SENSORY ORGANS

 Sense of smell – nose

 Sense of taste – tongue

 Sense of hearing – ears

 Sense of sight – eyes

 Sense of touch – skin

PATHWAY FROM STIMULUS TO RESPOND

STIMUL RECEPT NERV

US ORS ES

RESPO EFFECT BRAI

NER
NSE ORS N
VES
SENSE OF TOUCH

Structure of human skin

Two factors that affect the sensitivity of skin

 The thickness of the epidermis

• The thicker the epidermis, the more the sensitivity

 The number of receptors

 • The more the number of receptors, the more the sensitivity

SENSE OF SMELL

The position of sensory cells in the nose

How the sense of smell works?

• Chemical substances that dissolve in the mucus stimulates cells that are
sensitive to smell

• The smell-sensitive cells send impulses through the nerve to the brain

• The brain interprets the smell

SENSE OF TASTE

Areas of the tongue that respond to different tastes

How sense of taste works?

• Chemical substances in the food dissolves in the saliva and stimulates the
taste buds

• The taste buds send impulses to the brain

• The brain interprets the taste

SENSE OF HEARING

Structures of human ears

NO. PART OF EARS FUNCTION

1 Pinna Collects and directs sound wave to the ear canal
• Made of cartilage
and skin
• Shaped like a funnel
2 Ear canal Directs sound to the eardrum
• A long tube, lined
with hairs
3 Eardrum Vibrates when sound wave hit it
• A thin membrane
4 Ossicles Amplify vibrations
• Three small bones Transfer vibrations to the oval window
5 Oval window Transfer vibrations of the ossicles to the cochlea
• A small, thin
membrane
6 Cochlea Detects vibrations
• A coiled tube, filled Converts vibrations into nerve impulses
with fluid
• Contains receptors
7 Eustachian tube Equalises air pressure on both sides of the
• A tube that eardrum
connects the middle Preventing it from damage
ear to the throat
8 Auditory nerve Carries nerve impulses to the brain
 •
Nerve fibres that
connect to the brain
9 Semicircular canal Detect position and movement of head to help us
• Three semicircular to keep our balances
canals situated at
right angles to each
other

SENSE OF SIGHT

Parts of eye

PARTS OF EYE CHARACTERISTICS FUNCTIONS

Sclera • Outer layer of the • Protects and maintains the
eyeball shape of eyeball
• White, tough and
opaque
Choroid • Middle layer of the • Absorbs light and prevent
eyeball internal reflection of light
• Has black pigments and • Supplies nutrients and the
a lot of blood vessels oxygen
Retina • Innermost layer of the • Detects light and produces
eyeball nerve impulses
• Has many • Cones detect colours in
photoreceptors (cones bright light
and rods) • Rods detect shades of grey
in dim light
Conjunctiva • Thin, transparent • Protects the cornea
membrane in front of
cornea
Aqueous • Watery fluid between • Helps in refracting light
humour cornea and iris • Maintains the shape of the
eyeball
Cornea • Curved, transparent • Refracts light onto retina
 layer of the sclera
found in front of eye
Pupil • Hole in the centre of • Controls the amount of light
the iris that enters the eye
Iris • Coloured part of the • Controls the size of pupil
eye which is continuous
with the choroid
Lens • A transparent, elastic • Focuses light onto retina
disc
Vitreous • Jelly-like substance • Helps in refracting light,
humour found between lens and maintains the shape of the
retina eyeball
Suspensory • Strong fibres • Hold the lens in its position
ligaments
Ciliary body • Made up of strong • Contracts and relaxes to
muscles change the thickness of
the lens
Yellow spot • Most sensitive spot on • Detects light or any images
the retina that fall on it
• Located at the centre of
the retina
• Consists of only cones
Blind spot • A spot with no • Spot where optic nerve
photoreceptor leaves the eyeball
Optic nerve • Made of nerve fibres • Carries nerve impulses from
from the rods and the retina to the brain
cones on the retina

How the eyes work?

REFLECTION OF LIGHT

Occurs when light bounces off the surface of an object

REFRACTION OF LIGHT

• The bending of a light ray when it enters a medium of different density

• When light travels from one medium to another, its speed changes.

SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS

1) Person can see near objects clearly, cannot focus on distant objects

2) Light from distant object focused in front of retina, so image is blur

3) Occurs because :

a) Lens too thick

b) Eyeball too long

4) Can be corrected by using concave lens

5) The lens diverges the light before it enters the eye, so image is formed
exactly on the retina
 LONG-SIGHTEDNESS

1) Person can see distant objects clearly, cannot focus on near objects

2) Light from near objects converges to a point behind retina, so image is blur

3) Occurs because:

a) Lens too thin

b) Eyeball too short

4) Can be corrected by using convex lens

5) The lens converges the light before it enters the eye, so image is formed
exactly on the retina

ASTIGMATISM

1) Caused by the irregular surface of the cornea

2) Can be corrected using special lenses or through surgery

OPTICAL ILLUSIONS – Confusion of brain

BLIND SPOT – When images fall on the blind spot, they cannot be seen because
there are no photoreceptors on it