Tastes and Textures

Tastes

Mr. Thiesen's Anatomy and Physiology class is currently studying the nervous system and senses. They are conducting labs to investigate various senses.

One lab focused on our sense of taste. Do you know that genetically we all taste things differently? Some people love tomatoes, while others of us seriously dislike their flavor. Students tried taste-test papers with chemicals found in foods we eat. Some were confused when their neighbor was gagging while they didn't taste anything at all.

The students also discovered that there are taste receptors located at different places on the tongue that detect sweet, salty, bitter, and sour.

Textures

Mr. Smith's 6th-Grade students spent some time using their sense of touch to explore different textures found in soils. It got a little messy, but lessons were learned!  The students used flour, powdered sugar, and salt to identify the characteristics of different soil types. Once they got cleaned up, the student groups presented their findings to the rest of the class.