osmosis as the net movement of water across a partially permeable membrane, from the dilute side to the concentrated side;
  2. calculate the percentage change in mass of a potato cylinder to one decimal place from its two weighings;
  3. explain why cylinders left in 1,0 M salt solution lose mass while cylinders in distilled water gain it.

Lesson sequence

Times run from the start of the lesson
Time Phase Teacher & learner activity Materials
0–8 min Starter

Pairs recall Thursday's raisin demo (tap water versus syrup) and write one sentence on the mini whiteboard explaining the difference in mass. Two are read out and sharpened against the word concentrated.

Mini whiteboards, markers
8–18 min Input

Build the partially permeable membrane diagram on the board step by step while learners annotate the printed copy: arrows for water, crosses for solute. Cold-call three learners for the direction of net movement.

Diagram handout ×30
18–25 min Modelling

Work one calculation on the visualiser: 2,00 g → 2,24 g, so % change = 0,24 / 2,00 × 100 = 12,0 %. Learners copy it, then do the 1,86 g → 1,71 g case alone and check with a neighbour.

Visualiser, results grid
25–45 min Practical

In sixes: bore six cylinders, trim to 30 mm, blot, weigh to 0,01 g, one cylinder into each solution (0 – 1,0 M), timer set to 15 minutes. While they soak, every group sketches its predicted graph on the results grid.

Full bench set — see checklist
45–55 min Review

Blot, re-weigh, record. Each group calculates its % change and plots one point on the class graph. Circle the outliers and ask what a cylinder that was left wet does to the reading.

Class graph on board, calculators
55–60 min Plenary

Exit ticket: “a gardener over-feeds the soil and the seedlings wilt — explain in two sentences, using the word osmosis.” Collected at the door in one unnamed pile.

Exit tickets ×30

Materials & preparation

Tick before period 3

Assessment

During the soak, circulate and ask every learner which way the water is moving and why; start at bench 4, who stayed quiet through diffusion.

The class graph is the live check on method — a group whose 1,0 M point sits above zero has not blotted, so correct it before the line is drawn. The exit tickets are the record: full marks need the direction of movement and the words “more concentrated”. If more than six miss it, re-teach from the raisin photographs on Thursday.

Support & stretch

Support — bench 3 receives the results grid with row 1 completed and the formula printed above it; cylinders pre-cut so weighing starts on time.

Stretch — bench 1 also gets 1,5 M and predicts where the line crosses the x-axis (the isotonic point) before plotting.

Homework

Workbook p. 44, questions 1–4 (osmosis in root hair cells) — due Thursday 10 Sep. Anyone absent today uses the class data set on the shared drive.

Notes during the lesson

What to change next time