SENSORY ORGANS AND THEIR STIMULI

1. Humans have five senses

2. Our senses help us to detect objects and the changes
in the surroundings.
3. Our five senses are:-
i) sight
ii) hearing
iii) touch
iv) taste
v) smell
4. These senses are found in parts of the body called
sensory organ
5. The five sensory organs found in human beings are

detects light detects touch, detects taste

pressure, heat
or cold

detects smell detects sound

What sensory organs this woman use for hear the voice in telephone?

EAR
What sensory organs this mans use for touch?

SKIN
What sensory organs this woman use to see the microorganism using microscope?

EYE
What sensory organs this girl use to smell the flowers?

NOSE
What sensory organs this boy use for taste the fruit?

TONGUE
6. The changes that occur in the environment are
called stimuli
7. Examples of stimuli are chemical substances,
changes in temperature and light intensity
8. Table 1.1 shows the relation between the stimuli, the
five senses and the sensory organ
Sensory organ Sense Types of stimuli
Skin Touch Pressure, pain, heat
Nose Smell Chemicals
Tongue Taste Chemicals
Ears Hearing Sound
Eyes Sight Light
The Pathway from Stimulus to
Response
 Structures of the Human Skin

1. The skin is the

sensory organ that
detects touch.
2. It contains receptors
that detect pain, heat,
cold, touch, and
pressure
4. Our skin consists of three basic layers.
4. Our skin consists of three basic layers.
5. These are the:
- Epidermis
- Dermis
- fat layer
Epidermis

Dermis

Fat layer
Structure of the human skin
7. The sensitivity of the skin depends on the
i) thickness of the epidermis
- the thinner the epidermis, the more
sensitive the skin is to the stimulus
ii) number of receptors present
- the more receptors found on the skin, the
more sensitive is that part of the skin

8. Sensitivity of skin at different parts of the human

body
i) Neck, lips and fingertips
These parts have thin epidermis and many
receptors that are sensitive toward the touch
stimulus
ii) Palms
This part has many receptors that are sensitive
towards cold and heat stimuli
iii) Elbows are less sensitive to touch because the
epidermis is thick and the number of the
epidermis is less
9. The parts of the body usually chosen by the doctor
for injection are along the upper arm and the
buttocks. This is because these parts have thick
epidermis and fewer receptors
Structures of the Nose

air in
1. The nose is the sensory organ for smell
2. Smell are carried by certain chemicals in the air
3. When we breathe, these chemicals go through our
nose
 Different Areas of the Tongue
1. The tongue is the sensory organ of taste.
2. Sensory cells that detect taste are called taste
receptors.
3. These cells are found on the upper surface of the
tongue
4. Taste receptors can detect to sweet, salty, sour and
bitter tastes
 Taste areas of the tongue
bitter

sour sour

salty salty

sweet
 COFFEE NO SUGAR
VINEGAR
SALTED FISH
5. When we eat or drink, dissolved substances in our
mouth are detected by the taste receptors in our
tongue.

6. Messages are then sent from the taste receptors to

the brain through the nerves

7. In the brain, the taste of the dissolved substances in

interpreted as sweet, sour, salty, bitter or as a
combination

Dissolved Taste Type of

message brain
substance receptors taste
 Structure of the Human Ear
1. The ear is the sensory organ for hearing

2. The human ear can be divided into three parts

i) external ear
ii) middle ear
iii) inner ear
Structure of the Human Ear

middle
ear Inner
Outer ear
ear
 auditory
ossicles oval window
nerves

pinna

cochlea

ear canal eardrum

middle
ear Inner
Outer ear
ear
Part of the human ear Function
Pinna Collects sound waves
Outer Directs sound waves to the
Ear canal eardrum
ear
Eardrum Vibrates when sound waves hit it
Magnify the vibrations and
Ossicles transfer them from the eardrum
Middle to the oval window
ear
Oval Sends sound vibrations from the
window middle ear to the inner ear
Converts sound vibrations to
Cochlea nerve impulses
Inner
ear Auditory Sends impulses from the cochlea
nerve to the brain
3. The route of sound waves entering the ear is
summarised as follows:
 Semicircular canal

