Activity Overview
In this lesson, students will discover the dynamic relationship between the surface area and the volume of a "cell."
Objectives
- Students will determine the relationship between the surface area and the volume of a sphere.
- Students will use the understanding of surface area and volume to explain cellular membrane dynamics.
- Students will use a graph to interpret and analyze a biological principle.
Vocabulary
- radius
- circumference
- surface area
- volume
- cell membrane
About the Lesson
This lesson involves examining the relationship between surface area and volume.
As a result, students will:
- Analyze data numerically, graphically, and symbolically.
- Apply the relationships between the radius of a sphere and its circumference, surface area, and volume.
- Draw conclusions based on the simulation and their own data collection about the Surface Area to Volume relationship and why biological cells must remain small.