Teacher sheet · Ages 10–11 · about 45–50 minutes
Senses and receptors: how we sense the world
Lesson page: echoesof.science/school/senses/ages-10-11/ · Pupil worksheet: echoesof.science/school/senses/ages-10-11/print/
Learning aims
- Sort senses into special and general senses.
- Name the main kinds of receptor and their stimuli.
- Explain why smell is part of flavour.
- Carry out a fair test and compare results.
Lesson plan
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 5 min | Starter: hold your nose and describe the taste of a sip of water. Then let go. |
| 10 min | Read the text; sort the senses on the board. |
| 20 min | Fair test: does smell help taste? |
| 5 min | Game: Which receptor? |
| 5 min | Quiz. |
Materials for the experiment
- Small peeled pieces of apple and pear, all the same size, cut by the teacher (only if school rules and allergies allow)
- A clean plate and napkin for each taster
- A glass of water for each taster
- Results table
Safety: Check food allergies and school food rules with parents first; anyone may sit out or swap to the tester role. Wash hands, use clean plates, one taster per plate and no sharing. The teacher does all the cutting. Keep eyes closed only while sitting still.
Common misconceptions
| Pupils may think… | Actually… |
|---|---|
| Different parts of the tongue taste different things (the 'tongue map'). | Taste cells for each taste are spread across the tongue. |
| There are exactly five senses. | Scientists also count balance, temperature, pain and proprioception, among others. |
| Flavour comes only from the tongue. | Flavour is taste, smell, texture, heat and cold together. |
Worksheet answers
- A special sense has its own organ (for example hearing, the ear); a general sense is spread through the body (for example touch or temperature).
- Apple and pear taste similar to the taste buds; much of the difference is smell, which reaches the nose from the throat when you chew. Pinching the nose blocks that.
- For example: the same size pieces, the same fruit, the same number of tries, eyes closed in both rounds.
- Fingertips have many more touch receptors per square centimetre (about 2–3 mm two-point distance compared with 35–40 mm on the arm).
Quiz answers
- Which of these is a special sense, with its own organ? Hearing. Hearing has its own organ, the ear; temperature and pain are general senses.[1]
- Which receptors react to light? Photoreceptors. Photo means light.[1]
- Which is one of the five basic tastes? Umami. The five are sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami.[2]
- Why does food taste bland with a blocked nose? Smells from chewing can't reach the smell receptors. Smells travel from the throat to the nose; a blocked channel weakens flavour.[2][3]
- Where can you feel two points that are only 2–3 mm apart? On a fingertip. Fingertips have many more receptors per square centimetre.[4]
- In the apple and pear test, what changes between the two rounds? Only whether the nose is pinched. Change one thing and keep the rest the same to make it fair.
Going further
Plan a two-point touch test with a blunt bent paper clip: which part of the hand is most sensitive? Keep the pressure and the order fair.
Sources used in this lesson
- [1] Anatomy and Physiology, 14.1 Sensory Perception (OpenStax, Rice University): reliability High
- [2] Taste Disorders (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH, USA)): reliability High
- [3] Smell Disorders (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH, USA)): reliability High
- [4] Our Sense of Touch: Two-Point Discrimination (Neuroscience for Kids, University of Washington): reliability Medium-high
Full list with links and a note on each source's reliability: echoesof.science/school/senses/sources/
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