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Science Experiments for Kids: Sour, Sweet, Salty, or Bitter?

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All children have favorite foods and least favorite foods, but they may not know the words to use to describe those foods or understand how our taste buds work. A taste test experiment is a fun at-home experiment for all ages. Younger kids can learn about different flavors and learn the vocabulary to describe them, while older children can figure out for themselves which parts of her tongue are sensitive to which tastes.

Note: Mapping tastebuds will require placing toothpicks all over a child's tongue, including the back of it. This can trigger a gag reflex in some people. If your child has a sensitive gag reflex, you may want to be the taste tester and let your child take notes.

Learning Objectives

Taste-related vocabulary
Taste bud mapping

Materials Need

White paper
Colored pencils
Paper or plastic cups
Sugar and salt
Lemon juice
Tonic water

Develop a Hypothesis

Explain to your child that you are going to try out a bunch of different tastes placed directly on their tongue. Teach the words salty , sweet , sour , and bitter , by giving them an example of a type of food for each one.
Ask the child to stick their tongue out in front of a mirror. Ask: What are the bumps all over your tongue are for? Do you know what they’re called? (taste buds) Why do you think they’re called that?
Ask them to think about what happens to their tongue when they eat their favorite foods and least favorite foods. Then, ask them to make a good guess about how the tastes and taste buds work. That statement will be the hypothesis or the idea the experiment will be testing.

Steps of the Experiment

Have the child draw the outline of a giant tongue on a piece of white paper with a red pencil. Set the paper aside.
Set up four plastic cups, each on top of a piece of paper. Pour a little lemon juice (sour) into the one cup, and a little tonic water (bitter) into another. Mix up sugar water (sweet) and salt water (salty) for the last two cups. Label each piece of paper with the name of the liquid in the cup—not with the taste.
Give the child some toothpicks and have them dip on in one of the cups. Ask them to place the stick on the tip of their tongue. Do they taste anything? What does it taste like?
Dip again and repeat on the sides, flat surface, and back of the tongue. Once the child recognizes the taste and where on their tongue the taste is the strongest, have them write the name of the taste—not the liquid—in the corresponding space on the drawing.
Give your child a chance to rinse their mouth with some water, and repeat this process with the rest of the liquids.
Help them fill in the “tongue map,” by writing in all the tastes. If they want to draw taste buds and color in the tongue, have them do that, too.
Did the experiments answer the hypothesis?
Which area of your tongue detected bitter tastes? Sour? Sweet? Salty?
Are there any areas of your tongue on which you could taste more than one taste?
Are there areas that didn’t detect any tastes at all?
Do you think this is the same for everyone? How could you test that theory?
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Fantastic Fun & Learning

Fun learning activities and things to do with kids

Fun Taste Test Science Experiments for Kids

By Shaunna Evans 1 Comment · This content may contain affiliate links.

Science experiments are so engaging for kids. They get to learn and create new things in a hands-on meaningful way that is often very memorable. When you add food and the ability to taste their creations into the mix, you’ve got a recipe for some serious fun. Whether you need a great boredom busters at home or something fun to add to your five senses theme activities taste test science experiments are a great way to get kids engaged.

These fifteen taste test science experiments each involve creative ways to learn with food…and they are all edible! I’ve also included a free printable taste test recording sheet so you can design your taste test science experiments as well.

15 Taste Test Activities and Sensory Science Experiments for 5 Senses Theme with Free Printable Taste Test Recording Sheet

GET A FULL WEEK OF 5 SENSES THEMED ACTIVITIES IN OUR PRINTABLE 5 SENSES PRESCHOOL LESSON PLANS

Are all lemon foods sour? Find out with this lemon taste test investigation . Includes a free printable recording sheet.

Future chemists will have fun with these caffeine free tea taste test and flavor mixing experiment .

Kids will be amazed that they can make their own raisins . Learn how from Learn Play Imagine.

What happens when lollipops dissolve? Find out with this lollipop lab experiment . Then create your own lollipop flavor combinations.

Make a colorful liquid rainbow with skittles . Then do a taste test to explore the flavors.

Winter is the perfect time to experiment with creating your own unique hot chocolate recipes. Let little scientist create their own combinations with these hot chocolate mixing ideas .

Kids will love this blind taste and smell test using ice cream . I love how the whole investigation was set up over at No Time for Flash Cards.

Grab some new bubble gum and use your five senses in this science investigation with a free printable .

Make your own slushies without a blender in this easy science experiment from Reading Confetti.

Use color as your inspiration and have a taste test. I love the foods B-Inspired Mama chose for this green food taste test for picky eaters . There’s even a free printable recording sheet to use for any food combinations.

1+1+1=1 has an adorable free printable to go along with an apple taste test .

After you’ve finished the apple taste test try a spice tray investigation with this clever idea from Edventures with Kids.

