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You sense the five basic flavors (sweet, salty, umami, sour, bitter) with the thousands of taste buds that are on your tongue. The average volume of a taste bud is approximately 2.0 * 10^4 μm^3 (Harrison et al, BMC Neuroscience 2011, 12:34). If you assume that taste buds are spheres, what is their average diameter (in meters)? The diffusion coefficient for sodium ions (the component of salt that tastes salty) is approximately 1.3 x 10^-9 m^2/s. How long would it take for a sodium ion to diffuse across the width of a taste bud assuming 1-dimensional diffusion and then again assuming 3-dimensional diffusion? The actual molecules responsible for detecting flavors are the taste receptors, which are proteins located on the surface of taste buds. The average diameter of a taste receptor is about 3.5 nm. How long would it take for a sodium ion to diffuse across the width of a taste receptor? (assume 2-dimensional diffusion) How long would it take a sodium ion to diffuse across the width of your tongue (2.5 cm)? Is diffusion fast enough to distribute sodium ions throughout your tongue in time for you to taste a bite of food?

          You sense the five basic flavors (sweet, salty, umami, sour, bitter) with the thousands of taste buds that are on your tongue. The average volume of a taste bud is approximately 2.0 * 10^4 μm^3 (Harrison et al, BMC Neuroscience 2011, 12:34). If you assume that taste buds are spheres, what is their average diameter (in meters)? 

The diffusion coefficient for sodium ions (the component of salt that tastes salty) is approximately 1.3 x 10^-9 m^2/s. How long would it take for a sodium ion to diffuse across the width of a taste bud assuming 1-dimensional diffusion and then again assuming 3-dimensional diffusion? 

The actual molecules responsible for detecting flavors are the taste receptors, which are proteins located on the surface of taste buds. The average diameter of a taste receptor is about 3.5 nm. How long would it take for a sodium ion to diffuse across the width of a taste receptor? (assume 2-dimensional diffusion) 

How long would it take a sodium ion to diffuse across the width of your tongue (2.5 cm)? Is diffusion fast enough to distribute sodium ions throughout your tongue in time for you to taste a bite of food?

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Added by Jorge P.

Biology for AP Courses

Julianne Zedalis, John Eggebrecht

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Solved by Expert Adi S

09/12/2023

Step 1

We are given the volume, so we can solve for the radius and then find the diameter. $2.0 \times 10^4 \mu m^3 = \frac{4}{3}\pi r^3$ $r^3 = \frac{3}{4\pi} \times 2.0 \times 10^4 \mu m^3$ $r^3 \approx 4785 \mu m^3$ $r \approx 16.8 \mu m$ The diameter is twice Show more…

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You sense the five basic flavors (sweet, salty, umami, sour, bitter) with the thousands of taste buds that are on your tongue. The average volume of a taste bud is approximately 2.0 * 10^4 μm^3 (Harrison et al, BMC Neuroscience 2011, 12:34). If you assume that taste buds are spheres, what is their average diameter (in meters)? The diffusion coefficient for sodium ions (the component of salt that tastes salty) is approximately 1.3 x 10^-9 m^2/s. How long would it take for a sodium ion to diffuse across the width of a taste bud assuming 1-dimensional diffusion and then again assuming 3-dimensional diffusion? The actual molecules responsible for detecting flavors are the taste receptors, which are proteins located on the surface of taste buds. The average diameter of a taste receptor is about 3.5 nm. How long would it take for a sodium ion to diffuse across the width of a taste receptor? (assume 2-dimensional diffusion) How long would it take a sodium ion to diffuse across the width of your tongue (2.5 cm)? Is diffusion fast enough to distribute sodium ions throughout your tongue in time for you to taste a bite of food?

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