Reduce Confusion About Diffusion
Mary R. Hebrank
Diffusion, a fundamental process in
the movement of biological materials,
is one of the most commonly misun-
derstood processes taught in biology
Recent articles in this journal (Marek et
al. 1994; Vogel 1994) attest to the fre-
quency and nature of these misunder-
standings. Furthermore, while nm',t
physiological processes rely on diffu-
sion in whole or in part, few students
can explain why diffusion alone is
rarely sufficient for long-distance trans-
port of liquids or gases.
Diffusion as a Random
Walk
The underlying principle of dif-
fusion is the continuous, random
motion of molecules. This motion
is driven by heat, and so it occurs at
any temperature above absolute
zero (-273° C). With all the mole-
cules of the gas or liquid moving at
the same time, collisions are fre-
quent and molecules bounce off
one another. If you could follow
the route of a single molecule, the
path would look like a random
walk through three-dimensional
space. To help advanced high
school students understand the
idea of molecular motion, I have
them work in teams of three to
simulate such a random (but two-
dimensional) walk. Before starting,
however, the class as a whole must
agree on rules that the student mol-
ecules, or "walker," will follow.
First it is necessary to establish
the directions that the walkers can
Mary R . Hebrank is an Instructor at the
Duke School for Children Middle
School, 3716 Old Erwin Rd., Durham,
NC 27705.
160 THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER, VOLUME 59, NO. 3, MARCH 1997
take. For simplicity, students usu-
ally restrict the possibilities to the
four orthogonal directions: for-
ward, backward, right and left.
Next, they must decide how these
four directions can be randomly
chosen. Since many students will
have coins in their pockets, they
can easily work out a simple code
based on a pair of coin tosses (e.g.
heads-heads = forward, tails-
tails = backward, etc.). Finally, stu-
dents must agree on a uniform step
length, generally the length of a
size 8-10 athletic shoe.
I supply each team with paper, a
pencil, a roll of masking tape, a
meter stick, and a penny before we
move from the classroom to the
school gym or parking lot. There
each team determines the roles of
its members: one person acts as
coin flipper, another keeps track of
the number of steps taken, and the
third is the walker. Students begin
the simulation by choosing a start-
ing point on the floor or ground
and marking it with a piece of tape.
Then the coin tosser flips the penny
to determine the direction of the
walker's first step. The walker
takes one step in that direction,
while the tracker marks one step on
a tally sheet. A second step is taken
in the direction determined by a
second pair of coin tosses, and so
on, until 25 steps have been taken.
(It is important to make sure stu-
dents understand that each step is
determined by a new pair of coin
tosses.) After the 25tlrctep has been
taken, the walker uses tape to mark
his or heu final location. Then the
team measures and records the
straight-line distance between the
start and end points. A schematic
diagram of the path a walker might
take using this method is shown in
Figure 1.
Next, each team repeats the pro-
cedure, this time taking 50 steps.
After the students have recorded
these distances, I ask if the walkers
traveled twice as far in 50 steps as
they did in 25 steps. While such a
result is possible, it rarely happens.
Usually the two distances are quite
similar, and sometimes the second
distance is slightly less than the
first.
Computer Simulation of
Diffusion
Students next are challenged to
figure out the relationship between
the time elapsed in a diffusing sys-
tem (analogous to the number of
steps taken) and the distance trav-
eled by an individual molecule. To
speed the process up, each team is
given a computer program that al-
lows them to watch an animated
molecule undergo a random walk
on the computer's video display
(Figure 2). Students can choose the
number of steps to be taken, and
after displaying the path itself, the
program provides numerical data
on the distance traveled. For each
time increment (number of steps)
selected, the program repeats for
20 trials. It displays the results of
each trial as Nvell as an average of
the 20 trial "walks."
Student teams are advised to try