Eustachian tube

4. The semicircular canals and the Eustachian tube do not

play any role in the hearing mechanism
5. Semicircular canal controls the balance of the body
6. Eustachian tube balances the air pressure on both
sides of the eardrum
 Limitations of hearing
We cannot hear all the sounds around us.
Different people have different limitation of
hearing. For example, old people
generally cannot hear as well as young
people. Our ear drums become less
sensitive to sound as we grow older. Our
ears cannot hear sounds of either very
high pitch or very low pitch.
 Hearing aids
A hearing aid is a
device made
specially for people
who are deaf.
A loud speaker is
used to amplify
sound.
A stethoscope is
used by doctors to
hear our heart
beats.
 Structure of the Human Eye
1. The eye is the sensory organ of sight and responds
to light
Parts of the eye and their function
Structure
Function
of the eye
Sclera Protects the eye
Maintains the shape of the eye
Cornea Helps to focus the light onto the retina
Choroid Prevents the reflection of light in the eye
Supplies food and oxygen to the eye
tissues
Iris Controls the size of the pupil
Pupil Controls the amount of light entering the
eye
Blind spot The least sensitive part of the retina
Structure
Function
of the eye
Eye lens Focuses light and form images on the retina
Ciliary body Changes the thickness of the lens
Suspensory Hold the eyes lens in position
ligaments
Aqueous Maintains the shape of the eye
and vitreous Helps to focus light onto the retina
humour
Retina The innermost layer where images are
formed and produces impulses to be
conveyed to the brain by the optic nerves
Optic nerve Brings impulses from the retina to the brain
Changes in the size of the pupil under different situations
The pupil in a normal When a person move from
Situation a bright area into a dark
area

The pupil enlarges

More light enters the eye
After a while the eye can
see in the dark
Changes in the size of the pupil under different situations
The pupil in a normal When a person move from
Situation a dark area into a bright
area

The pupil becomes

smaller
Less light enters the eye
The eye is not blinded
by excess light
How Do We See
 The path of light through the eye to the brain

Light
Light cornea
cornea aqueous
aqueous humour
humour

vitreous
vitreous humour
humour eye
eye lens
lens pupil
pupil

retina
retina optic
optic nerve
nerve brain
brain
Properties of Light

1. Light is a form of energy

2. Light travels at a speed 300 000 000 m/s

3. Light travel in straight lines

Reflection of light
1. Light can be reflected
2. Reflection is the bouncing of light off a surface on
which the light falls
3. A smooth and shiny opaque surface, like a plane
mirror, reflects nearly all the light rays that fall on
it

When you look in the mirror, you can see

an image of yourself
4. According to the Law of Reflection:-
i. The incident ray, reflected ray and the normal
are all on the same plane

normal

incident reflected
ray ray

plane mirror
ii. the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of
reflection

normal

angle of angle of
incidence reflection
incident reflected
ray ray

plane mirror
5. The knowledge of the reflection of light is used in
the following instruments
i. the periscope used in submarines to see the
situation on the surface of the sea

Light coming
from the candle
hits the first
mirror and
reflects it to the
second mirror.
The reflected
light will then
enter your eyes
6. The light ray is reflected when it is directed towards
the plane mirror. The characteristics of the image
formed are as follows:-
i. virtual (cannot be formed on a screen)
ii. vertical
iii.of the same size as the object
iv.the distance of the image behind the mirror is the
same as the distance of the object in front of the
mirror
v. laterally inverted
An arties drew the picture below. Can you find eight mistakes in
this drawing? One has been circled for you
Refraction of light
1. Light does not pass through opaque objects, but it
will pass through anything that is transparent
2. Any substance that light passes through is called
medium such as air, water and glass

3. When light travels from one transparent medium to

another at an angle, it will bend. This effects is
called refraction.
4. The following shows the three situations of the
movement of light rays through two different media
a)

(less dense medium)

(less dense medium)

(denser medium)
(denser medium)
b)

(less dense medium)

(denser medium)
c)

(less dense medium)

(denser medium)
5. Daily phenomena of refraction of light are shown
below:

Pencil in a
glass of water
appears bent
A fish in a
river will look
as if it is closer
in the water
due to
refraction too
The coin
cannot be seen
in P
The coin can
now be seen
appears to be
closer to the Q
P
surface in Q
EYE DEFECTS
1. We can see distant or near objects clearly because
the images of these objects can be focused on the
retina

Image formed
on the retina is
clear

2. Defects of the eye occur when the image does not fall
on the retina
3. The usual eye defects
are
i) short-sightedness
ii) long-sightedness
iii) astigmatism
Short-sightedness
1. Can see near objects clearly but distant objects
appear blur
2. Short-sightedness occurs because the image of a
distant object falls in front of the retina

