Whether through gas exchange in the lungs during respiration, neurotransmission across the synapses, or water molecules moving across the cells lining your intestines ? diffusion and osmosis play a critical role in everyday life. Primarily taught in physics and chemistry classes, this key concept is often overlooked in biology labs. While diffusion is important for understanding chemical and physical processes, it is equally important for understanding many biological processes. Fostered by an activity that emphasizes and demonstrates key concepts of diffusion and osmosis, this active learning exercise allows students to creatively use common laboratory and household items to devise a simple and practical example of diffusion. To reinforce this activity, we concluded with a discussion of other examples of diffusion and osmosis created using these items allowing students to visualize the many ways that these simple items can demonstrate such an important concept. Participants were given a variety of miscellaneous items that they used to demonstrate diffusion in this guided activity.
Keywords: guided inquiry, osmosis, diffusion, active learning
University of Ottawa (2019)
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