sensory organ - the tongue and mouth
Your sense of taste
Our third type of sensory organs to explore are the tongue and mouth, which are connected to our sense of taste. We begin this study of our sense of taste by asking questions we want to know about the tongue and mouth. As we find the answers to these questions they will be posted here and in the classroom.
Amazing Facts About Your Tongue and Sense of Taste
EXPLORE - Videos We Watched in Class
Frog using it's tongue
Veiled chameleon shooting its tongue
Anteater Tongue Action - Enrichment
All about the Tongue - Kidshealth.org
Taste (BBC/Discovery Channel)
Inside a Flavor Lab
The Science of Taste - KQED QUEST
EXPLAIN - Study Guides:
Your Tongue by KidsHealth.org
Tongue Study Guide - Form, Function & Flashcards
Amazing Facts About Your Tongue and Sense of Taste
- The tongue is a muscular structure attached to the floor of the mouth.
- The tongue is the main sensory organ of the taste sense. The upper surface of a tongue is covered with taste buds which contain taste receptors.
- The human tongue has on average 3,000 - 10,000 taste buds.
- The bumps we can see on the tongue are called papillae. Taste buds sit on top of these papillae but are not visible to the human eye.
- There are at least five elements of taste perception: salty, sour, bitter, sweet, and umami (or savoury).
- It is a myth (misconception) that different tastes come from different areas of the tongue, these tastes can all be detected anywhere on the tongue.
- Humans also use the tongue for speech where it helps with changes in sound.
- The tongue also works as a natural way of cleaning teeth after eating.
- On average, women have shorter tongues than men.
- The human tongue is divided into two parts the anterior (front 2/3rd) and the posterior (back 1/3rd).
- The anterior part of the tongue is the visible part at the front and is about two-thirds of the tongue's length.
- The posterior tongue area is closest to the throat, and roughly one-third of length.
- There are eight muscles in the human tongue. They can be classified as intrinsic or extrinsic.
- There are four intrinsic muscles which are not attached to any bone, they are the muscles that allow the tongue to change shape, such as point, roll, tuck etc.
- There are four extrinsic muscles which are attached to bone, they allow the tongue to change position, such as poke out, retract, side-to-side movement.
- The average length of the human tongue from the back to the tip is 10 cm (4 in).
- The blue whale has the largest tongue of all animals. Its tongue weigh's around 2.7 metric tons (425 stone).
- Taste receptors cannot actually taste food until saliva has moistened it, for example we usually taste salty things first as salt dissolves quickly in moisture.
- Traditional human food dishes sometimes include tongue of various animals. Mexicans have a taco filled beef tongue dish, pig and cow tongue is popular in Chinese cuisine. Lamb, cod, and duck tongue are also popular in some countries.
- Sticking your tongue out at people is seen as childish or rude in many countries, however, in Tibet it is considered a greeting.
- Dogs and cats often use their tongues to clean their fur and body. The very rough texture of their tongue allows them to remove oils and parasites.
- Have you ever wondered why a dog's tongue hangs out of its mouth after a lot of exercise? Well a dog's tongue increases in size as it exercises due to greater blood flow, moisture on the tongue works to cool this blood flow, cooling the dog.
- Some animal tongues are specially designed to catch prey. Chameleons, frogs, and anteaters have tongues that can extend out of their mouth and grab insects.
EXPLORE - Videos We Watched in Class
Frog using it's tongue
Veiled chameleon shooting its tongue
Anteater Tongue Action - Enrichment
All about the Tongue - Kidshealth.org
Taste (BBC/Discovery Channel)
Inside a Flavor Lab
The Science of Taste - KQED QUEST
EXPLAIN - Study Guides:
Your Tongue by KidsHealth.org
Tongue Study Guide - Form, Function & Flashcards
EXTEND YOURSELF: Hands-on Activities we do in Class
Station 1 - No Saliva, No Taste?
In order for food to have taste, chemicals from the food must first dissolve in saliva. Once dissolved, the chemicals can be detected by receptors on taste buds. Therefore, if there is no saliva, you should not be able to taste anything. To test this theory, dry your tongue with a clean paper towel. Once your tongue is dry, try tasting a sample of salt, garlic, cinnamon or sugar. Rinse your mouth and dry your tongue after each test.
Station 2 - Are there areas of your tongue that have taste buds for only one type of taste?
One of the greatest misconceptions about the tongue is that it is divided into areas that have taste receptors (taste buds) for only one of the 5 types of tastes (salty, sour, sweet, bitter and umami). On the "tongue map", salty and sweet flavors were said to be tasted near the tip of the tongue, bitter flavors were said to be tasted near the back of the tongue, sour flavors were said to be tasted on the sides of the tongue, and umami flavors were tasted in the central and back areas of the tongue. 5th grade students are experts at tasting food - most of you have at least 10 years of experience tasting food and other objects. Does your experience confirm this "tongue map"?
We've learned in class that there are four types of papillae located on the tongue, three of the four types of papillae contain taste buds, and each taste bud (regardless of location or type of papillae) contains taste receptors for all five of the taste types. To test this, you will swish and spit out samples of each of the five tastes to see if you “taste” sweet, salty, sour, bitter or umami only in certain parts of your tongue, one part of your tongue, or all over your tongue. You will record your results by creating a taste map of your tongue that shows the area(s) of your tongue that "taste(s)" each of the flavors (if any).
Other Cool Websites:
Taste and Smell
Other Cool Videos:
Taste Sensation Lecture
Khan Academy - Gustation
Sense of Taste
Test your tongue: the science of taste