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LAUNCH · Science · Week 6

Use: Active Transport in Root Hairs and the Gut

Aut1·W6 (Use) — Apply active transport to real cells and interpret uptake data.

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 apply active transport to root hair and gut cells, and use data to link it to respiration.

✅ Success Criteria

  • I can explain how a root hair cell absorbs mineral ions against the gradient.
  • I can explain how the gut absorbs glucose when the blood already has more.
  • I can read a graph to show active transport depends on respiration.
🔗 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

From the word bank, name the part of the plant cell that absorbs mineral ions.

🗺️ Today at a Glance

Three things we do today

1.

Root hair uptake

2.

Gut glucose uptake

3.

Read the oxygen graph

👩‍🏫 I Do · watch me think

Watch me read the data — then you apply it

🧠 Watch me think: Graph: rate of mineral uptake up the side, oxygen along the bottom. As oxygen rises, uptake rises. Why? More oxygen means more respiration, more energy, so more active transport. Take the oxygen away and the line drops — because active transport runs on the energy from respiration. Now you apply the same reasoning to the gut.

📖 Key definitions

  • root hair cell — A plant cell with a long thin hair that absorbs water and minerals.
  • mineral ion — A dissolved nutrient a plant needs, e.g. nitrate, from the soil.
  • villi — Tiny folds in the small intestine that absorb digested food.
  • uptake — The rate at which a cell takes a substance in.
❌ Common mistake: Roots suck minerals in like a straw.
✅ Actually: There is no suction. Carrier proteins move ions in, powered by respiration — active transport.
🤝 We Do · together

Diffusion or active transport?

Decide before you tap.Found 0/5
Mineral ions into a root hair from dilute soil
Water into the root hair
Glucose into blood that already has more glucose
Oxygen removed from the roots
Why so many mitochondria?

👩‍🏫 I Do 2 · the evidence loop

Evidence loop

🧠 Watch me think: You explain the gut, out loud as you write: 'Glucose is absorbed into the blood by active transport because its concentration is already higher in the blood than in the gut. Moving it against the gradient needs energy from respiration, so gut cells have many mitochondria.' Direction, reason, source. Then read the oxygen graph the same way.

Assessor witness · what the adult is watching for

  • Explained root hair mineral uptake as active transport.
  • Explained gut glucose uptake against the gradient.
  • Used the oxygen graph to link uptake to respiration.

📸 Capture: Photograph the pupil's annotated graph with their sentence linking uptake to respiration.

🤝 We Do 2 · sort, then write

Match the cell feature to its job

Sort, don’t guess. Match each card to the right answer.Matched 0/6
Long thin root hair
Many mitochondria
Carrier proteins in the membrane
Villi in the small intestine
Uptake rises with oxygen
Minerals sucked in like a straw
Large surface area for absorption
Energy from respiration for active transport
Move ions against the gradient
Large surface area to absorb glucose
Shows active transport depends on respiration
NOT TRUE — carrier proteins move them, using energy

✏️ 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 root hair cell, then complete two sentences on why it uses active transport, from the word bank.

▲ Standard

Explain root hair and gut uptake, then describe what the oxygen–uptake graph shows.

★ Stretch

Explain both examples, interpret the oxygen–uptake graph, and predict what happens to uptake if the roots are waterlogged.

🔁 Lundy Loop

Where what you say changes something

This is where your voice changes what happens next.

🛡 Space

Reading graphs under time pressure is a barrier for some. The graph stays on the board and you may talk it through with a partner before writing.

🗣 Voice

If the data seems to contradict the idea, say so — checking the claim against the graph is exactly the skill here.

👂 Audience

Your annotated graph and explanations go into the Topic 1 folder for the W7 review.

⚙ Influence

The class chooses whether we apply this next to a plant example or a human one.

🎫 Exit Ticket

Before you go

◆ Supported

Name the part of a root hair cell that supplies energy for active transport.

the mitochondria

Slide 1/10
🏅📸✍️

Use: Active Transport in Root Hairs and the Gut — banked!

LAUNCH Science · Week 6 ✅

I can explain how a root hair cell absorbs mineral ions against the gradient. I can explain how the gut absorbs glucose when the blood already has more. I can read a graph to show active transport depends on respiration.
⏸ 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 explain how a root hair cell absorbs mineral ions against the gradient. and I can explain how the gut absorbs glucose when the blood already has more.. 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 · W6L2

LAUNCH Science · W6L2 · lesson resources

Use two clues

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 · Use two clues

Model values use the same concentration units. Uptake is inwards.

ContextOutsideInsideNormal uptakeInhibited uptake
Root nitrate2810015
Gut glucose3910020

Use direction and energy evidence. Does the cell’s location alone prove the mechanism?

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

Reveal shared reasoning after an attempt

Both movements are against the gradient; uptake falls when respiration is inhibited. Together these support active transport. Root hair or gut alone does not determine every transport mechanism.

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. root hairgut epitheliumdirection evidence + respiration evidence
A model illustration. Use the stated measurements for calculations.

Use two clues: direction relative to the gradient and dependence on respiration. “Root hair” or “gut” alone does not determine every transport mechanism.

Watch for: The gut can use more than one transport mechanism. Here the stated against-gradient uptake and energy evidence support active transport.

Give a smaller support cue

Use two clues: direction compared with the gradient, and what happens when respiration is reduced. Start: “This suggests ___ because…”

Optional video · Active transport

Watch for: What two clues distinguish active transport from diffusion?

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. against gradient + membrane mechanism + cellular energy

Active transport causes net movement against the concentration gradient and requires energy released by respiration. The cell type alone does not prove the mechanism.

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