Name That Taste

Gracie L. Jones                Charles Carroll Elementary
                               2929 West 83rd Street
                               Chicago IL 60625
                               (773) 535-9414

Objective:

     This experiment is designed specifically for students in grades three to
five.  However, it should also be helpful for students in grades six to eight
with minimal adjustments.  It can accompany lessons which target the five
senses, especially the senses of taste and smell or it will work well as
a singular experiment which will enhance basic observation skills.  Students
will learn how the different taste sensations are experienced, particularly
that sweet and sour sensors are located on specific parts of the tongue.
 
Materials Needed:

     Q-tips                    Granulated sugar
     Lemon juice               Shock tarts (candy)
     Vinegar                   Cups (4 per group)
     Paper towels              Blindfolds
     Tongue map (This is the shape of the tongue.  Show students a design of the
                 of the tongue with the specific taste areas labeled.  Have them
                 to create their own map from this design without labeling.)                     
     This experiment should be conducted by students in groups of two or more.  
This will allow students to act as the subject, experimenter, recorder and 
observer.  Students will need three maps each. 

Strategy:

Place the lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and shock tarts in separate cups.  Label 
the bottom of each cup to indicate the contents.  On the sides of the cups, 
write A, B, C or D and place on a table facing the recorder.  The subject (or 
taster) should be blindfolded.  Using a clean Q-tip each time, the experimenter 
will dip the end into one of the cups with the liquid content and place on 
different areas of the student's tongue.  The shock tarts should be placed in 
the subject's hand and they will place it on different areas of their tongue. 
Each time the tongue is touched, the student should be asked to identify the 
taste sensation that they experienced.  Each response should be noted by the 
recorder on the tongue map.  Once all students within the group have completed 
the task, allow students to conduct the experiment again.  This time the 
blindfold should not be included.  The experiment should be conducted a third 
time.  This time students will hold their nose and complete each step of the 
experiment.  When the experiment is completed, students should review their 
individual responses and then compare them with the other students in their 
group. each group will write their overall results and compare with the rest of 
the class. 

Performance Assessment:

Students will now be able to complete tongue mapping by labeling the areas
of the tongue that are more sensitive to a specific taste and areas where
taste sensations may overlap with each other.  They will also understand
how the sense of taste is influenced by both sight and smell.