Image formed
in front of the
retina
3. The defect may be caused by
i) abnormally long eyeballs
ii) eye lens that are abnormally thick
4. To correct short-sightedness, a concave lens is used
to refocus the image on the retina

Image formed
on the retina is
clear
Long-sightedness
1. Can see distant objects clearly but near objects
appear blur
2. Long-sightedness occurs because the image of a
distant object falls behind the retina

Image formed
behind the
retina
3. The defect may be caused by
i) abnormally short eyeballs
ii) eye lens that are abnormally thin
4. To correct short-sightedness, a convex lens is used to
refocus the image on the retina

Image formed
on the retina is
clear
Summary of short-sightedness and long-sightedness and
correction of defects
Astigmatism
1. Astigmatism is caused by the irregular curvature of
the cornea
2. In many cases, astigmatism causes blurred vision
for either near or distant objects

Multiple focal
points in front
of the retina
3. Special cylindrical lenses are used to correct this
type of vision
 LIMITATION OF THE SENSE OF SIGHT

Optical illusion

Sometimes what we see may

not appear to be the real
thing. This is because the
brain cannot interpret
accurately what is actually
seen by the eye. This
phenomenon is known as an
optical illusion
What do you see first? Which central square
A vase or two faces is the biggest
Which one is the
tallest?
Are these lines parallel? Are the sides of the
square curved or
straight lines?
Are A and B curved or straight lines

Which line is longer,

PQ or RS?
Blind spot
1. The blind spot is a point on the retina of the eye that
cannot detect any images

2. At a certain distance, the dot disappears from sight

because the dot falls on the blind spot of your eye
3. The image cannot be detected because the blind spot
does not have any nerve receptors that can detect
the light impulses received
 STEREOSCOPIC VISION AND MONOCULAR
VISION
Stereoscopic vision
1. Stereoscopic vision is vision involving both eye
2. The brain will combine the vision from both eyes to
form a three-dimensional image
3. This enables us to estimate distances accurately
4. The stereoscopic field of vision is narrow
5. Predators usually have stereoscopic vision
Monocular vision
1. Monocular vision is vision involving one eye only.
2. This makes estimating distances accurately difficult
3. Monocular vision produces a flat image
4. The monocular field of vision is wide
5. Prey usually have monocular vision
bird chicken deer

fish
goats
APPROPRIATE DEVICES TO OVERCOME THE
LIMITATIONS OF SIGHT
Optical devices
1. Plants can detect and respond to stimuli around
them
2. The response by plants to stimuli is called tropism
3. There are two types of tropism:-
a) positive tropism response by plants towards
the stimulus
b) negative tropism response by plants away from
the stimulus

4. Plants have different kinds of responses such as:-

- phototropism
- geotropism
- hydrotropism
- thigmotropism
- nastic movement
Types of tropism and their stimuli

Type of tropism Stimulus

phototropism light
geotropism gravity
hydrotropism water
thigmotropism touch
nastic movement touch
5. Examples of tropic responses and nastic movement
are given as follows:
PHOTOTROPISM
Phototropism is the
movement of plants in
response to light
The leave and stem of the
plant grow in the direction
of the light source (positive
phototropism)
The roots grow in the
opposite direction of the
light source (negative
phototropism)
GEOTROPISM

Geotropism is the
movement or growth
of plants response to
gravity
The roots downwards
towards gravity
(positive geotropism)
The leave and stem
(shoots) grows
upwards against
gravity( negative
geotropism)
HYDROTROPISM

Hydrotropism is the
movement or growth of
plants in response to
water
The root grows
towards the water water
source (positive
hydrotropism)
The shoots grow away
from the water source
(negative
hydrotropism)
THIGMOTROPISM

Thigmotropism is the
movement or growth of
plants in response to
touch
Roots grow away from
solid objects such as
stone (negative
thigmotropism)
Stems tend to grow
towards objects they
come into contact with
(positive
thigmotropism)
NASTIC MOVEMENT

Nastic movement is the

response of plants to
touch
This response does not
depend on the direction
of the stimuli
For example, the
mimosa pudica folds
their leaves when they
are touched
 Types of tropism and their stimuli
Type of tropism Stimulus

Phototropism Light

Geotropism Gravity

Hydrotropism Water

Thigmotropism Touch/contact

Nastic movement touch

 Differences between the responses of
the plant shoots and plants roots
Shoot Type of tropism Root

