WHAT S THAT

SMELL?

S C E N T # 1 : O C E A N B R E E Z E , S C E N T # 2 : A P P L E C R A N B E R R Y
S C E N T # 3 : L I N E N , S C E N T # 4 : P L U M E R I A / F L O W E R S ,
S C E N T # 5 : L E M O N G R A S S , S C E N T # 6 : V A N I L L A
SOURCES
A brief look into how our nose
works by
Olivia Kucan, Nataly Diaz, and
Izzy Avedisian
http://kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/nose.html

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/
HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?
p=335&np=152&id=1686

http://health.howstu"works.com/mental#
health/human#nature/perception/
question139.htm

http://www.savets.org/Pages/
DogsIncredibleSenseofSmell.aspx

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/
article#1225564/Can#really#smell#memories#
How#childhood#scents#etched#brain.html
Popular to common belief, you actually
CAN smell memories! Certain scents
that your brain classies as more
important get guratively etched into
your brain, bringing you back to the
nostalgic time period.

How do you smell things?
Why do some things smell good to
some and bad to others?
Why do we sometimes get smells
mixed up?
Like everything from colors, avors,
and music tastes, smells are based on
the interaction with the brain. Some
people love the smell of co"ee while
others hate it. ANSWERS
SO WHAT DO YOU THI NK I T I S?
Now that youve had a go at each of the six scents, write down what you believe they are. Also,
write some places that you have smelled it before, it may help you to distinguish exactly what it is
you are smelling, and what fragrances are in that single scent.
On the back of this brochure are the
correct answers listed. Check to see, after
you have guessed what you think the
answers are, if your predictions were close
to what the actual smells are.
WHAT I S A
SMELL, REALLY?
Why is it you can smell things? Why does
your nose works the way it does? Your nose
allows you to smell all sorts of things from
the sweets baking in the oven, to the sweaty
clothes in the gym locker. As you probably
know, there are two holes in your nose called
nostrils that allow smells to enter your nose.
Those smells are actually particles that are
emitted by whatever you are smelling. The
particles enter your nose and attach
themselves to smell receptors called
olfactory receptors. You are able to smell
through the process of olfaction. Each scent
has a specic shape that ts into the
receptors with the same shape. Scientist call
this the Lock and Key model. Molecules
have specic shapes that will only t into
certain receptor sites, and the lining of the
nose is covered with these receptor sites.
Some molecules have similar shapes, and is
why they are often mixed up, or even
distinguishable. Take mints and citrus for
example
Smell, like taste, is a chemical sense detected by
sensory cells called chemoreceptors. When an
odorant stimulates the chemoreceptors in the nose
that detect smell, they pass on electrical impulses to
the brain. The brain then interprets patterns in
electrical activity as specic odors and olfactory
sensation becomes perception