Olfactory Fatigue
Problem:
The objective of my experiment is to determine the time it takes to reach olfactory fatigue with different substances and smells, and to find out whether gender plays a role in the result. I chose to use almond extract, vanilla extract, ground coffee, and cinnamon. The reasoning behind choosing these specific scents is because I believe their scents are all easily distinguished, and they each have a different texture.
Hypothesis:
Out of all the scents, I predicted that the almond extract would delay the operation of olfactory fatigue for the longest amount of time. This is because I personally believe it is the strongest scent. I did not believe that gender would affect the outcome.
Procedure:
To carry out my experiment, I first received permission from all my test subjects, making sure I had an even amount of boys and an even amount of girls.
Next, I gathered all my materials, including all of my scents, a stopwatch, drinking water, and an area for experimenting in.
Once I could begin testing, I put an even amount of each scent into a container.
For each test subject, I instructed them to lift the container 6-8 inches away from their face and open the lid. When they did this, I started the timer.
Once the test subject notified me the scent began to weaken, I stopped the timer and asked them to drink water and walk around for about a minute to clear their nose.
I repeated the steps above for every test subject and scent.
Data:
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the almond extract did end up holding off the process of olfactory fatigue the longest like I had hypothesized. I believe my results were accurate because I used the same amount of each scent when I tested people, I had them hold the substance the same distance from their face every time, and I had the test subjects clear their nose after experimentation with each scent. I also tested the same amount of boys and girls. I believe it would have helped my experiment if I had told the test subjects to take the same amount of inhales, which could make my project more precise. There was no clear conclusion drawn from my experiment to tell whether boys or girls were more affected by the means of olfactory fatigue.
Abstract:
How Long Does It Take for Olfactory Fatigue to Set In?
Julia Sorensen
Olfactory fatigue is the normal ability to adapt to a scent after being exposed to it. In other words, one cannot smell a scent as strongly anymore after a certain amount of time. I wanted to investigate in my experiment how long it would take for a certain smell to cause olfactory fatigue, and whether the amount of time calculated was affected by gender or age. The scents I chose were fresh grounded coffee, almond extract, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. I predicted that almond extract would take the longest for olfactory fatigue to set in. This hypothesis is supported by personally interacting with each scent and concluding which scent I believed was the strongest.
I asked ten subjects to participate in my experiment. I chose this amount because then I could evenly divide them into an equal amount of girls and boys, which would help find out if the olfactory fatigue time is affected by gender. For each study I gathered all of my scents, a stopwatch and a drink of water for each test subject. Testing was performed in a laboratory and in my home. My experiment began with ensuring that the test subject was not allergic to any of the scents and that I had their permission to experiment on them. With each person, the experiment would start off by them taking the lid off of the container which held a scent and sniffing with their nose. As soon as they did this I started the timer. The individual would then notify me when the smell started to weaken or when their nose began to “fall asleep,” and I’d stop the timer. Before moving on to the next scent, I had the test subject drink water and walk around for about a minute to clear their nose. Then I’d repeat the same steps mentioned for each scent with each test subject.
The data showed that the ground coffee took an average of 10.4 seconds for the smell to weaken. The almond extract took an average of 24 seconds for the smell to weaken. The vanilla extract took an average of 16.8 seconds for the scent to weaken. Lastly, the cinnamon took an average of 13.1 seconds for the smell to weaken. The data analysis showed that the almond extract took the longest for olfactory fatigue to set in. There was not a clear conclusion to tell whether olfactory fatigue affects males or females more.
The conclusions drawn from this experiment proved my hypothesis correct. Almond extract did take the longest to weaken in people’s noses. These results could be an effect of many different things. One is that the amount of inhales each test subject took during the experiment could’ve been different, therefore throwing off the amount of time it would take for a scent to weaken. On the other hand, I did many things with my experimentation to be sure it was accurate. I made sure I had the same amount of each scent, had the subject hold the scent the same distance from their nose each time, and tested the same amount of males and females. By doing this experiment, I learned how to manage my time more wisely, that research is difficult, and science can be made fun with the right attitude.