Unit 3.

3 Organisms exchange
substances with their
environment.
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Friday 8 March 2024

Size and surface area

Learning Outcomes: Activity:
How is the cell below
• Explain how the size of an organism affects its adapted to it’s function?
surface area to volume ratio, and why this is
important

• Apply your knowledge of surface area to

volume ratio, to explain adaptations to body
shape or the development of exchange systems

• Describe and explain the relationship between

surface area to volume ratio and metabolic rate

• calculate surface area to volume ratios when

supplied with cell/organism dimensions.
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The big question:

How are organisms adapted to exchange
substances with their environment?
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Activity
Organisms need to be able to exchange
substances with their environment.

Give some examples of substances which

need to be exchanged in plants and
animals.
2 minutes.
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Activity
• Substances are exchanged at
exchange surfaces such as the
alveoli and cell membrane.
• How do substances pass through
these surfaces?
• Diffusion/osmosis/active transport
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Exchanging substances

• Size of an organisms as well as its

metabolic rate affect the amount of
material exchanged.

• The higher the metabolic rate of an

organisms the faster it needs to
exchange substances.
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For exchange to be effective the organism must have a

large surface area in comparison with its volume.
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What about organisms like this? How do they

exchange substances?
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Calculate the surface area: volume

ratio for this cube

Volume = 3x3x3 = 27

3cm S Area = 3x3x6 = 54

Surface Area:Volume

3cm 54:27
2:1
3cm
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Complete surface area:volume questions

on the worksheet
Activity

Can you identify a

pattern in surface
area:volume ratio?
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Self assessment:

Cube 1 = 6:1
Increasing
cube size Cube 2 = 3:1
Cube 3 = 2:1

Can you identify a pattern in surface

area:volume ratio?
Answer:
As the size of the cube increases the
surface area:volume decreases.
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Cube 2 on your sheet is made up of 8 1cmx1cm blocks. If we re-

arrange these into a long rectangle what happens to the surface area:
Volume ratio?
Cube 2 rearranged:

Original
Each side of each cube is 1 cm. cube 2
Calculate the surface area: volume
Support:
To calculate the area
Surface area = (8x1x4) + (1x1x2) = 34 of a rectangle/square
Volume = 8x1x1 = 8 you multiply width and
length.
Surface area:volume = 34:8 or 4.25:1
To calculate the
volume: length x width
x height.
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Cube 2 on your sheet is made up of 8 1cmx1cm blocks. If we re-

arrange these into a long rectangle what happens to the surface area:
Volume ratio?
Cube 2 rearranged:

Original
Answer: cube 2

The original surface area:volume for cube 2 was 3:1.

Now we have rearranged it’s structure It is 4.25:1,
therefore we have increased the surface area:volume.
This organism would now be more efficient at
exchanging substances across it’s surface than the
original cube 2.
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Specialised exchange surfaces

What makes a good exchange surface?
• Large surface area to volume ratio
• Thin
• Partially permeable
• Movement of environment (air/water) to maintain a
constant gradient.
• Movement of internal environment e.g. blood to
maintain gradient.
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• Small organisms are best at exchanging

materials with their environment over
their surface.

• We overcome the
problem of having a
small surface area to
volume ratio by
developing specialised
exchange surfaces.
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How do organisms with a small surface

area:volume exchange substances?

http://www.viewpure.com/fEx338KrTig?start=0
&end=0
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It isn’t just substances which organisms need to exchange. SA:V

plays a role in heat loss too.

What is the difference in the temperature of the ear

compared to the rest of the body? Why is there this
difference?
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Activity
Attempt the challenge
activity.

If you are struggling with

this, you can complete the
table on the next slide
instead.

0.38:1
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Task: Copy and complete the table

Alternative to challenge
task

Length of edge Surface area of Volume of cube Ratio of surface

of a cube (cm) whole cube (cm2) (cm3) area to volume

1
2
3
4
5
6

What happens to the surface area to volume ratio as an

object becomes larger?
Which organism would be most efficient at exchange?
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The big question:

How are organisms adapted to exchange
substances with their environment?