Substitute for The Chemical Senses: Smell and Taste Lab



Substitute for The Chemical Senses: Smell and Taste Lab

PLEASE DO NOT WRITE ON THIS PAPER. Write your answers on your own paper. Please return this paper with your answer sheet.

Directions: Use the information on the back and information in your textbook to help you answer the following questions.

1. Other than on the tongue, where are taste buds located in the oral cavity? (DO NOT WRITE ON)

2. What is the name for the taste receptors? (DO NOT WRITE ON)

3. What is the name for the smell receptors?

4. To what do the taste and smell receptors respond?

5. Because of this response, they are classified as:

6. Name the THREE types of papillae.

7. Describe the appearance of EACH type.

8. Name the FOUR basic taste sensations.

9. To what do sweet receptors respond?

10. To what do sour receptors respond?

11. To what do bitter receptors respond?

12. To what do salty receptors respond?

13. What would your body likely need if you had cravings for sugar and salt?

14. What types of foods or substances usually have a bitter taste?

15. Why is it impossible to taste substances with a dry tongue?

16. Would taste or smell be more important in distinguishing strongly scented substances, such as peppermint and wintergreen?

17. Name three factors that influence our taste.

18. Why is food less tasty when you have a cold?

19. Explain why a cold, greasy hamburger is unappetizing to most people.

20. Explain how the temperature of the tongue affects taste.

(information on back)

The receptors for smell (olfactory receptors) and taste (gustatory receptors) are classified as chemoreceptors because they respond to chemicals in solutions. The taste buds, specific receptors for the sense of taste, are widely distributed in the oral cavity. Most are located on the tongue. A few are found on the soft palate, pharynx (throat), and inner surface of the cheeks. The superior tongue surface is covered with small bumps, or papilla, of three major types: one with a sharp appearance – the filiform papillae, and two with a rounded appearance – the fungiform papillae and circumvallate papillae. The circumvallate papillae are arranged in a V-formation on the posterior surface of the tongue. The filiform and fungiform papillae are found scattered across the surface of the tongue. Each taste bud has taste cells called gustatory cells, or gustatory hair cells, which are stimulated by specific chemicals in solution. It is impossible to taste substances with a dry tongue because foods must be dissolved in solution to excite the taste receptors. However, some foods can be identified by texture. Additionally, the sense of smell is more important when foods do not have a recognizable texture.

There is no question that what is commonly called taste depends heavily on the sense of smell, particularly in the case of strongly scented substances. Often when your nasal passages have increased mucus, the sense of smell decreases and affects the way food tastes.

In addition to the effect that smell and texture play in determining taste sensation, the temperature of foods also helps determine if the food is appreciated or even tasted. When the tongue is cold, it is more difficult for the taste buds to distinguish tastes.

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