Receptors detect information

The idea

Information from the environment is detected by receptors, the specialised tips of some nerve cells, usually located in sense organs; gustatory receptors detect taste and olfactory receptors detect smell.

A hot jalebi

Raju bites into a hot jalebi. He tastes the sweetness at once, and he can smell the ghee it was fried in.

What picks up this information from the environment?

• The specialised tips of some nerve cells
• The muscles of the tongue
• The bones of the skull

Find the receptors

Open every tab. In each one, find where the information is picked up.

News from outside

The tongue and the nose are sense organs. Their receptors catch information from the environment, such as taste and smell. Gustatory receptors are for taste, and olfactory receptors are for smell.

Information from the environment is detected by receptors, the specialised tips of some nerve cells. Receptors are usually located in sense organs. Gustatory receptors detect taste and olfactory receptors detect smell.

Notes

Receptors, the specialised tips of some nerve cells, detect information from the environment. They are usually in sense organs: gustatory receptors detect taste and olfactory receptors detect smell.

Check yourself

What are receptors?

Which receptors detect taste?

Rani smells a flower. Which receptors are working?

Where are receptors usually located?

• Muscle fibres that shorten. Muscles do the final job of moving. Receptors are the tips of nerve cells that detect information.
• The specialised tips of some nerve cells that detect information — correct. Yes!
• Chemicals that cross a gap between neurons. Those chemicals are released at the end of an axon. Receptors are the tips of nerve cells that detect information.
• Olfactory receptors. Olfactory receptors detect smell, not taste.
• Receptors in the inner ear. The inner ear is a sense organ with receptors, but taste is detected by gustatory receptors.
• Gustatory receptors — correct. Yes!
• Olfactory receptors in her nose — correct. Yes!
• Gustatory receptors in her tongue. Gustatory receptors detect taste. Smell is detected by olfactory receptors.
• Muscle cells in her nose. Smell is detected by olfactory receptors, which are the tips of nerve cells.
• In the muscles that move the hand. Muscles carry out the response. Receptors are usually located in sense organs.
• In sense organs such as the nose and the tongue — correct. Yes!
• In the bony box around the brain. The bony box protects the brain. Receptors are usually located in sense organs.