One by one smell each of the vials. Without saying anything out loud to your partners, write down:

• Whether you can smell anything
• If you smelled something, did the smells evoke any images, thoughts or feelings? What were they?
• If you smelled something, name what it is that you smelled.

1. ________________________________
2. ________________________________
3. _______________________________
4. _______________________________
5. _______________________________
6. _______________________________

If you were unable to identify the sources of the smells you might you explain your difficulty in identifying/labeling the smell?
 
 
 
 
 
 

The nose apparently has about 1000 different types of receptors. Each one is sensitive to just one type of odor molecule. Odors like the ones that you smelled often contain many molecules. There are probably more than 1000 different odors, let alone odor molecules in our lives. If the receptors can only register a thousand individual odor molecules, how do you think that your brain is able to distinguish between the thousand of different smells that permeate your world?
 
 
 
 

Take one of the odor vials and sniff at it, holding one nostril closed, until you cannot smell the scent anymore [this may take several minutes]. Then open our other nostril. What do you notice? How might you explain what happened?

Your sense of taste is greatly influence by your sense of smell. When your nose is stuffed up like with a cold, you lose up to 80% of your tasting capability.

You will need a slice of potato.

Plug your nose and bite into the potato, chew and swallow. Unplug your nose and bite into the potato, chew and swallow. Describe the difference between the two bites of potato.
 
 

Taste buds respond to different tastes – sweet, sour, salt and bitter. Working in pairs, you will determine which part of your tongue is receptive to which tastes.

You will need: cotton swabs [4]

Dixie cup with sugar water

Dixie cup with salt water

Dixie cup with lemon juice

Dixie cup with unsweetened tea

Dixie cup with plain water

Using a cotton swab – dip it into one of the solutions – and paint your partner’s entire tongue. Take a minute to allow your partner to identify where the taste was more intense. In the space below, draw a tongue and use it to identify where each taste was most readily detected. Rinse mouth with plain water, and repeat with each of the remaining solutions. When you are done, you should have a fairly accurate map of your tongue and its sensitivity to the 4 main tastes.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

• Read the attached handout on Taste Flavor and Food Choice.
• Understand the concept of ‘Supertaster’
• Using the blue food coloring – drop one drop onto your partner’s tongue – allow them to swish it around, and then use the light source to look at their tongue. Using the criteria in the article – identify them as a ‘non-taster’ ‘medium-taster’ or ‘super -taster’
• How does this information compare to their tongue map?? Can you make any correlations?