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Carrots are not only a healthy vegetable that can be easily added to a variety of dishes; they can also be easily grown indoors. You can follow the same methods for growing any type or variety of carrot indoors. All you need to grow carrots indoors is a large container, potting soil, and carrot seeds. Keeping them in a cool area with lots of sun and watering them regularly will provide you with awesome carrots after 2-3 months.

1. Select a container at least 8 inches (20 cm) deep to prevent crowding. Carrots need a lot of depth in order to grow properly. When growing carrots in containers, those containers need to be at least 8 inches (20 cm) deep and 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter. Any type of container can be used to grow carrots, as long as they're large enough not to crowd the carrots while they're growing.

Ensure each container has drainage holes in the bottom. If the container doesn't already have holes, you can use a drill to make the holes.

Put each container on top of a saucer or tray to catch the water as it drains from the container.

2. Purchase a potting soil mix made specifically for vegetables. Use your hands or a handheld gardening shovel to fill each container with vegetable potting soil mix. Fill each container so that there is only an inch (2.5 cm) of space between the soil and the top of the container. Do not use soil from your garden outside; it will not have enough of the proper nutrients to successfully grow your carrots.

Look for a potting soil mix with a pH between 6.0 and 6.8.

Carrots prefer soil that is light, sandy, and loamy.

3. Install grow lights if you don't get enough sunlight indoors. If there is no location in your home that gets 6 hours of sunlight per day, you can use grow lights as an alternative. Ensure that either the lights themselves or the containers can be moved up and down so that the carrots can be moved further from the lights once they start to grow. Leave the grow lights on long enough every day so that your carrots get at least 6 hours of light.

Grow lights are specialized bulbs that produce a light spectrum similar to that of the sun, which will interact with your carrot plants to help them grow (via photosynthesis).

Grow lights can be purchased at any hardware or garden store or online.

You can either use grow lights in place of or in addition to natural light.

Use a timer for your grow light so you do not have to remember when to turn them on and off.

1. Fill each container with potting soil mix. Each container in which you want to sow carrots will need to be filled with potting soil mix, almost to the top. Leave only 1 inch (2.5 cm) of space at the top of each container. Add some water to the soil after filling the container. If the water causes the soil to compress, add more soil until it's up to the proper level.

Read the instructions on your bag of vegetable potting soil mix in case there are any unique steps required.

Keep leftover potting mix and use it to top up the containers if the soil becomes compressed as the carrots grow.

2. Sprinkle carrot seeds in each container. Sow your carrot seeds in each container by sprinkling the seeds carefully on top of the soil. Carrot seeds do not need to be buried in the soil. Carrot seeds are also very small and hard to see, therefore it may be hard to tell how many seeds you've used-that's okay. Once the seeds are in each container, sprinkle water lightly onto the seeds.

Any variety of carrots can be grown indoors. In fact, you can mix multiple varieties of carrot seeds together to sow in your containers.

Carrot seeds can be purchased at a garden centre or online.

Some carrot seeds may come 'coated.' This coating simply makes the seeds larger and easier to see; it doesn't impact the seed itself.

3. Thin out the sprouts to give each plant enough room to grow. Carrot seeds take about 14-17 days to sprout. Once the carrots have sprouted, thin out the carrot sprouts using scissors such that each remaining sprout has a in (1.3 cm) of space on all sides. Cut the unwanted sprouts right down to the soil; do not pull the unwanted sprouts out of the soil.

This step provides as many sprouts as possible the chance to grow successfully. Some, however, may die off before the next thinning step.

Containers for growing vegetables indoors do not have to be typical plant pots. Feel free to use or reuse items from around your house that could work as a plant pot. Just make sure whatever you use has drainage holes in the bottom.

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Updated: September 15, 2021

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Simple Ways to Grow Carrots Indoors: 14 Steps (with Pictures)

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Carrots are not only a healthy vegetable that can be easily added to a variety of dishes; they can also be easily grown indoors. You can follow the same methods for growing any type or variety of carrot indoors. All you need to grow...

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How to Plant Carrots

When to Plant

Carrots grow well in cool weather. You can begin planting carrot seedlings or sowing carrot seeds as soon as the soil can be worked in the spring, even two to three weeks before the last frost. You can succession plant carrots every couple of weeks throughout the spring. In warmer climates, you might have better luck growing carrots in the fall and through the winter.