Figure 1. Examples of random walks to simulate the movement of molecules. In
the example on the left, the walker has taken 25 steps; in the example on the right,
the walker has taken 50 steps. In both cases the directions of all steps taken have
been determined by independent coin tosses. The letters B and E denote the
location of the walker at the beginning and the end of each walk.
a total of 6-10 different step incre-
ments, starting with 100 and rang-
ing up to 2500 or more. The data
analysis will be easier if the class as
a whole agrees on the numbers to
be used by each team as step incre-
ments. It is also a good idea to
surreptitiously suggest that they
use some square numbers, or num-
bers that are close to square.
After all groups have completed
this portion, I put a table on the
blackboard summarizing the aver-
age distances obtained at each step
increment (Table 1). At this point
students are asked to look for a
Table 1. Class results of computer-
simulated diffusion, in ^s hich
molecules take 100, 200, 400, SOO,
1600, and 2500 steps on random
walks. Numbers in the cells indicate
the average straight-line distances (in
step-units) between the starting and
ending points of the molecules, for 2O
trials. Average distances are
approximately the square roots of the
number of steps taken.
I'can, # 100 200 -100 800 1600 'SUU
1 9.8 14.1 23.3 28.4 40.o 57.1)
2 75 15.9 19.2 35.0 41.6 54.1
3 9.6 15.5 23.3 30.0 45.2 52.0
4 10.1 14.5 24.2 35.9 41.9 45.2
5 10.8 13.0 23.5 36.2 36.7 59.-1
14.9 20.9 39.0 39.0 51.2
6 10.3
II
pattern, or mathematical relation-
ship between time (number of
steps taken) and actual distance
traveled. Usually some students
are able to notice that the distance
traveled is, on average, approxi-
mately equal to the square root of
the number of steps taken.
Diffusion's Limitations
Once students realize that in the
simulation the number of steps
taken is analogous to time of diffu-
sion, they are in a good position to
understand why diffusion is not
necessarily a fast process. Our con-
ventional ways of thinking lead us
to believe that if it takes an object
one minute to travel some known
distance, it should take 10 times as
long to travel 10 times as far. How-
ever, in diffusion it takes 100 times
longer for a molecule to travel 10
times as far. This is a simple conse-
quence of the fact that distance
traveled is proportional to the
square root of time. Therefore, dif-
fusion max' work well for moving
molecules small distances, but it is
less effective for moving them over
large distances.
If you think about where in
phvsiologica*'stems diffusion oc-
curs, it isn't hard to verify that the
distances involved are usually
small. For example, neurotransmit-
ters diffuse across synapses, which
typically measure about 20 mano-
meters across. The time required is
approximately a thousandth of a
second (Vogel 1902). Likewise, it
takes about a hundredth of a sec-
ond for oxygen to diffuse the one-
hundredth of a millimeter between
a cell and a capillary. During stren-
uous exercise our muscle cells may
cry out for oxygen; and as long as
the heart and lungs keep bringing
oxygenated blood, diffusion will al-
low it to get to the muscle cells
promptly.
This brings up an important
point, which is that diffusion alone
is not adequate for moving mole-
cules of oxvgen over long dis-
tances. If there was no heart to
pump the oxygenated blood, or
any other mechanism to bring
oxygen to the muscles, we would
have to rely on diffusion alone. In
that case, it would take about 100
million seconds, or about three
years, for oxvgen to travel the one-
meter distance between a human
lung and hand or foot (Schmidt-
Nielsen 1900). Clearly exercise (or
anything else) would he out of the
question under these circum-
stances.
Diffusion Versus
Convection
A confusing aspect of diffusion is
the concept of movement of the
diffusing substance from an area of
high concentration to one of low
concentration. Many teachers try to
demonstrate this phenomenon by
opening a bottle of perfume at the
front of the room and asking stu-
dents to raise their hands when the
smell reaches them. Unfortunately,
as Vogel (1988, 1004) points out,
what is being demonstrated is a
mixture of diffusion and convec-
tion. Convection is the movement
of air within the room due to vari-
ations in density, which are in turn
due to small differences in air tem-
perature. The air in a room may
DIFFUSION 161
feel like still air, but the presence of
Diffusion Simulation Program
warm bodies alone is enough to set
