Dogs have a better sense of smell than you do. This is because there is more surface area inside their noses. So what does that mean? The surface inside a human or animal nose has bristles covered with a sticky mucus (snot). Odor molecules dissolve in this slimy stuff and as a result a message is sent to your brain which identifies the odor.
You can use paper strips to model the difference in the surface area inside a human’s nose to that of a dog’s nose.
Discover for Yourself
Cut two strips of paper, one 2 inches x 4 inches (5 cm x 10 cm) and the other 2 inches x 20 inches (5 cm x 50 cm). Note: Adding machine tape works well or tape strips together to make the longer piece.
Fold the small strip of paper in half twice by placing the short sides together.
Unfold the paper and using the fold line, refold he paper so that it looks like the letter M in the model diagram of the human nose.
Fold the large strip of paper in half placing the short sides together. Fold the paper so that it forms a M shape like the human nose model, but with the extra ends on each side rolled up and positioned inside the “tent-shape” as shown.
Notice how much more paper is used for the dog’s nose. model.
For more information about models, see Janice VanCleave’s Super Science Models