Selecting a Site

Carrots will do well in a spot that's sunny six to eight hours a day or with a little shade in late afternoon. The soil should be loose, sandy, and well-drained because carrots will mature very slowly with rough roots if they are forced to grow in heavy soil. Growing carrots in raised beds with fluffy soil is the ideal situation.

Spacing, Depth, and Support

Correctly spacing carrots is the key to harvesting a healthy crop, but it's not always easy and requires plenty of thinning. Plant seeds 1/4 inch below the surface of the soil as evenly as possible two to three inches apart. Seedlings will be okay if some of them sprout 1/2 inch apart, but as they grow, they typically require about three inches of space between them. Snipping or pinching the seedlings off at the soil line is the best way to avoid hurting the nearby roots. Carrots don't need support; But, they don't like to be transplanted or disturbed, either.

Carrot Care

Even though the roots are growing underground, the foliage needs full sun to partial shade for the carrot roots to grow quickly and develop their sugars.

Carrots need loose, well-draining soil. Rocks and clumps will cause the carrot roots to split and become deformed. Carrots prefer a slightly acidic soil-in the range of 6.0 to 6.8.

Water your carrots with at least one inch of water every week. Mulching will help conserve water and keep the soil cool.

Temperature and Humidity

These biennials are typically grown as annuals in all zones and in all climates. However, they grow best and are tastiest when nighttime temperatures average about 55 degrees Fahrenheit and daytime temperatures average 75 degrees Fahrenheit. In warmer climates, carrots are sometimes planted as a late fall and winter crop.

Fertilizer

If your soil is not rich in organic matter, supplemental feeding will be necessary about two weeks after the carrot tops emerge. Any good quality organic vegetable fertilizer will do. Because they are grown for their roots, don't go overboard with nitrogen fertilizer, which mostly aids foliage growth

Types of Carrots

There is a seemingly endless number of carrot varieties in an array of sizes and colors. Some notable varieties to try include:

'Danver's Half Long': early, sweet, and easy growing

'Imperator': a long variety that keeps its sweetness and crunch in storage

'Little Finger': a sweet three-inch baby carrot

'Paris Market'/'Thumbelina': plump, round, and bite-sized

Carrots vs. Parsnips

Carrots can often be confused with parsnips. That's because not all carrots are orange, and many types of carrots and parsnips are the same color and shape. Carrots and parsnips ( Pastinaca sativa) also share the same family. The biggest difference between the two is their taste; Carrots are sweet and parsnips have a spicy bite. Often they are both used in the same recipe to bring full flavor to a dish.

Harvesting Carrots

Growing carrots ( Daucus carota)- or any root vegetable, for that matter-can be a bit of a gamble because you can't see how well they're doing until you harvest. When to harvest your carrots will depend on the variety you are growing, but the average days to harvest is about 50 to 75 days from seed.

Use the days to harvest on your seed packet as a guide to know when to start harvesting. Test to see if the tops of your carrot plants have filled out to the expected diameter by feeling just below the soil line. The only true test is to lift one of the carrots and taste it.

Don't harvest too soon, thinking you will get sweet baby carrots. Small carrots in the store are either a particular variety that matures small or large carrots that have been ground down to baby-size. Immature carrots will be bland because they have not had time to develop their full sweetness. Often sweetness develops when the crop has been through a frost.

If the soil is very soft, you can twist and pull the carrots from the soil. To be on the safe side, it is wise to loosen the soil slightly before harvesting, making sure not to stab the carrots in the process. Remove the leaves immediately after harvesting. The leaves will continue to take energy and moisture from the roots, leaving them limp, and lessening the sweetness of your carrots.

How to Grow Carrots in Pots

Carrots require loose well-drained soil. They will fork and deform if they meet with the slightest resistance, such as a rock or hard soil in the garden. If you can't provide loose soil in your vegetable garden, consider growing carrots in a container using potting soil premixed especially for potted vegetables. The shorter finger-types or small round carrots, like 'Paris Market', or other types with roots that grow and mature to two to three inches long, are ideal for containers.

Make sure your container (any material is fine) is at least 12 to 24 inches in diameter, at least 12 inches deep, and with plenty of drainage holes. Container carrots will require more water than crops in the ground; Water the container deeply once a week.

To prevent deformed roots, keep the area free of weeds as the carrots are growing. If you need to thin them again later, you can use the tiny carrots in salads. When you've finished thinning, your carrots should be far enough apart so they don't rub shoulders when mature.

How to Plant Carrots From Seed

Carrots can be planted from nursery-grown seedlings, but the more common method is to sow seeds directly into the garden as soon as the soil is workable in the spring. But, carrot seeds are tiny making it difficult to plant them evenly. They may take as long as three weeks to sprout.

