Name: ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Period: _______

Title: Skin Exposure to Different Stimulus Lab

Purpose: To investigate the characteristics of skin and reflexes

Background: In complete sentences, write a paragraph on the characteristics of skin. Include

information about skin structure and functions that will help you to complete this
investigation.
• The characteristics of skin consisted of the dermis, epidermis, and hypodermis. The skin that will be tested today is the epidermis
which is the outer most layer of the skin and we will be able to test our nerves. We can also be able to tell our pain tolerance from this
to see if we have the same or a higher pain tolerance the pain the others around us.

Procedures:
Part A: Evaporation
1. Have your partner close his/her eyes and put their hands flat on the table in
front of them.
2. Dip 1 cotton ball into the water beaker. Dip the 2​nd​ one into the alcohol
beaker.
3. Dab 1 of your partner’s wrist with the water cotton ball and the other wrist
with the alcohol cotton ball.
4. Allow your partner to record their observations in their data chart.
5. Now allow your partner to repeat steps 1-4 on your wrists.

Part B: Sweaty Face

1. Get 1-cornstarch solution papers and bring them to your desk.
2. Pat the oiliest parts of your face like chin, cheeks, and nose.
3. Take a picture of your cornstarch paper and insert it into your data table.
a. Make sure that your picture is clear and as close as possible​.
4. Record your observations in your data table.

Part C: Touch Points

1. Get 2 toothpicks and bring them to your desk.
2. Have your partner close his/her eyes and put their arms flat on the desk in
front of them with their palms facing up.
3. Place the toothpicks 2 inches apart on 1 forearm and press down gently.
4. Reduce the distance of the toothpicks until your partner feels only 1 point.
5. Have your partner record the final distance of the toothpicks on their data
table.
6. Repeat steps 2-5 on your partner’s ​forearm, palm, and shin.
7. Allow your partner to record their observations in their data table.
8. Now allow your partner to repeat steps 2-7 on you.
Part D: Pupillary Reflex
The ​pupillary light reflex​ (PLR) is the constriction of the pupil that is elicited by an increase in
illumination of the retina. This is a parasympathetic response; whereas, a
decrease in illumination results in the pupil dilating, a sympathetic response.

1. Record the “normal” diameter of the pupil by holding a ruler close to the eye.
(Do this for both pupils.) Record these baseline measurements in the attached
data table.
2. Have the subject shield the right eye with his or her hand. Then shine a
flashlight into the left eye for five seconds. Measure the pupil diameter in both
eyes immediately and record in the data table.

DATA:
​Table A: Evaporation

Evaporation

Water Alcohol
Which felt
cooler?
Which
evaporated
faster?

Table B: Sweaty Face Table C: Touch Print

Picture of
the Paper
 What
change
happened
to the
paper?

Body Area Toothpick Distance of

Last Poke

Forearm

Palm

Shin

Table D: Pupillary Reflex

Right pupil Left Pupil Right pupil Left pupil
WITHOUT light WITHOUT light WITH light WITH
light
Pupil Diameter

PART E. General Sensation

The following experiments test mechanoreceptors and thermoreceptors in the skin.
Demonstrating referred pain
Referred pain is the phenomenon of perceiving pain in one area of the body when another area is
actually receiving the painful stimulus. This occurs because somatic and visceral pain fibers​ often
travel through the same nerve pathways in the spinal cord and brain.

Instructions
1) Immerse the subject’s elbow in the ice water
2) Record the quality (severity) and locality of pain at 1 minute intervals for 3 minutes.
3) Remove the elbow and at the end of 1 minute continue to assess any changes in location and
quality of pain.

Fig. 8. Pain Assessment Scale

Table E. Assessing Referred Pain; Elbow in Ice
Time Pain Scale Location and Quality of Pain
Minutes 0-10

Remove elbow from ice at end of 3 minutes

4

Analysis:

1. Explain why one liquid felt cooler than the other in Part A of the lab.

2. What evidence did the color change of the cornstarch paper show in Part B of the lab?

3. List the different types of sweat glands present in skin.

 4. What layer of the skin contains sebaceous glands?

5. What are the different touch receptors within the skin?

6. Which receptors were working during Part D of the lab? How do you know?

7. In Part E, what is the function of the pupillary reflex (why is it “beneficial” for the pupils to
change diameter when exposed to a bright light?

8. What part of the brain is responsible for initiating the pupillary reflex?

9. What could an abnormal pupillary reflex indicate?

_______________________________________________________________________
10. In Part E in the lab, how did the progression and quality of pain change during the
experiment?
________________________________________________________________________

Conclusion: In complete sentences, write a paragraph including the following points: What was the
purpose of this lab, explain your evidence from this lab that supports your purpose, what
information from your background supports what you learned in this lab and explain
how, what was a factor that was not taken into account that may have affected the
results, explain how the results were affect, and explain the importance of the
Integumentary System to the body and homeostasis.

• The purpose of this lab was to test how our skin reacted in different types of situations. Like putting out elbow in Ice when there are barley any nerves located on the
elbow. Testing if oils are produced from the skin on out per cheeks and face and if so how much, and how fast water and alcohol evaporates on our skin and which
is cooler or not. I learned that not everyone is going to have the same result because everyone’s skin type is different and same with their pain tolerance. Like with
the ice for example I did not feel any pain or cold because I am used to it. The importance of the integumentary system to the body is highly important because it is
what makes up our skin and nails and also the nerves that we have on our skin. It is very important to us and without it we would not feel any pain.