Which sensory modality responds to the broadest range of molecules?

Question

A.  TRP channels
B.  Taste
C.  Smell
D.  Vision
E.  Touch

Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
What type of thinking is required?

Gather Content
What do you already know about sensory modalities? What other information is related to the question?

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
 

Answer 1

C.  Smell


Clarify Question
What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        · What sensory modality responds to the most molecules?
What type of thinking is required?
            o This is an analyze question because you have to break down the process of sensory processing for the main sensory systems and understand the types of receptors and stimuli for each.

Gather Content
What do you already know about sensory modalities? What other information is related to the question?
        · You already know that each sensory modality has specific receptors that are activated by specific stimuli. Vision uses photoreceptors that are activated by photons of light. Touch uses mechanoreceptors that are activated by pressure. TRP channels are activated by temperature changes or by a few specific molecules (like capsaicin or menthol). Taste and smell use receptors that bind to chemicals in fluid (taste) or from the air (smell).

Choose Answer
Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        · Since the question is asking which sensory modality responds to the broadest range of molecules, you can eliminate the possible modalities that do not use molecules, which is vision which uses light and touch which uses pressure. TRP channels can be activated by a few molecules, like capsaicin or menthol, but is generally activated by temperature change. That leaves taste and smell. Of the two there are much more types of smell receptors than taste receptors, which means that smell can respond to the broadest range of molecules.

Reflect on Process
Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        o Answering this question correctly depended upon your knowledge of the sensory modalities and how each modality is stimulated. If you answered incorrectly, what went wrong? Did you think that there are more types of taste receptors than smell receptors? Did you realize that vision and touch and usually TRP channels are not activated by molecules?