1. Till the soil at least a foot deep to make sure it is light and loose and can drain extremely well.

2. Create shallow furrows in the soil (the long handle of a garden tool will do the job), 1/4 inch deep and one foot apart if you are sowing more than one row of carrots.

3. Sprinkle the tiny carrot seeds two to three inches apart, 1/4 inch deep, and cover lightly with soil. It's difficult to space carrot seeds evenly, so you will likely need to thin them out as they grow.

4. Write the crop name and date sown on a plastic row marker, paint stick, or popsicle stick to mark the location of your seeded row(s). Marking the location of the rows helps you know where to water.

5. Press down lightly on the soil to ensure good contact between seeds and soil.

6. Keep furrows moist and don't let the soil dry out because it will form a hard crust that is difficult for tiny seedlings to break through.

7. Give seedlings one inch of water per week.

8. When the seedlings are one to two inches tall, thin them then out to be three inches apart. Use tiny snips for this task so you don't pull up nearby developing carrot roots.

Overwintering

You can leave carrot plants in place over the winter. Make sure you thoroughly weed the area before the first frost. Heavily mulch the area with about three inches of straw or fallen leaves. You might even consider installing a fabric row cover if you live in a very cold climate. The carrot tops will die but the roots will continue gathering their sugar to survive the cold weather. Even if left in the ground into winter, the roots can still be quite delicious. Harvest these carrots before the early spring arrives or they will start to form flowers.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

The biggest pest that attacks carrots is the carrot rust fly. It lays its eggs in the soil near the carrot top. When the eggs hatch, the larvae work their way down into the soil and then into the carrot's roots, where they feed and create tunnels through the carrot. Carrot weevils can do similar damage. You can foil some pests by rotating where you plant each year, but the easiest method is to grow your carrots under row covers (garden fabric).

Nematodes, microscopic worms, can become a problem later in the season, causing badly deformed roots. Heating the soil through solarization can kill nematodes. If you are struggling with carrot nematodes in a particular spot, rotate to another crop and plant carrots elsewhere.

Even if they don't notice the roots growing below the soil surface, there are plenty of animals that will want to eat the tops of your carrots and a few that will dig deeper. Deer, groundhogs, rabbits, opossum, and several others will need to be kept out of the garden- fencing is really the only effective method.

A handful of leaf spot and bacterial diseases can affect carrots, like Alternaria leaf blight, carrot yellows, and bacterial soft rot. There is not much you can do once the plants are infected. Keep a close watch and remove any plants showing signs of disease. Clean up all debris at the end of the season and move your carrots to a different section of the garden next year because the microorganisms can persist in the soil.

Are carrots easy to grow?

Even experienced gardeners can be challenged to growing carrots that are long and sweet. Very often, carrots can disappoint with bland, misshapen, tough roots. But given loose soil, some cool weather, and plenty of water, there's no reason you can't grow sweet, crunchy carrots.

What is a good companion plant for carrots?

To prevent the soil from crusting over and making it difficult for carrot seeds to sprout, plant the carrot seeds with radish seeds, which will sprout first and loosen the soil.

Can you grow carrots in water?

Yes, and no; A carrot is a taproot that can't regrow itself. But there is a fun, entertaining project for kids involving putting the top stump of a carrot in a glass of water, held by toothpicks much as you would do with an avocado pit, and watching carrot roots grow in the water.

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Carrots (Daucus carota) can be a little tricky to grow and you never know what is going on under the soil until you harvest. Here are some growing tips for success.

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Can Race-Science Olympiad STEM Challenge

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Write It Do It 1.1: Introduction & Basic Rules

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Lastly, and most intuitively, the effectiveness of your cooler will depend on the thickness of the foam used to insulate it. Some cheaper coolers do not have insulation in their lids, or then have thinner insulation at the bottom of the cooler; both of these factors will reduce your cooler's effectiveness. In addition, if the lid of your cooler features cup holders, consider putting a plug made of insulating material like styrofoam at the bottom of them. (Or if you don't use them, consider filling them up with spray foam or memory foam!)

One that stays full and unopened

Compared with solids and liquids, air is a poor conductor of heat. But don't underestimate it! Every time the contents of your cooler come into contact with the warmer air outside, those faster-moving molecules get in there and poke your cold molecules in the ribs, making them move faster-and making your beer a little warmer. For this reason, it's best that your cooler isn't opened often. Consider having separate coolers for food and for drinks.

