 Consider how a snake moves and predict what would

happen if snakes had human skin.

HOTS: The "scutes". help the snake move by catching on
 Blind people use the high sensitivity of their fingertips stones, branches and other irregularities on the
to read in Braille. Raised dots are used to represent ground. If snakes had human skin they wouldn't move
letters and numbers. easily on the ground.
 Doctors give injections to their patients at the
forearms or hips. One of the reasons for this is these
areas are less sensitive to pain.
 The back of the hands has a lot of heat and cold
HOTS: receptors (temperature). Mother test the temperature
Explain how the nervous system responds to a stimulus. of their babies' milk on the back of their hands.
-The nerves send nerve impulses (information) from the
receptors to the spinal cord and brain.
-The brain and spinal cord interprets the message and
decide what to do.
-Nerve impulses are sent to effectors (muscle, glands,
etc.) to respond to the stimuli through nerves.

 How is the structure of the skin of a snake?

The outer layer of scales, called the epidermis, is
very thin--only 1/10 of a millimetre at most. This is
where cells constantly divide from the base layer and
move up to the surface to be sloughed off. Just below
the epidermis is a second layer, the dermis, which
doesn't undergo the same process of constant
replacement. Their bodies are covered with scales,
small diamond shapes on the top and long rectangles
on the bottom side. The underside scales are called
"scutes."
HOTS:
 How is it different from human skin? Which structures
 When a person catches a cold, they cannot detect
are present and which are missing?
smell well. The nose produces too much mucus
Human skin have three basic layers: epidermis,
which prevents chemicals from stimulating the smell
dermis containing receptors and nerve endings,
receptors.
subcutaneous layer that mostly made up of fats.
 A dog's sense of smell is hundred times more
Snakeskin has two layers--an outer layer of scales
sensitive than human. Therefore, dogs are being
and an inner layer containing the nerve endings and
used to track criminals and to sniff out drugs or
Sensitivity of Skin depends on: colour pigment cells. Snakes have smooth dry skin.
explosives.
-Thickness of epidermis They are not wet and slimy. Their bodies are covered
with scales. There are no scales in human body.  Our nose commonly acts as an early warning system
-Number of receptors/ Distance between the receptors. for our body. E.g. of situations in which we use our
©Eric K. 120817
 nose to detect danger before we detect it with our related.
other senses are: Gas leakage, smoke, burned food, The nasal cavity and mouth are connected. When we eat/
rotten food, heavy smell of gasoline drink, chemicals from food move up to nasal cavity and
stimulate the smell receptors in the nose as well.

Hearing Mechanism
1. The pinna gathers sound waves and directs them to
the auditory canal.
2. The sound waves travel along the auditory canal
and reach the eardrum. It vibrates at the same
frequency as the sound waves.
3. The vibrations are transferred to the ossicles. The
ossicles amplify the vibration 20 times in magnitude
before passing to the oval window.
4. Vibration of the oval window cause the fluid in the
cochlea to vibrate.
5. The movement of the fluid stimulates the receptors in
the cochlea. Nerve impulses are generated.
6. The auditory nerve sends the nerve impulses to the
brain.
7. The brain interprets the message as sound.

HOTS:
When a person get cold, the air passages in the nose are HOTS:
blocked. This reduces the sensitivity of the smell  Parts of the ear which are not involved in hearing:
receptors. Food become less tasty or different from its Semicircular canal- Help the body to maintain its
original taste as the sense of smell and taste are closely balance
Eustachian tube- Help to balance the air pressure on
©Eric K. 120817
 both side of the eardrum.
 Why we feel dizzy when taking a lift?
Semicircular canal is disturbed. This part of the ear
controls the body balance.
 Why sometimes we have the sensation of popped
ears?
Our ears sometimes pop because of the change of
air pressure. When we fly on an airplane, climb a
mountain, dive under the water, etc... It is the middle
ear that causes trouble during pressure changes,
because it is an air pocket inside the head. Yawning
or swallowing remedy the discomfort in the ear.

©Eric K. 120817
 Application on Reflection of light:

Phenomenon of Refraction of light

©Eric K. 120817
©Eric K. 120817
©Eric K. 120817
©Eric K. 120817