Mrs. Koca’s seventh grade science classes found out just how complicated a simple cell can be. They started out with learning all about the Cell Theory, and how the invention of the microscope contributed to our understanding of the organelles inside a cell. The seventh graders were given an organelle to research for a specific activity. Once they mastered the organelles, it was time to move on to cell transport and to find out how nutrients and waste move in and out of the cell membrane for the organelles to use. Mrs. Koca’s classes learned all about diffusion and osmosis and how the cell membrane allows substances to enter and leave through the cell using these processes.
To simulate this process, the students used a bubble solution and quickly learned how only certain substances were allowed to pass through the cell membrane, or in this case the bubble. If the substance was not allowed through, the bubble in the lab would pop. The students moved on to test active transport by placing a loop in the bubble and popping the center. They were able to move the loop around the box, pass things through the middle of the loop, and then pull the string out and see the “cell membrane” close.