Deck 13: The Chemical Senses: Taste and Smell

Question 1

The difference between "taste" and "flavor" is that:

A) while taste refers only to perceptions from the tongue, flavor also includes perceptions from smell and tactile experiences.
B) while flavor describes the physical make-up of a food, taste describes the subjective experience of it.
C) while the flavor stimulus comes in direct contact with the receptors, the taste stimulus does not.
D) none of the above

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT one of the five basic tastes?

A) astringent
B) umami
C) salty
D) sour

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A) Taste buds are located throughout your mouth and throat.
B) Papillae are small, but can be seen with the naked eye.
C) All papillae contain taste buds.
D) Taste buds are visible only with a microscope.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Approximately how many taste receptor cells does each human have?

A) 60
B) 5,000
C) 300,000
D) 10 million

Question 5

The opening of the taste bud is called the:

A) papillae
B) microvilli
C) taste receptor cell
D) taste pore

Question 6

If you were to put a piece of sugar on the central area of your tongue, you would not be able to taste the sweetness. This is because:

A) there are no taste receptors at this location.
B) the central part of the tongue is sensitive only to bitter tastes.
C) taste cells in this location are less sensitive than in other locations.
D) the central part of the tongue is sensitive only to sour tastes.

Question 7

The average life span of the average taste cell is:

A) 1 day
B) 10 days
C) 1 year
D) taste cells never die

Question 8

Which of the following tastes is NOT encoded with the help of various G-proteins?

A) salty
B) bitter
C) sweet
D) umami

Question 9

Which of the following provides the likely mechanism by which sour tastes are perceived?

A) A- fibers
B) sodium ions
C) G-proteins
D) transient receptor potential proteins

Question 10

The three nerves in the mouth and throat send information to the:

A) medulla
B) prefrontal cortex
C) superior colliculus
D) striate cortex

Question 11

Information from the right side of the tongue is sent:

A) to the left side of the brain
B) to the right side of the brain
C) to both sides of the brain simultaneously
D) first to the left side of the brain and then to the right side of the brain

Question 12

Approximately how long does it take for self-adaptation to reach its threshold?

A) 1 second
B) 1 minute
C) 1 day
D) 1 yea

Question 13

After eating a large piece of chocolate cake, you take a drink of your soda and find that it no longer tastes sweet. This is an example of:

A) self-adaptation
B) cross-adaptation
C) dysgeusia
D) total ageusia

Question 14

Which of the following statements about adaptation is FALSE?

A) After removing a substance that you have adapted to, your threshold quickly recovers to normal.
B) Adaptation involves a decrease in sensitivity for a particular taste.
C) Some bitter tastes do not cross-adapt with other bitter tastes.
D) Adaptation to a sweet taste can decrease your sensitivity to sour tastes.

Question 15

If you were to drink a glass of water after drinking a sour substance, the water would likely taste:

A) salty
B) bitter
C) sweet
D) sour

Question 16

The taste modifier miraculin:

A) makes sweet substances taste salty
B) makes salty substances taste sweet
C) makes sweet substances taste bitter
D) makes sour substances taste sweet

Question 17

What is the name of the exotic taste modifier that makes sugar tasteless?

A) curculigo latifolia
B) miracle fruit
C) gymnema sylvestre
D) strogin

Question 18

In general, the recognition threshold:

A) is higher than the absolute threshold
B) is lower than the absolute threshold
C) is the same as the absolute threshold
D) is unrelated to the absolute threshold

Question 19

Kelli drinks some distilled water with a small amount of citric acid in it. She is able to detect that there is something added to the water but is not able to identify what it is.
Kelli has:

A) reached the recognition threshold but not the absolute threshold
B) reached the absolute threshold but not the recognition threshold
C) reached both the recognition threshold and the absolute threshold
D) not reached either the recognition threshold or the absolute Threshold

Question 20

Peggy drinks some distilled water with a small amount of vinegar in it. What would she have to be able to do in order for us to conclude that she has crossed the absolute threshold?

A) detect that there is something added to the water
B) identify the taste as "sour"
C) identify the taste as "vinegar"
D) all of the above

Question 21

Which of the following statements about supertasters is TRUE?
A Supertasters show an increased sensitivity to bitter tastes such as PTC and PROP
B) Supertasters show an increased sensitivity to sweet tastes.
C) Supertasters show an increased sensitivity to sour tastes.
D) all of the above

Question 22

Randolph recently started taking medicine and has now lost the ability to taste anything. He likely:

A) is a nontaster
B) has ageusia
C) is a supertaster
D) has dysgeusia

Question 23

Laura has recently been experiencing a metallic taste in her mouth even though there is nothing there. She likely:

A) is a nontaster
B) has ageusia
C) is a supertaster
D) has dysgeusia

Question 24

Smell stimuli are called:

A) olfactory bulbs
B) cilia
C) odorants
D) papillae

Question 25

The stereochemical theory, which states that odorous molecules have definite shapes that determine the kind of odor that we smell, was proposed by:

A) Aristotle
B) Henning
C) Amoore
D) Wilson & Stevenson

Question 26

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) Most modern researchers support Henning's odorant classification system.
B) Most modern researchers support Aristotle's odorant classification system.
C) Most modern researchers support Amoore's odorant classification system.
D) Modern researchers pay little attention to such classification systems.

Question 27

The three bones that help to direct air flow in the nasal cavity are called __________________ bones.

A) epithelium
B) olfactory
C) turbinate
D) odorant

Question 28

The smell receptors are found on the:

A) olfactory epithelium
B) turbinate bones
C) cilia
D) nostril

Question 29

What is the function of cilia?

