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Touch Receptors

Matt Campbell 9A Science

Aim: To see which part of the skin contains the more touch receptors, a test involving a paper clip being pressed on the skin of a subject will be done. Hypothesis: I hypothesize that the area (from the ones we tested) that will have the most touch receptors will be the index finger. This hypothesis arose because the index finger is the main utensil used by man to feel, touch, and carry objects and therefore has most probably adapted to have the most touch receptors. Independent Variable: The Area that one is testing Dependent Variable: The Number of Touch Receptors Materials: Paper Clip Rulers Graph Paper Blindfold Method: 1. Work with a partner, one is the subject, the other the data recorder 2. Straighten out a paper clip 3. Bend it in the middle so that the legs are the same length 4. Make the distance between the legs 50mm for the beginning 5. Blindfold the subject 6. Touch both ends to the skin of the subject, and have the subject state how many points s/he felt 7. Now lessen the distance between the legs and try again 8. Continue lessening the distance until only one point is felt 9. Record the results 10. Repeat steps 6-9 for each area of the skin Results: Skin Area Forehead Cheek Forearm Palm Index Finger Thumb Calf 50mm 2p 2p 2p 2p 2p 2p 2p 40mm 2p 1p 2p 2p 2p 2p 1p 30mm 20mm 2p 1p 2p 2p 2p 2p 1p 2p 2p 1p 10mm 5mm 4mm 3mm

1p 1p

Observation: I noticed that as the distance gets smaller, the amount of 1points increases I also noticed that it seems that Nilanjay (Subject) has a very insensitive body I also noticed that the arm and hand seem to have the most touch receptors

Matt Campbell 9A Science Analysis: This experiment has brought to my attention many different things all at once. First, I realized (as said in observation 2) that Nilanjay was very insensitive, which was discovered on the basis of other groups who went to 3mm and under. So, using that information, I concluded that either most groups cheated, or Nilanjay is just insensitive. I also noticed that the all areas of the body had different two-point distances that I believe to have occurred over thousands of years as an evolutionary point in time. Because our body realized that we use our hands and arms more than we do our middle back, it evolved to give us more touch receptors in our hands and arms so that we can make sense of the world with our sense of touch. Furthermore, if we had a lot of touch receptors on our backs, our sense of touch would be terrible because almost all our feelings and sensations can be felt through our hands, not the back. Because of that, I think that the part of the brain that receives and analyzes the areas with more receptors should be larger because it has to use more power to discover and analyze any sensory information coming, which will be a overwhelming amount, thus larger brain area. The sensory homunculus is an imaginary area that states where every receptors information is sent. It is as if you drew an imaginary man across your brain and each area of the man shows which area of the brain analyzes each area of the body. Conclusion: Through doing this experiment, I was able to answer many of my questions from the beginning of not only the experiment, but also the unit. First, the original experiment question, which part of the skin contains the more touch receptors, I believe was answered and the answer was the entire hand, basically. Once discovering this, I could conclude that this is probably an outcome of evolution whereby once the body realized how useful the hands and arms were, more touch receptors were added in that area. Beyond the original question, some things really surprised me in my results. First, I found out that the cheek is less sensitive than the forehead. This is surprising because the forehead doesnt seem like an area the body needs to understand what is touching it. But, I do understand that we only tested the outside of the cheek, rather than the inside. Also, the variety of results within the class was astounding. This included the fact that some people could not tell there were two points touching at 20mm, whereas others were still getting 2 points at 1mm, which really surprised me. Finally, I was surprised to see that the palm was more sensitive than the thumb because it seems like the palm does very little in comparison to the thumb in everyday life. Also, while doing the experiment, I discovered some very unreliable things to do in the method. First, I found that this test is very much about honesty. I found this because for whatever reason, some people might just say that they feel two points, when in reality they only feel one. Others may do the exact opposite, for whatever reason, they may say one, when their brain was actually saying two. And still, others may say random things just to mess up the test. So, I think that without some honesty, this experiment would fall to pieces instantly. Also, the recorder could very easily make a mistake by only pressing down one leg of the paperclip, or not pressing down at the same time but rather at different times. These examples, of many, show that without a good paperclip, recorder, and subject, the experiment would fall apart. So, in order to address said issues, I think that instead of a paperclip, something more sturdy and already bent in that way should be used. Also, I think that the recorder should spend time one meticulously pressing both ends in, as well as giving surprise pieces, where the recorder will place only one side on the subject to see if s/he says 1 or 2, for honesty. And finally, the subject should be at the highest level of integrity, or even better, has no idea what the test is about or what it is for.

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