Biological Influences

p 4 BIOLOGICAL INFLUENCES EXPERIMENT 1 : SAND After rubbing the same finger over a very coarse sand for the second time , my perception of the coarseness of the sand changed The sand did not feel as coarse as I had initially noticed during the first time I rubbed my index finger over it EXPERIMENT 2 : SUGAR WATER AND FRESH WATER After swishing the sugar water for several seconds in my mouth , the fresh water surprised me because it also tasted sweet , just like the sugar water EXPERIMENT 4 : VERY HOT

WATER , TAP WATER AND LUKEWARM WATER

After keeping my right hand in the very cold tap water and my left hard in the very hot water , I sensed different temperatures in each of my hands in the lukewarm or mixture of very hot and very cold water . My right hand felt that the middle bowl contained warm water , while my left hand felt that the middle bowl contained cold water Adaptation is a biological process that involves adjusting to the current conditions of the environment that the organism is in . The adjustments of the organism are necessary for the organism to survive in the current environment . An organism will alter specific biological conditions within his body in to manage the external conditions that he is facing , including changes in temperature , heat and sunlight In addition , an organism will also adapt to the current conditions of the air , water and food in the environment . An organism will also modify mechanisms that are related to reproduction and environmental insults such as pollution and drought

Two modes of adaptation have been described in the field of biology Structural adaptations pertain to changes in particular parts of the body of an organism that will facilitate survival of the organism in a specific environment . Structural adaptation may involve modifications in the color of the skin or changes in the covering of an organism 's body . Behavioral adaptations relate to methods that an organism will execute in to function at its normal conditions . This may include regulating the amount of salts within the body of an organism in to retain the amount of water in its body

The experiments involving the sand , sugar water and hot and cold water directly show that the human body has a great ability to adapt to changes in its environment . The sensory perception of coarseness had disappeared during the second time that my index finger rubbed the coarse sand . The sugar water altered my perception of sweetness thus the fresh water tasted sweet also . My hands also adapted to the current temperature of the water in the bowls , which was either hot or cold , and this resulted in a different sensation of the temperature of the middle bowl which contained a mixture hot and cold water . The three experiments describe the process of sensory adaptation which mainly involves the persistent usage of receptors . Sensory adaptation is different from perceptual adaptation because this involves directing the focus of an...