The special senses help us communicate with our environment.  A special sense is one that has a specific organ associated with it, like the nose, tongue, ear, and eye. The special senses consist of smell, taste, hearing, balance, and vision.

Instructions:

• Based on what your last name starts with, use the key listed below to identify what your assigned special sense is for this discussion:
  • Last name starts with A-I = Hearing
  • Last name starts with J-R = Smell
  • Last name starts with S-Z = Vision
• Based on your assigned special sense, answer the following questions:
  • Briefly describe the anatomy and physiology of your assigned special sense. 
  • Imagine you are without your special sense. Create and briefly describe an emergency, like a fire, and answer the following questions based on your emergency.
    
    • Explain how your special sense loss would give you an advantage over the other groups’ lost special sense in the emergency you have created. Explain the reasoning behind your advantages.
    • In this same scenario, how would your special sense loss put you at a disadvantage compared to the other groups? Explain your reasoning.
    • Explain how you would adapt to the emergency using the remainder of your intact senses. Be specific.