Get kids to eat some fruits and veggies and explore different textures and scents with this smoothie taste test from Hands On As We Grow.

Paging Fun Mums shows you step by step how to make your own rock candy . Kids have so much fun watching these sweet treats grow.

Transforming ingredients into something edible is always engaging for kids. Coffee Cups and Crayons shows you how to make ice cream in a bag . Then enjoy tasting the results of your experiment.

Laughing Kids Learn has an awesome recipe for making and tasting fizzy sherbet , a delight for the senses.

Free Printable Taste Test Recording Sheet

Use this free printable recording sheet to design your own taste test with any foods you choose. Simply print the sheet. In the left column have kids draw or write to show what item they tasted. Then in the middle columns have them check a box to show whether they liked the food or not. In the final column use describing words to share how the items tasted. This will help deepen their vocabulary skills and attention to detail.

A Full Week of 5 Senses Lesson Plans

Continue learning about the five senses with our printable lesson plan set. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provide different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.

GET YOUR LESSON PLANS

Also available on Teachers Pay Teachers .

Reader Interactions

February 19, 2015 at 7:24 pm

Great ideas. Thank you for including our sherbet recipe.

Sensory Science: Testing Taste Thresholds

A tasty task from Science Buddies

By Science Buddies

Key concepts Taste Perception Senses Food The brain

Introduction During the holidays we often find ourselves surrounded by a wide variety of taste sensations. Have you ever wondered how well we sense different tastes? People are generally able to discern five basic tastes: sweet, umami (also known as savory), salty, sour and bitter. Is it easier to detect some of these flavors compared with others? In this science activity, you (and maybe some friends or family) will find out by exploring your taste thresholds for sweetness, saltiness and sourness. Get ready to find out how low you can go!

Background Our sensory system for taste is remarkably sensitive. Not only can we detect substances at extremely low concentrations, we can also differentiate between molecular compounds that are closely related. For example, we can distinguish between different stereoisomers, which are molecules that are made of exactly the same components, but are mirror images of one another in their structure. The artificial sweetener aspartame is an example of this—it tastes sweet to us, but its stereoisomer (its opposite) does not.

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This amazing sensitivity is made possible by our taste buds. Taste buds, located on small bumps on the tongue called fungiform papillae, are each made up of about 50 to 150 taste receptor cells. On the surface of these cells are receptors that bind to small molecules related to flavor. Through sensory nerves, the receptors relay the taste sensation information to the brain. This process allows us to discern five basic tastes.

Materials • Measuring spoons • Water, preferably distilled • 12 paper or plastic cups • Permanent marker • Kitchen scale or measuring spoons • Granulated sugar or sucrose • Table salt • Vinegar • Spoons • Cotton swabs • Paper towels • Piece of paper and pen or pencil (optional) • Taste-test volunteers (optional)

Preparation • Pour 6 tablespoons (tbsp.) of distilled water into a paper or plastic cup. Add 10 grams of sugar (or about 2 1/2teaspoons (tsp.)) and stir until the sugar is dissolved. This gives you a 10 percent sugar solution, approximately. Label the cup. • Pour 2 tsp. of the 10 percent sugar solution into a new cup. Add 6 tbsp. of water to it and stir. This gives you a 1 percent sugar solution. Label the cup. • Repeat this dilution process (diluting 2 tsp. of the previous solution in a new cup with 6 tbsp. of water) to make 0.1 percent and 0.01 percent sugar solutions. These are called serial dilutions. Be sure to label the two new cups. What do you think is the lowest concentration you'll be able to taste the sugar in? • Repeat these steps (using clean utensils) to create salt solutions that have concentrations of 10 percent, 1 percent, 0.1 percent and 0.01 percent. Label the cups. For 10 grams of salt, you can use 1 3/4 tsp. of salt. What do you think is the lowest concentration you'll taste the salt in? • Again repeat the steps (using clean utensils) to create vinegar solutions that have concentrations of 10 percent, 1 percent, 0.1 percent and 0.01 percent. Label the cups. Use 2 tsp. of vinegar initially. What is the lowest concentration you think you'll taste the sour vinegar in?