up small currents, strong enough cls beep
call intro print "Would you like to run the
to move lightweight gas molecules do simulation again? (v/n)"
about the room. Of course the nor- clear do
cis runagainS inkevS
mal body movements of students randomize tinter loop until runagain5-
and teachers alike, whether fidget- screen 2 loop until runagain5 "v„
cls end
ing, note-taking, or simply inhaling print "How many steps do you want
and exhaling, help speed the mol- the molecule to take on each trip?": sub pause
input steps do
ecules on their way. So, although print "Do you want to see the paths aS - inkevS
the volatile components of the per- of the molecules? (y/n)" loop until aS
do rod sub
fume evaporate into and then dif- pathflagS=inkey$
fuse throughout the air, convection loop until pathtlag'#<>"" suh pst
cis shared x,y
carries these molecules to the noses line (350,30)-(600,170),,b pst (x,y)
of the students much faster than for j =1 to 2(1 end sub
boundflag=0
diffusion alone can. line (350,30)-(600,170),,b sub dirt
Nevertheless, if diffusion is a x =475 shared x,v , xdist,rdist,distance
y-100 xdist =475-x
random process, why does it seem for i=I to steps vdist -100-)
to carry molecules from areas of pause-inkevS distance - sgr(xdist'y dist' vdist"vdist)
it: pause$="p" then call pause end sub
high concentration to low concen- randomnum =int (rnd`8)
tration? The reason is purely prob- if (pathflagS="y" then call pst sub by
select case randomnum ;hared boundflag
abilistic. If you can imagine the case 0 if boundflag 0 then beep
open bottle of perfume in abso- x=x -I hound flag h 'u nd I lag I
lutely still air (i.e. in the absence of case 1 end sub
v=-v-1
convection), at any time there will case 2 sub intro
x-x+I print phis program simulates a
he more molecules of the diffusing case 3 molecule on a random walk, taking
gas near the perfume surface than y==y -sI one step at"
case 4 print "a time. The molecule will take
far from it. However, when these x--x- I as many steps as you instruct it to,
molecules are near the surface, Y- Y-I but the"
case 5 print "direction of each step will be
there are more directions leading x1-x-1 randomly determined by the computer,"
away from it than toward it. With y =y-I print "For the number of steps chosen,
case 6 the molecule will take 20 random walks."
more possibilities for movement x-x*1 print "At the end of each walk, the
away, more molecules (on average) y -v- I distance between the start and end points
case 7 will
will move away. The result is net X==x-I print "be displayed. After all 20 walks
movement from the area of high v -=y+ I have been taken, the average distance
end select print "traveled will be displayed."
concentration to the area of low if (x,350) or (x>600) or (y,0) print ""Chen von will he asked if you want
concentration. Vogel (1488, 1994) or (y>199) then call by to run the sin elation again."
next i print
has suggested clear demonstra- pset (x,v) print "You may pause the simulation at
tions of diffusion in the absence of call dist any time by pressing 'p'."
avgdistance=av distance t distance print
convection.
print "Distance between points "; print
print using "###.###; distance: line print " Press any key to continue."
(350,0)-(600,199),0,bf do
Benefits to Students next] a$==inkevS
avgdistance=avgdistance/20 loop until
I find that the random walk ac- print end sub
print "The average distance the
tivities described above allow stu- molecules traveled is
dents to explore a fundamental, print using "###.###";avgdistance
print "DOI,JE!"
but poorly understood topic by ap-
pealing to their kinesthetic senses Figure 2. Computer program in BASIC that models diffusion as the random walk
first, and then challenging their an- of a molecule. The simulation is similar to the random walk that students take, but
alvtical skills as they try to deduce the simulated molecules can move in any of eight directions ( the four compass
directions plus the four intermediate directions) instead of the four directions
the mathematical principal in- students take.
volved. It also allows them to see
for themselves how a computer can
introduce an element of "time com- what they themselves did. Finally, alone cannot always get a physio-
pression" into the mathematical it helps them appreciate the subtle logical job done, but more elabo-
modeling of a physical system, sophisttion of living machines rate transport systems may be re-
since the computer does essentially when they realize that diffusion quired.

