Objectives:
Students will explore their sense of smell when given a variety of materials.
Materials:
apple slices, orange wedges, diced onions, vanilla soaked cotton ball, cinnamon oil soaked cotton ball, plastic film containers for each substance, stopwatch, computer with Internet, Field Trip into the Sea software
Introduction:
Tell your students that they are going to be scientists studying a human's sense of smell and they will participate in a scientific experiment. Review the steps in the scientific process (problem statement, purpose, hypothesis, materials, procedure, results, conclusion). Brainstorm the Problem Statement and Hypothesis. Predict the Results. Conduct experiment.
Problem Statement:
Which substance takes the least amount of time for a human to smell?
Purpose:
To discover what substance a human can smell fastest.
Hypothesis:
I think the apple will be smelled the quickest.
Procedure:
1. Students form a circle in the center of
the room.
2. Tell students to turn so they are facing
the walls.
3. Explain to students that you will be releasing
smells one at a time from the center of the circle.
4. Tell students that when they smell something
they are to raise their hands.
5. As smells are released, use a stopwatch
to time the interval it takes for a student to raise his hand.
6. Ask the first student who raises his hand
to identify the smell.
7. Write the name of the substance and the
time interval on the board or a sheet of paper.
8. Continue releasing substances and timing
the intervals.
9. Have students record their results in a table using
desktop publishing
10. Have students Ask Jeeves
a question about the shark's sense of smell.
11. Students will use A Field Trip into the Sea
software to collect data about sharks and their physical characteristics
Results:
Discuss findings. Which substances were smelled quickest? Which took the longest?
Conclusion:
Write in students own words. Graph the results using a spreadsheet application or Online Graphs. Visit Tables and Graphs to learn more about graphing.
Competency:
After participating in a hands-on group investigation students will determine that humans can smell different substances at different time intervals.
Extension Activity: Shark: Friend or Foe
Homework:
Remind students that sharks can smell certain substances from hundreds of meters away. Make a list of substances that humans can smell from far away. Examples would include tar from a roof, barbecue, popcorn popping, burning wood, etc.
Guest Speaker:
Invite a fishing guide to the class to talk about sharks and their sense of smell, how they attract sharks or other fish to the boat, where they have sighted sharks, etc.
Resource
A Field Trip into the Sea software.
Sunburst Communications. Pleasantville, NY: 1991.