Procedure • Rinse your mouth with plain water and wipe your tongue dry with a clean paper towel. Dip a clean cotton swab into the 10 percent sugar solution and smear it all around the surface of your tongue. Can you taste the sweetness? • Repeat the previous step to test the 1 percent, 0.1 percent and 0.01 percent sugar solutions, rinsing your mouth and wiping your tongue before testing each solution. Which solution is the lowest concentration at which you can still taste the sweetness? This is your approximate taste threshold for sugar. You can write this down to remember later. • Rinse your mouth with plain water and wipe your tongue dry with a clean paper towel. Dip a clean cotton swab into the 10 percent salt solution and smear it all around your tongue. Can you taste the saltiness? • Repeat the previous step to test the 1 percent, 0.1 percent, and 0.01 percent salt solutions. Which solution is the lowest concentration at which you can still taste the saltiness? This is your approximate taste threshold for salt. You can write this down. • Rinse your mouth with plain water and wipe your tongue dry with a clean paper towel. Dip a clean cotton swab into the 10 percent vinegar solution and smear it all around your tongue. Can you taste the sourness? Repeat this process to test the 1 percent, 0.1 percent and 0.01 percent vinegar solutions. Which solution is the lowest concentration at which you can still taste the sourness? This is your approximate taste threshold for vinegar. You can write this down. • Were your taste thresholds (the lowest concentration at which you could still taste the flavor) the same for all three tastes, or did you have lower thresholds for some of them? Did the solutions that were 10-fold more concentrated taste 10 times stronger? • Extra: Try repeating this activity using several volunteers. Compare your results. Do some people generally have lower thresholds than other people? Is there a variation in which taste has the lowest threshold for individuals in the group? • Extra: Recruit several volunteers in different age groups to take this threshold-of-taste test. Does taste threshold change predictably with age? • Extra: In this activity you used 10-fold serial dilutions to roughly establish your threshold of taste. Design a test to determine your threshold with higher precision. What exactly is your taste threshold for sugar, salt and vinegar? Observations and results Could you taste all of the 10 percent solutions, but none of the 0.01 percent solutions? Did the sugar solutions have the highest threshold, meaning you could only taste it in the more concentrated solutions, compared with the salt and vinegar solutions, which had lower thresholds?

For the sugar, salt and vinegar solutions, the 10 percent solutions should be detectable by nearly everyone who tries the test, whereas almost nobody should be able to detect the 0.01 percent solutions because the concentrations are too low. The basic tastes of sweet, salty and sour have different thresholds, or concentration levels, at which they can be detected. In other words, it is easier to detect some flavors at low concentrations compared with other flavors. Taste thresholds can vary from person to person. You may have seen that the sugar solutions were harder to taste at lower concentrations compared with the salt and vinegar solutions. In other words, the sugar solutions may have had a relatively high taste threshold compared with the salt and vinegar solutions. You may have also seen that the vinegar solutions had a lower threshold compared with the salt solutions (meaning the vinegar was easier to taste at lower concentrations), but this difference can be minor and may require testing by many individuals to see a clear trend.

More to explore Physiology of Taste , from R. Bowen, Colorado State University Taste (Gustation) , from Tim Jacob, Cardiff University, Wales Gustatory and Olfactory Senses , from Michael D. Mann Measuring Your Taste Threshold , from Science Buddies

This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies

Science Fun

What Do Taste Buds Taste Human Body Science Experiment

In this fun and easy human body science experiment, we’re going to explore and investigate taste buds.

Lemon juice
Instant coffee
Six small bowls
Cotton swabs
Pen or pencil
Blank piece of paper

Instructions:

Draw the shape of your tongue on your piece of paper.
Fill one of the bowls with water.
Fill the other bowls with a small amount of salt, sugar, lemon juice, and instant coffee.
Now, dip a cotton swab into the lemon juice and rub the swab around in your mouth.
Mark where you tasted the sour taste.
Next, dip a cotton swab in water and then the sugar. Move the cotton swab around your mouth and mark where you tasted the sweet taste.
Repeat this procedure with the salt and the coffee.

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How it Works:

An average person has around 10,000 taste buds. Taste buds have sensitive microscopic hairs that send messages to the brain. These messages will tell the brain if something is sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or savory. Up until recently, it has been believed that certain areas of the tongue detect certain tastes. This is now considered a misconception. Did you identify similar tastes on certain parts of your tongue?

Make This A Science Project:

Try this experiment with a friend. Try different items to taste.

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Trick Your Taste Buds

When you eat something, how do you know what it tastes like? Well, your taste buds, of course! Does anything else help you know what you’re tasting? Today, we are going to find out in this cool experiment!

What you need:

3 different flavors of yogurt

Close your eyes and plug your nose.
Have your partner feed you each flavor of yogurt.
See if you can identify each flavor or yogurt correctly. Have your partner tell you if you are correct in your guess.

What science is involved with this experiment?

Chances are, you had trouble determining which flavor was which. This is because our mouths use both smell and taste buds to help us taste our food. Our mouths and tongues have taste buds, and these are receptors for the five basic flavors — sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. Our tongues evolved to probe only a few basic tastes in order to quickly identify toxins, which in nature are often bitter or sour. The complexity of flavors comes from the sense of smell operating in the back of the nasal cavities. When you plugged your nose to eat the yogurt, your sense of smell did not work as well, and it was harder to determine the flavors of the yogurt.