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LAUNCH · Science · Week 5

Discover: Osmosis

Aut1·W5 (Discover) — Define osmosis and the partially permeable membrane.

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 define osmosis and explain how it differs from diffusion.

✅ Success Criteria

  • I can define osmosis, including 'partially permeable membrane'.
  • I can state that water moves from a dilute to a concentrated solution.
  • I can explain why osmosis is a special case of diffusion.
🔗 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: osmosis is the movement of ____ through a ____ membrane.

🗺️ Today at a Glance

Three things we do today

1.

Define osmosis

2.

Water, not sugar

3.

Osmosis vs diffusion

👩‍🏫 I Do · watch me think

Watch me reframe it by water

🧠 Watch me think: Everyone wants to say 'water moves to the sugar'. Reframe by water instead: on the dilute side there is LOTS of water; on the concentrated side there is LESS water. Water moves from lots to less — down its own gradient. In this simplified model, the represented sugar cannot cross the membrane, but its molecules still move within each solution. Water crosses both ways, with a net movement down its own gradient. That is osmosis.

📖 Key definitions

  • osmosis — The net movement of WATER from a dilute to a concentrated solution through a partially permeable membrane.
  • partially permeable — Lets some substances cross more readily than others; this model permits water but not the represented sugar.
  • dilute — More water, less solute.
  • concentrated — Less water, more solute.
❌ Common mistake: Osmosis moves sugar.
✅ Actually: Osmosis describes net WATER movement through a partially permeable membrane. In this model the represented sugar does not cross; water moves down its own gradient.
🤝 We Do · together

Which way does water move?

Decide before you tap.Found 0/5
Dilute solution next to concentrated
Does the sugar cross the membrane?
Pure water next to a sugary cell
Two solutions the same concentration
Is osmosis a type of diffusion?

👩‍🏫 I Do 2 · the evidence loop

Evidence loop

🧠 Watch me think: You write the definition to the marking standard: 'Osmosis is the net movement of WATER from a DILUTE solution to a CONCENTRATED solution through a PARTIALLY PERMEABLE membrane.' Four phrases underlined. Read it back and check all four are there.

Assessor witness · what the adult is watching for

  • Defined osmosis including 'partially permeable membrane'.
  • Stated water moves from dilute to concentrated.
  • Explained osmosis as a special case of diffusion.

📸 Capture: Photograph the pupil's own definition with the four key phrases underlined.

🤝 We Do 2 · sort, then write

Osmosis or diffusion?

Sort, don’t guess. Put each card in the right bin.Sorted 0/6
Water across a partially permeable membrane
Oxygen into the blood at the alveoli
Water from dilute to concentrated
A smell spreading across a room
Sugar crossing the membrane
Net movement of water down its gradient through a membrane
● OSMOSIS
■ DIFFUSION
▲ NEITHER

✏️ 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 osmosis diagram and complete the definition from the word bank.

▲ Standard

Write the osmosis definition unaided, then explain why the represented sugar does not cross this model membrane.

★ Stretch

Write the definition, explain why the represented sugar does not cross this model membrane, and describe one way osmosis differs from diffusion.

🔁 Lundy Loop

Where what you say changes something

This is where your voice changes what happens next.

🛡 Space

This is a definition lesson — precision matters more than speed. The four key phrases stay on the board all lesson.

🗣 Voice

If 'water moves to the sugar' feels more natural to you, say so — then we reframe it by water together.

👂 Audience

Your definition goes into the Topic 1 folder and is the springboard for next lesson's practical.

⚙ Influence

The class picks the everyday example (a wilting plant, a raisin in water) we open the practical with.

🎫 Exit Ticket

Before you go

◆ Supported

Osmosis is the movement of ______.

water (through a partially permeable membrane)

Slide 1/10
🏅📸✍️

Discover: Osmosis — banked!

LAUNCH Science · Week 5 ✅

I can define osmosis, including 'partially permeable membrane'. I can state that water moves from a dilute to a concentrated solution. I can explain why osmosis is a special case of diffusion.
⏸ 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 osmosis, including 'partially permeable membrane'. and I can state that water moves from a dilute to a concentrated solution.. 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 · W5L1

LAUNCH Science · W5L1 · lesson resources

Make a membrane decision

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 · Make a membrane decision

Predict net water movement. State which solution you are comparing with the cell solution.

  1. A Surroundings are more dilute.
  2. B Surroundings have equal concentration.
  3. C Surroundings are more concentrated.

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

Reveal shared reasoning after an attempt

A: net water movement into the cell.
B: no net movement; water still moves both ways.
C: net water movement out of the cell.
Osmosis needs a partially permeable membrane.

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. water crosses; represented solute is blocked
A model illustration. Use the stated measurements for calculations.

Osmosis is net water movement through a partially permeable membrane from a more dilute to a more concentrated solution.

Watch for: The potato is tissue, not a single membrane. Its cells have membranes. “Concentrated” must be relative to the solution on the other side.

Give a smaller support cue

Name the substance that moves. Check which solution is more dilute. Add the membrane and net direction. Start: “Water moves…”

Optional video · Osmosis

Watch for: Which substance moves, through what, and in which net direction?

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. water crosses; represented solute is blocked

Water moves through a partially permeable membrane. Its net movement is from a more dilute solution to a more concentrated solution.

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