Summary
Areas of Science
Difficulty
Time Required
Short (2-5 days)
Prerequisites
None
Material Availability
Readily available
Cost
Very Low (under $20)
Safety
Avoid applying too much pressure and harming an animal when performing the touch test.
*Note:
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If you want a Project Idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk (*) at the end of the title.
Abstract
All animals need to respond to changes in their immediate environment. The sensory structures of animals are each made to respond to distinct types of sensory stimuli: touch, taste, sound, light and smell. How are these stimuli received? Different animals have different strategies for receiving stimuli and develop specialized structures for doing so. Antennae, ears, noses, tongues, eyes, eye spots, hairs and bristles are all examples of sensory structures used by different animals to sense their environment. You can do several experiments to test how different animals use sensory structures and the sensitivity of different structures. In humans the skin is the largest organ, and also the largest sensory structure with nerves that sense touch stimuli. Try a touch test using a toothpick on different parts of the skin. Do all parts of the body sense touch in the same way, or with the same sensitivity? Do other animals have differences in touch sensitivity? Try a touch test at the anterior (front) and posterior (rear) end of a caterpillar or worm. Do both ends have the same response? How about more specialized animal structures, such as legs, wings or antennae? You can perform a touch test on different parts of an insect to measure the sensitivity of the touch response in different sensory structures. Does stimulating the touch response lead to a change in behavior? (Dashefsky, 1995, 30-32)Bibliography
Dashefsky, H.S. 1995. Zoology: 49 Science Fair Projects. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
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Global Connections
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Careers
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Career Profile
Each time your heart beats, or you breathe, think, dream, smell, see, move, laugh, read, remember, write, or feel something, you are using your nervous system. The nervous system includes your brain, spinal cord, and a huge network of nerves that make electrical connections all over your body. Neurologists are the medical doctors who diagnose and treat problems with the nervous system. They work to restore health to an essential system in the body.
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Related Links
Cite This Page
General citation information is provided here. Be sure to check the formatting, including capitalization, for the method you are using and update your citation, as needed.MLA Style
Science Buddies Staff.
"The Touch Response." Science Buddies,
20 Nov. 2020,
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Zoo_p040/zoology/the-touch-response?from=Blog.
Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
APA Style
Science Buddies Staff.
(2020, November 20).
The Touch Response.
Retrieved from
https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/Zoo_p040/zoology/the-touch-response?from=Blog
Last edit date: 2020-11-20
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