162 THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER, VOLUME 59, NO. 3, MARCH 1997
 Acknowledgments
Thanks are due to my friend and
former teacher, Steve Vogel, for intro-
ducing me to the subject of biomechan-
SEVEN GOOD REASONS
ics in general and diffusion in particu-
lar. I also thank my son, Andrew
Hebrank, for taking a brief outline of a
TO B UY THE NEW
WIFT M3500DF -
SE" 'Es
program that would simulate a ran-
dom walk of a molecule, and turning it
into an elegant and effective computer
model of diffusion.

References
Marek, E.A., Cowan, C.C. & Cavallo, A.M.L.
(1994). Students' misconceptions about
diffusion: How can they be eliminated?
I he Atncric an Biology Teacher, 65, 74-77.
Schmidt-Nielsen, K. (1990). Animal Phys- Eliminates the pn.csihilirc of ranrperine or thejr
iology: Adaptation and Etrrironrnent, 4th ♦ One-piece csetuhe and condenser housing MA889A mechanical MA916 mechanical
♦ Plastic shield for iri, diaphragm protection stage stage
ed. New York: Cambridge University
Press. ♦ Locked-on erembe and stage clip,

I Vogel, S. (1988). Life's Devices: The Physical

World of Animals and Plants. Princeton,
Ni: Princeton University Press. features designed to make tour life e,tiit i
Vogel, S. (1992). Vital Circuits: On Pumps, ♦ Cord-hanger allows for safe and
Pipes, and the Workings of Circulatory hassle-free cord storage
♦ Rcvened no,epieee allosss for eas} "No hassle" Protective Iris
Sustrrrls. New York: Oxford University cord storage diaphragm shield
slide changing
Press.
Vogel, S. (1994). Dealing honestly with
diffusion. The American Biology Teacher,
56, 405-407. Accessories which allow for Vficroscope rersatil,ty
♦ MA889A (high-drive) and MA916 ilot -drivel
mechanical stages -----P- -
♦ Phase Contrast "Quodlihet' condenser and
objectives

. Galapagos .
. Amazon .
. Inca Ruins .
• Economic Galapagos tours
since January 1979.
• Weekly departures/in conjunc-
tion with SAETA Airline.
• Mainland Ecuador tours/
Galapagos group scuba dives.
• Peru (Machu Picchu), Bolivia,
other SA and CA countries.
LATIN AMERICAN
Compa tv-backed quality pnmtice
♦ Built to withstand years of vicar and tear!
♦ Eternal parts support
♦ Limited Lifetime Warrantt on all defective
parts and workmanship
♦ UL/CUL- approved electrical scstem
♦ Electrical cord is grommeted to the base a,
avoid cord detachment
♦ Ultra Lite the original and brightest cool
light" illuminator
♦ Pointma ,eter eyepiece for measuring
specimens
♦
Unique 'C-cs rench" keeps control of focusing
tension in teacher' s hands

SPECIALIZED TOURS
Habfamos Espanol A srr.md in, ectrnem a hiclr rurr hr areorfr,'d rarer the 1i/dime raj the senpr
♦ savings on ers icing and parts replacement common to
43 Millstone Road lesser-quelits brands
Randallstown, MD 21133 ♦ Ultra Lite illumination reduces sour electrical and
hulk-replacement costs
(410) 922-3116
Fax: (410) 922-5538 For a demonstration by
Swift Instruments, Inc. your regional swift
440 East Broadway 1 190 No. 4th Strut representative
Louisville, KY 40202 San Jose, CA 951 12 or a dealer
(502) 583-8634 Fax: (-1Q8) 292-7967 "Quality tlicruceupes
recommendation,
Fax: (502) 899-5452 E-mail: acswift@aol.com fbr.4 Lifetime." call (800) 523-4544

DIFFUSION 163