Positive Phototropism Negative

Negative Geotropism Positive

Negative Hydrotropism positive

 CLASSES OF FOOD
1. Food is the source of energy for all living things

Repairs and Builds healthy

replaces damaged bodies
tissues

Importance
Growth
of food
Builds new
cells
Provides energy
Warms the for carrying out
body work
2. Food can be classified into seven main classes

Classes of food

Carbohydrate Fat Mineral salts Water

Protein Vitamin fibre

CARBOHYDRATE
1. Carbohydrate is made up of carbon, hydrogen and
oxygen
2. There are three types of carbohydrate:
(a) starch
(b) sugar
(c) cellulose
3. Foods rich in carbohydrates include:-

rice potato breads

banana
1. Function of carbohydrates
a) Carbohydrates is our main source of energy.
Carbohydrates supplies us with the energy to
carry out daily activities such as walking,
breathing and working
b) Carbohydrates also provide energy for
physiological processes. Example of two such
processes are growth and reproduction

growth reproduction
c) The heat energy released from carbohydrates
helps maintain body temperature
PROTEIN
1. Protein is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and
nitrogen
2. Food rich in protein includes:

fish nuts

milk

meat Egg white

3. Proteins are required for building new cells:
- for growth
- to replace damaged tissue
4. Growing children require a lot of protein. Lack of
protein will cause a disease known as kwashiorkor

kwashiorkor
FAT
1. Fat is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
2. Fats are found in animal products such as butter
and fish oil, egg yolk

butter egg yolk fish oil

3. Fats are found in plant products such as coconut oil

3. The functions of fat include:-
- supplying energy
- as an insulator of heat
- protecting the internal organs
- dissolving some vitamins in the body like vitamin
A, D, E and K
VITAMIN
1. Vitamins are required in small quantities only

2. Vitamins are classified into two groups:-

i) Vitamin soluble in water vitamin B and C
ii) Vitamin soluble in fat vitamin A, D, E and K

3. Vitamins protect the body from various types of

diseases and maintains the health of the body
rickets bone fracture Deformation of
in adults bones in children
scurvy
MINERAL SALTS
1. Our body required small quantities of mineral salts
2. Mineral salts help to maintain or bodys health
3. Our body needs minerals like calcium, iodine, iron,
sodium, phosphorus and potassium
goiter
FIBRE
1. Fibre keeps our intestines healthy and working
properly
2. Food containing fibre can move along quickly and
easily through the intestines
3. Without fibre we may constipate
4. The main sources of roughage are vegetables and
fruit
WATER
The functions of water include:
- controlling the body temperature
- removing excretory products
like carbon dioxide and urea
from our body
- controlling the concentration
of blood
- transporting food during
digestion
- as a lubricant
- as a medium for biochemical
reactions in the body
THE IMPORTANCE OF A BALANCE DIET
1. A balanced diet is made up of food that has all the
nutrients in the right quantity

2. A balanced diet is necessary for:

i) supplying the required energy
ii) balanced body growth
ii) maintaining the health of the body
iv) preventing deficiency diseases such as scurvy
and rickets
 THE HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
1. The digestive system consists of all the organs in the
body that help in the digestion of food
2. The alimentary canal is made up of the mouth,
aesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine
and anus (starts from the mouth and ends at the
anus)
3. Food is pushed along the alimentary canal by the
muscular walls that contract and expand alternately
through the process of peristalsis

food

muscular wall
of the food canal
 The parts of the digestive system with its respective
function

Part of the
Function
digestive system
1. Mouth Food is broken down to small parts
2. Oesophagus Sends food to the stomach
3. Stomach Digestion protein begins
4. Duodenum Digestion of fat, protein and starch

5. Small intestine Completes digestion

6. Pancreas Secretes pancreatic juice
7. Liver Secretes bile
 Part of the
Function
digestive system
8. Large intestine Reabsorption of water
9. Rectum Stores faeces
10. Anus Expels faeces from the body

The passage of food through the alimentary canal

mouth oesophagus duodenum

Large Small
anus rectum intestine intestine
MOUTH
1. Digestion of food starts in the mouth

2. Food is chewed by our teeth and it is broken down

into smaller pieces
3. The food in our mouth is mix with saliva and an
enzyme, amylase
4. An enzyme is a substance that speeds up a specific
chemical reaction in the body
5. Amylase digest starch into maltose (sugar)

