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Body Lab 3-5 / Week 10 / Thursday
4/6
Week 10 · Skin, Touch, Smell and Taste

Thursday

The sense of smell
// The senses that touch, sniff and sample the world
⏱ about 15 min

Thursday: The Sense of Smell

Rocket lines up four covered cups. "My Sniff-o-Matic 3000 can name any smell!" he says.

The machine sputters and stops. Rocket sighs.

Raven lifts a lid and wafts the air. "What do you notice? This one smells sweet and bright."

Nova glows near the cups. "You already own a smell machine," she says. "Where does the air go when you sniff?"

How smelling works

Tiny bits of a smell float through the air. They are too small to see.

When you breathe in, they travel into your nose.

High up inside your nose is a small patch with special smell receptors.

There are about 10 million smell receptors in your nose!

The receptors send signals along a nerve to your brain. Your brain names the smell.

A SMELL'S TRIP
  • Tap a card.
  • Then tap its spot.
1First
2Next
3Then
4Last

Smell keeps you safe

Smell is like a warning system.

It can warn you about smoke before you see a fire.

It can tell you that food smells spoiled, so you leave it alone.

Your brain remembers smells. That is how you know them next time.

SMELL DETECTIVE
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Where are the smell receptors?
Which part names the smell?
How can smell keep you safe?

Sniff jar test

  1. A grown-up fills four cups: orange peel, apple, banana and cucumber.
  2. A grown-up covers each cup with a paper towel.
  3. Close your eyes. Hold a cup a little away from your face.
  4. Wave the air toward your nose with your hand. This is called wafting.
  5. Guess each smell. Then peek!
Safety first
A grown-up does all the cutting.
Waft the air. Never stick your nose deep into a cup.
Smell only. Nothing is tasted.
CupMy guessWhat it was
1
2
3
4
StatementTrue or false?
Smells travel through the air as tiny bits.?
Your nose has only a few smell receptors.?
Smell can help warn you about spoiled food.?
Your brain can remember smells.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEYour nose has millions of receptors, and smell helps keep you safe.
Waving air toward your nose is called ____.
Smell signals travel along a nerve to the ____.
About how many smell receptors are in your nose? Type the number.
WHY THIS EXERCISEYour nose has about 10 million smell receptors.

Nice sniffing! Tomorrow we meet the tongue and find out how smell helps you taste.

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