Objective: Students will explore the properties of a cell membrane by conducting

various activities with bubbles

Standard:

MS- Develop and use a model to describe the function of a cell as a whole
LS1-2. and ways parts of cells contribute to the function

Assessment: Monitor student discussions and progress during

the lab.

Introduction:
The cellular membrane is an organelle that is found in all living organisms whether they
are prokaryotic (without a nuclear membrane) or eukaryotic (with a nuclear membrane).
Its structure is unique and assists the cell in major functions such as transport, energy
generation and synthesis of molecules.

Soap molecules have many of the same attributes as the phospholipid bilayer of cell
membranes. Specifically, they have a polar and non polar region. We know the
structure of the cell membrane, now we will use bubbles to strengthen our
understanding of the function.

Plan:

While the students are carrying out the lab activities, I will pull a
few students aside for a brief interview (WIT4). I will use the lab
questions/activities as a reference or starting point.

The questions I have prepared are:

What do you think the purpose of this lab is? Why should we
understand how cell membranes work?

Are all cell membranes the same? (Plant vs. animal, nuclear
vs. cell, cell vs. organelle)

Do you think the structure of the cell membrane affects its

function? Can you give me an example?
 Is a bubble a good model for a cell membrane? Why?