A) to filter out the dust from the air you breathe
B) to catch the odorant molecules that enter the olfactory epithelium
C) to redirect the air you breathe
D) to send information from the olfactory bulb to the Amygdale

Question 30

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) Olfactory receptors are replaced about once a month.
B) Humans have between 6 and 10 functional olfactory genes.
C) Cilia protrude from each receptor.
D) We have approximately 12 million olfactory receptors.

Question 31

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A) One odorant will stimulate receptors with only one type of G-protein.
B) One odorant will stimulate receptors with different G- proteins.
C) One receptor will respond to only one type of odorant.
D) One receptor will respond to different types of odorants.
E) both A and C
F) both B and D

Question 32

Which of the following statements about the path of information in the olfactory system is FALSE?

A) Information from the olfactory bulb goes to the olfactory epithelium.
B) Information from the olfactory bulb goes to the amygdala.
C) Information from the olfactory bulb goes to the piriform cortex.
D) Information from the olfactory bulb goes to the entorhinal cortex.

Question 33

Which of the following brain areas most likely plays a role in whether you find an odor pleasant or unpleasant?

A) the entorhinal cortex
B) the piriform cortex
C) the orbitofrontal cortex
D) the temporal cortex

Question 34

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) Expectation plays a role in your experience of odor.
B) Exposure to an unpleasant odor will eventually cause a person to prefer it.
C) People who have experience smelling unfamiliar odors are better able to discriminate them.
D) Semantic labels have an impact on odor perception.

Question 35

If a person is told that an odor is "hazardous":

A) they will cross-adapt but not self-adapt
B) they will self-adapt quickly to it but not cross-adapt
C) they will both self-adapt and cross-adapt to other hazardous odors
D) they will not adapt to it

Question 36

Below are the odor thresholds in air (in parts per million) for 4 common odors. Based on this information, which odor are we most sensitive to?
Nail polish remover = 15
Rubbing alcohol = 10 Mothballs = .05
Rotten eggs = .017

A) nail polish remover
B) rubbing alcohol
C) mothballs
D) rotten eggs

Question 37

Peter recently suffered from a head injury that broke the connection between the olfactory bulb and the olfactory cortex. He likely has __________________ and will therefore __________________.

A) anosmia; have no sense of smell
B) anosmia; will smell odors even though no stimuli are present
C) dysgeusia; have no sense of smell
D) dysgeusia; will smell odors even though no stimuli are Present

Question 38

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A) Men have greater olfactory abilities than women.
B) Olfactory abilities decline with age, beginning in middle age.
C) Older people are just as good as younger people in identifying unpleasant odors.
D) Blind people have better olfactory abilities than seeing people.

Question 39

If presented with two odors that have a very similar molecular composition, people are:

A) both quick and accurate at discriminating them.
B) quick, but not accurate at discriminating them.
C) accurate, but not quick at discriminating them.
D) neither quick nor accurate at discriminating them.

Question 40

Research suggests that our relative deficit in identifying odors compared to other stimuli is due to:

A) the disorganization of information in the olfactory cortex.
B) our genetic limitations.
C) our lack of odor labels.
D) the small number of olfactory receptors.

Question 41

The human leukocyte antigen system plays a role in olfactory in that it is responsible for:

A) transferring olfactory information from the olfactory bulb to the olfactory cortex.
B) helping us to self-adapt to odors we are exposed to.
C) giving each human a unique body odor.
D) secreting pheromones.

Question 42

A substance which acts as a chemical signal in communicating with other members of the same species is a:

A) G-protein
B) tastant
C) hormone
D) pheromone

Question 43

Which of the following is NOT a function of pheromones in nonhuman animals?

A) to mark territories
B) to send communications from one part of the body to another
C) to influence sexual behavior D to serve as an alarm to other threatening animals

Question 44

The idea that if women room together (e.g., as college roommates), pheromones will cause their menstrual cycles to eventually align:

A) is fully supported with scientific research.
B) has been disproven with scientific research.
C) has mixed support from scientific research.
D) has not yet been studied scientifically.

Question 45

Which of the following statements about human pheromones is FALSE?

A) There are known pheromones that will increase your mood.
B) There are known pheromones that will increase your willingness to trust people.
C) There are known pheromones that will elevate your hormonal levels.
D) There are known pheromones that will make you more sexually attractive.

Question 46

The information about how a substance feels within the mouth (e.g., its texture, temperature, pain sensations, etc.) is carried through the:

A) olfactory blub
B) trigeminal nerve
C) olfactory nerve
D) taste receptor cells

Question 47

Which of the following statements about the trigeminal nerve is FALSE?

A) It has free nerve endings in the olfactory epithelium.
B) It has free nerve endings in the mouth.
C) It is part of the olfactory system.
D) It detects the "mouth feel" qualities of foods and drinks.

Question 48

When you increase the intensity of a food's color, the intensity of the flavor of the food will typically:

A) decrease
B) increase
C) remain the same
D) be too much for the taster to handle

Question 49

Regarding our perception of foods, "hedonics" refers to:

A) our ability to detect subtle differences in various tastants.
B) our judgments about which foods we like and which foods we don't like.
C) our categorization of a food as bitter, salty, sweet, or sour.
D) the process by which we combine smell and taste information.

Question 50

Feeding a baby girl formula with a bitter taste will:

A) increase her preference for bitter foods.
B) increase her preference for sweet foods.
C) increase her preference for sour foods.
D) increase her preference for salty foods.

Question 51

Hedonic taste judgments:

A) are primarily genetically determined.
B) are the same across cultures.
C) are the same within a given culture.
D) vary widely across people.
E) both B and C
F) A, B, and C