Question

When Jhumpa tasted some of the things, she said “SSee, SSee, ssee…..” what do you think she may have tasted?

Answer 1

The nervous system which is involved in the transmission of a sensory impulse from the neurons of sensory organs of the body to the central nervous system. The transmitted impulses are then interpreted by the brain and reactions occur according to the need. The sensory organs which are found in the body are ears, tongue, nose and skin.

Complete answer: Most of the vertebrates possess a muscular structure within the mouth which helps the food to chew by the teeth and swallowing. Another major function of the tongue is to identify the taste of the food. Two parts are found in the human tongue. These are the oral part and the pharyngeal part. The front part of the tongue is called the oral part and the posterior part is called the pharyngeal tongue. The tongue is composed of two groups of muscles, named intrinsic muscle and the extrinsic muscle. Intrinsic muscles do not possess the bone attachment and are responsible for the changing of tongue shape. Extrinsic muscles of the tongue found in attachment with the tongue and cause the movement of the tongue.
Tongue possesses the taste buds that are known as the sensory organ of the tongue. Taste bud comprises a type of receptor cells which are called gustatory cells. Small bulb-like structures are found on the upper surface of the tongue. These structures are called lingual papillae. The lingual papillae are surrounded by the taste receptors. These taste receptors are responsible for detecting the sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami but not spiciness.
In the given question Jhumpa has started to say “ssee seee seee....', which means she is feeling burning sensation due to spicy food. It can be said that she might have taken chillies.

Note: The spiciness which can be the result of taking chillies or papers, is not a taste. It is the burning sensation within the mouth due to spiciness. During eating the spicy food, food molecules bind with the taste receptors and cause a change in temperature that result in pain and numbness.