Starch amylase maltose

3. However, food is usually not kept long enough in the

mouth for all the starch to be broken down into
simple sugars
4. Our tongue rolls the partially digested food into
small balls which are then swallowed into the
oesophagus or gullet
OESOPHAGUS
1. The oesophagus is a
movement
of food narrow tube with smooth
muscles in its wall
muscles 2. After food enters the
contract,
pushing the
oesophagus, contractions
food forward of the smooth muscles
food push the food towards the
muscles
relax,
stomach
allowing the
tube to 3. This action is called
open wider peristalsis
4. No digestion takes place in
the oesophagus
STOMACH
1. Food is mixed with
gastric juices in the
stomach

2. Gastric juices are

secreted from the cells of
the stomach. Gastric
juices contain:-
- hydrochloric acid
- enzymes ( rennin
and pepsin
3. The function of hydrochloric acid include:-
- providing an acidic medium for enzyme action
- killing bacteria found in food
- neutralising the alkaline property of saliva and
stopping the action of salivary amylase enzymes
4. Pepsin digests proteins into peptones
pepsin
protein peptones

4. Rennin coagulates milk in the stomach to help in the

enzymic action of pepsin
liquid milk rennin solid milk
protein protein
SMALL INTESTINE
1. The small intestine is
where most pf the
digestion of food take
place
2. The deodenum is the first
part of the small intestine
3. The deodenum receives
bile and pancreatic juice
4. Bile is produced by the
liver and is stored in the
gall bladder
5. The bile flows from the
gall bladder into the
deodenum
6. The function of bile are:-
- emulsification of fat
- preparation of an alkaline medium for enzyme
action

7. Pancreatic juice which is

produced by the
pancreas cells, contain
three types of enzymes
- amylase
- protease
- lipase
 amylase
starch maltose
protease
peptones amino acids
lipase
Fat fatty acids + glycerol
8. The small intestine produces enzymes which digest
maltose into glucose (simple sugar)

9. Digestion is completed in the small intestine

10.The digested food is absorbed by the villi and is

then passed on to the blood vessels
LARGE INTESTINE
8. The large intestine absorbs most of the water and
mineral salts in the waste
9. Undigested food is expelled from the body through
the anus as faeces
 ABSORPTION OF DIGESTED FOOD
1. Products of digestion are absorbed in the small
intestine
2. The inner surface of the small intestine is not
smooth
3. It has tiny finger-like projections that are called villi
4. A villus has blood vessels and a lacteal in its
structure

villi
5. The walls of the villi allow only small molecules such
as glucose molecules to pass through them but not
larger molecules such as starch molecules

6. The efficiency of absorption of digested food at the

small intestine can be increased by:
- more villi to increase surface area
- villus with very thin walls
 REABSORPTION OF WATER AND DEFECTION

Reabsorption of Water in the Large Intestine

Defecation
1. Defecation is the process in which faeces is expelled
from the body through the rectum due to
contractions of muscles in the rectal wall

2. When the rectum is full of faeces, the rectum

undergoes peristalsis and assisted by abdominal
contraction, will push the faeces through the anus to
be expelled
3. If an individual has problems passing motion, he or
she is said to be constipated

4. Constipated is closely related to our eating habits.

Some causes of constipation are as follows:-
- Eating food without fibre
- A lack of food in the intestines
- A lack of water in the diet
- Illnesses that cause loss of appetite
 Start
Eating the food
nutritious dayandwith a nutritious
having good eating habits
breakfast
are very important for healthy life. Some good eating
habits are:
Do not do other activities while you are eating
Do not eat snacks such as sweets
and biscuits before your meals
Avoid junk and fast food
Always make sure that the food you
eat and the place you go to are clean
Take very little sugar
Choose boiling, grilling or
steaming instead of frying
Do not add extra salt to your food;
consume it in small amounts
Eat a lot of vegetables
and fruits to get fibre
Remember that your body needs water and in hot
weather you lose it easily through perspiration.
So drink 6-8 glasses of water everyday
Drink fruit juice, milk or mineral water
instead of carbonated drinks
Unhealthy eating habits cause various health problems

Excessive nutrient Health problems

sugar Tooth decay, obesity, diabetes
salt High blood pressure, heart
problems, kidney damage
fat / oil Heart problem, high blood
pressure
Lack of nutrient Health problems
protein Kwashiorkor in children
vitamins Lower immunity to deases
FOOD PYRAMID
Malaysia is also famous for its diverse cultures and
religious beliefs. For example, the dining culture of
different people often conforms to their sensitivities
and religious beliefs. Some Malaysians pick up their
food using :