Touch Signals Reading Questions
OpenSciEd Unit 8.1 • Lesson 5
Name:
Date:
Period:
How Does Touch Work? Reading Questions
5 Questions • Complete Sentences
Read the article How does touch work? and answer the five questions below in complete sentences.
1
Pain Sensors & Safety
Why is it important that your skin has so many pain sensors? What dangerous problem could happen if a person cannot feel pain?
2
Detecting Touch
What happens to a touch sensor when something presses against your skin or moves a hair? How does it send a signal to a nerve cell?
3
Parts of a Neuron
A neuron has two main parts for passing signals: dendrites and an axon. Which part receives incoming signals, and which part sends outgoing signals?
4
Fast Reflexes
When you touch something very hot or sharp, you pull your hand away before you even realize what happened. Why does a reflex happen so quickly without waiting for a decision from your brain?
5
Touch and Memory
How can a person who is blind use their sense of touch and their brain memories to read letters in Braille?
Touch System Comprehension Worksheet OpenSciEd Grade 8 • Lesson 5 Page 1 of 1
Touch Signals Answer Key
Teacher Answer Key & Scoring Guide OpenSciEd Unit 8.1 • Lesson 5
How Does Touch Work? Answer Key
For Teacher Use Only
Exemplar responses and key concepts from the article (How does touch work?). Accept equivalent student wording demonstrating conceptual understanding.
1 Pain Sensors & Safety
Article pp. 1–2
Question: Why is it important that your skin has so many pain sensors? What dangerous problem could happen if a person cannot feel pain?
Model Answer: Pain alerts our bodies to injury or harmful contact forces so we can stop or protect the injured area. People with congenital analgesia cannot feel pain and might cause severe damage to their bodies (like bruising or broken bones) without realizing it.
Look for: pain as warning system; unawareness leading to repeated tissue damage/injury.
2 Detecting Touch & Deformation
Article pp. 2–3
Question: What happens to a touch sensor when something presses against your skin or moves a hair? How does it send a signal to a nerve cell?
Model Answer: When contact forces act on skin or hairs, the physical structure of the sensor deforms (changes shape). This deformation causes the sensor to release a chemical signal to the connected nerve cell (neuron).
Look for: structural deformation from contact force; transmission via chemical signal.
3 Neuron Parts: Dendrites & Axon
Article p. 3
Question: Which part receives incoming signals, and which part sends outgoing signals?
Model Answer: c
Look for: dendrites = receive incoming; axon = send outgoing signals.
4 Fast Automatic Reflexes
Article pp. 4–5
Question: Why does a reflex happen so quickly without waiting for a decision from your brain?
Model Answer: In a reflex, the incoming danger signal (like sharp pain or intense heat) is sent directly to motor neurons that trigger arm muscles to contract immediately. This protects the body before the brain has time to consciously decide what to do.
Look for: automatic signal directly to motor neurons/muscles; bypasses conscious decision.
5 Touch, Memories & Braille
Article pp. 1, 3–4
Question: How can a person who is blind use their sense of touch and their brain memories to read letters in Braille?
Model Answer: As fingertips touch the raised dot patterns, skin sensors deform and send nerve signals through neurons to the brain. The brain accesses stored memories that associate each dot pattern with a specific letter or word to understand what is written.
Look for: skin sensors detect raised dot pattern; signals travel to brain; brain uses memory to recognize letters.
Touch System Comprehension • Answer Key OpenSciEd Grade 8 • Lesson 5 Page 1 of 1
