Our Sense Organs

  • How do our sense organs help us to find out the world around us?
  • What are our sense organs like
  • How do our sense organs work together?
  • How can we care for our sense organs?

    • The girl is listening to music.
  • Which sense organ does she use when she listens to music?
  • What are our other sense organs?


    • 1.1 Finding out about the world with our sense organs

    How does our body find out about the world around us?
    Our body finds out about the world around us using our sense organs. Sense organs are parts of our body that collect information from the surroudings.
    We have five sense organs -- eyes, ears, skin, tongue and nose.
  • We see with our eyes.
  • We smell with our nose.
  • We hear with our ears.
  • We taste with our tongue.
  • We fell with our skin.

    • Quick Check

    Which sense organs do you use when you open a can of drink and drink it?
    Our sense organs send messages to our brain in the head by special paths. Our brain then helps us to understand what is going on arround us.

    1.2 Our eyes

    How are our eyes important to us?
    Parts of the eyes
    Our eyes make pictures of the world around us much like how a camera does. The eye is made up of the cornea, iris, pupil, lens and retina.

  • Comea: The cornea is like a clear window. It covers the front of the eye.
  • Iris: The iris is like a shade on a window. It lets just the right amount of light enter the eye.
  • Pupil: The pupil is the circular hole in the centre of the iris. Light enters the eye through the pupil.
  • Lens: The lens focuses the image we see onto a 'screen' at the back of the eye.
  • Retina: The retina is the 'screen' at the back of the eye. It sends messages to our brain to tell us about the image we see.
    • science_g3_1

    Using our eyes to see

    Seeing helps us to collect information from books and lets us enjoy television programmes.
    Seeing also prevents us from hurting ourselves.
  • This sign tells us that the water is unsafe for us to swim in.
  • Joe is using his eyes to read.
  • Sue is using her eyes to watch a television programme.
  • Observe, Compare: Stand near a gright light, Using a mirror, look into your eye. Observe the size of your pupil. Now walk to a dim corner. Look again into the mirror. How has the size of your pupil changed?