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LAUNCH · Science · Week 4

Discover: Diffusion

Aut1·W4 (Discover) — Explain diffusion and the factors that affect its rate.

Edexcel GCSE Biology 1BI0 Foundation · Paper 1 · Topic 1Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9–1) Biology 1BI0 (Foundation, grades 1–5); GCSE Combined Science 1SC0 F where appropriate; AQA UAS science units
🎯 Learning Objective: I can explain diffusion and the factors that affect its rate.

✅ Success Criteria

  • I can define diffusion using 'net movement' and 'concentration gradient'.
  • I can name three factors that change the rate of diffusion.
  • I can apply diffusion to a real example in the body.
🔗 Assessment link: AQA UAS: 'Cells and transport'.

LAUNCH · one 40-minute session. Title orientation is untimed; keep the full 15-minute independent task.

Teacher timing and core practice

40-minute session: Arrival 3; overview 1; I Do 1 4; We Do 1 4; I Do 2 3; We Do 2 4; independent work 15; feedback and next step 3; exit 3. Title orientation is untimed. The optional two-minute evidence check sits inside independent time. Keep extra practice available; use the core question, a contrasting example and a recheck before extending.

🖨 Teacher print tools

Resources · shared task, PDFs and video
🚪 Arrival · start this as you come in

Arrival task — pick your tier

◆ Supported

Complete from the word bank: diffusion is the net movement of particles from ____ to ____ concentration.

🗺️ Today at a Glance

Three things we do today

1.

Define it precisely

2.

Three rate factors

3.

Apply it to the lungs

👩‍🏫 I Do · watch me think

Watch me define it properly

🧠 Watch me think: Weak version: 'diffusion is when things spread out'. That earns very little. Marking version: 'the NET movement of particles from an area of HIGHER concentration to an area of LOWER concentration, DOWN a concentration gradient'. Three technical phrases, each doing work.

📖 Key definitions

  • diffusion — The net movement of particles from a higher to a lower concentration.
  • concentration gradient — The difference in concentration between two areas.
  • net movement — The overall movement, once movement in both directions is counted.
  • passive — Requiring no energy from the cell.
❌ Common mistake: Particles only move one way in diffusion.
✅ Actually: They move randomly in all directions. The NET result is down the gradient.
🤝 We Do · together

Faster or slower?

Decide before you tap.Found 0/5
Steeper concentration gradient
Higher temperature
Thicker membrane
Larger surface area
Adding energy from the cell

👩‍🏫 I Do 2 · the evidence loop

Evidence loop

🧠 Watch me think: You apply it, out loud as you write: 'Oxygen diffuses from the alveolus into the blood because oxygen concentration is higher in the alveolus. The wall is one cell thick, so the diffusion distance is short, which increases the rate.' Direction, reason, adaptation.

Assessor witness · what the adult is watching for

  • Defined diffusion using 'net movement' and 'concentration gradient'.
  • Named three factors affecting rate.
  • Applied diffusion to gas exchange in the alveoli.

📸 Capture: Photograph the pupil's annotated alveolus diagram with all three adaptations labelled.

🤝 We Do 2 · sort, then write

Diffusion or not?

Sort, don’t guess. Put each card in the right bin.Sorted 0/6
Oxygen into the blood at the alveoli
Carbon dioxide out of a cell
A smell spreading across a room
Glucose pumped into a root hair against the gradient
Water across a partially permeable membrane
Net movement down a gradient, no energy used
● DIFFUSION
■ NOT DIFFUSION
▲ OSMOSIS

✏️ Independent Work

Your turn — pick your tier

15 minutes. Choose the tier your adult rings for you.

Use the task time to work, check and improve: reserve up to two of these 15 minutes for an evidence check with your adult or a partner, then act on one useful point. Point, say, sign, demonstrate, write or use an agreed scribe. Manual pause stays available.

15:00

◆ Supported

Label the alveolus diagram and complete three gap-fill definition sentences from the word bank.

▲ Standard

Label and annotate the alveolus diagram, then answer three application questions on rate factors.

★ Stretch

Annotate the diagram, answer the application questions, and explain why a person with damaged alveoli has reduced gas exchange, referring to surface area and distance.

🔁 Lundy Loop

Where what you say changes something

This is where your voice changes what happens next.

🛡 Space

Lung and breathing content can land close to home. You can work from the diagram and skip the discussion.

🗣 Voice

If a definition on the board does not make sense, say so — precision is the whole point today.

👂 Audience

Your annotated diagram goes into the Topic 1 folder for the W7 review.

⚙ Influence

The class picks the real-world example we use for the exam-style practice at W7.

🎫 Exit Ticket

Before you go

◆ Supported

Diffusion moves particles from ____ to ____ concentration.

high, low

Slide 1/10
🏅📸✍️

Discover: Diffusion — banked!

LAUNCH Science · Week 4 ✅

I can define diffusion using 'net movement' and 'concentration gradient'. I can name three factors that change the rate of diffusion. I can apply diffusion to a real example in the body.
⏸ MID-POINT PEER CHECK

Pens down — quick partner check!

📣 Show your partner where you’re up to. Check together against today’s success: I can define diffusion using 'net movement' and 'concentration gradient'. and I can name three factors that change the rate of diffusion.. If something’s missing, help them add it — kindly.

Optional check: use up to two minutes of the independent-work allocation. Manual pause is available if you need more time.

Lesson resources · W4L1

LAUNCH Science · W4L1 · lesson resources

Count both directions

Choose one shared task or resource within the current lesson stage. Keep the lesson’s 40-minute timetable and 15-minute independent work.

We Do · Count both directions

Equal volumes: 12 particles on the left, 3 on the right. Predict the initial net direction.

IntervalLeft → rightRight → left
Early82
At balance55

Find the net crossing count for each interval. What keeps happening at balance?

Discuss, point, write or dictate your first reason. Use one example first; extend only if there is time.

Reveal shared reasoning after an attempt

Early: 8 − 2 = 6 net left to right.
At balance: 5 − 5 = 0 net.
Particles still move randomly and cross both ways. These are illustrative model counts.

This page keeps your writing while it stays open. It does not save or send it.

Model explanation and diagram
Scientific visual for this lesson A local vector model used to support observation and reasoning. Labels and explanations are supplied in the lesson. random motion; net pattern from counts
A model illustration. Use the stated measurements for calculations.

Particles move randomly in both directions. Net movement is the difference between those two movements, not a rule obeyed by every particle.

Watch for: Passive means no energy supplied by respiration is needed. It does not mean particles have no kinetic energy.

Give a smaller support cue

Net movement = crossings one way minus crossings the other way. Start: “More particles move from ___ to ___ because…”

Optional video · Diffusion

Watch for: What keeps happening when there is no net movement?

Use a short relevant extract within I Do, then pause for an explanation. The clip replaces part of the modelling time.

Open the freesciencelessons video in a new tab

No-video version · use the same question
Scientific visual for this lesson A local vector model used to support observation and reasoning. Labels and explanations are supplied in the lesson. random motion; net pattern from counts

Particles continue to move randomly and cross in both directions. At equilibrium the crossings balance, so there is no net movement.

Internet is needed for the optional clip. It is concept teaching; viewing it is not completion of a practical.