In addition, a good cooler will be airtight. Check the seal around the lid of your cooler, and make sure it lets in as little air as possible. Some coolers, such as YETI and Orca, are molded out of one piece of plastic with no seams, in a process called roto-molding. It's incredibly effective at keeping air out, but it can also be incredibly expensive.

If it's possible to fill your cooler such that there are no air pockets, do so-preferably with ice. Because while a mixture of ice and melted water in your cooler will always be 32 degrees Fahrenheit, any air in your cooler will be warmer than that. Filling those air pockets with ice gets rid of that problem.

One with a proper amount (and shape) of ice

The generally accepted ratio of ice to contents is about 2:1. (The ideal ratio has so many factors, including the specific heat of your contents, that it's not something worth calculating before each camping trip.) The melting rate of ice is directly related to its surface area: A block of ice melts much slower than an equivalent amount of ice in small cubes. Consider buying block ice, or freeze water in a plastic gallon jug to make your own "block." (After this story was first published, physics teacher Fred Bucheit wrote in to remind us that melting the ice is actually desirable, since that's how the ice absorbs the heat that would otherwise warm your beer. If you want your contents at maximum chill, fast-melting cubes are your friend; if you have a long trip where your contents don't have to be freezing, block ice will last much longer.)

As the ice melts, the water level in your cooler will increase. Don't drain it! It's still insulating your cooler's contents. (Water may conduct heat better than air, but as long as the water is colder than the air, it's the better choice to keep your beer in.)

Fast-moving molecules are the enemy of cold things, and keeping these molecules at bay is the valiant ambition of all coolers-the best ones take full advantage of the laws of physics to maximize their power.

Meredith Fore likes her hard cider ice-cold and writes for WIRED about physics as an AAAS Mass Media Fellow.
Updated 7-11-19, 9 pm EDT, to clarify how melting ice can actually help keep your drinks cold. What can we tell you? No, really, what do you want one of our in-house experts to tell you? Post your question in the comments or email the Know-It-Alls.

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What Makes a Good Cooler (According to Physics)?

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Coolers don't keep "coldness" in, they keep heat out. How effectively depends on three key factors: insulation, air, and ice.

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Thermodynamics is the branch of physics that deals with the relationships between heat and other forms of energy.

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Introduction
If you've ever built towers with blocks, you've probably knocked some of them over-either on purpose or by accident. Sometimes your tower gets too tall and wobbly, and you just can't keep it standing! In this activity you'll learn about the trade-offs you need to make when building a tower that is tall and stable.

Background
What determines if a block tower will stay standing or fall over? Think about a single rectangular block placed horizontally on the ground. The block has a wide base relative to its height so it is very stable. If you push on its side with your finger, it will probably slide sideways but not tip over. Now take the same block and stand it vertically on one end. The base is now narrower relative to its height. If you push on the block near the top, it will probably fall over instead of sliding. What if you add more blocks? Two rectangular blocks stacked on top of each other horizontally will be much more stable than if you stack the same two blocks end to end vertically. The tower's stability depends on the ratio of its width to its height. This poses a challenge: Given a limited number of blocks, how can you build a tower that is as tall as possible-but also stable? (That is, it won't tip over easily when you push it or blow on it.) In this project you will try it, and find out!

Note this same concept applies to real buildings. Very short structures, such as single-story houses, are generally very stable. Tall structures that get narrower as they reach the top, like pyramids, are also very stable. Tall, skinny structures such as skyscrapers can be much more susceptible to natural disasters including high wind and earthquakes, which can cause them to topple. It takes a lot of extra engineering to make sure they stay safe!
Materials

Toy cardboard or wooden blocks, or an assortment of empty cardboard boxes-cereal, tissue, shoe boxes, etcetera (Do not use plastic snap-together blocks.)

Pencil and paper

Chair to stand on or an adult to help you put blocks on the top of your tower (optional)

Fan (optional)

Make sure you have enough open floor space to build a tall tower and that it will not break anything if it falls over.

Gather all your blocks before you start. Count how many blocks you have and sort them roughly by size (small, medium and large).

Make sketches of a few different block tower designs. Try to make the towers as tall as possible-but also plan for them to be stable so they won't fall over easily.

Procedure

Try building one of your tower designs. If the tower gets higher than you can reach, stand on a chair or ask an adult for help to add more blocks. Can you finish building the tower before it falls over?

If you manage to finish building the tower, try gently tapping it with your finger in a few places. Does the tower fall over?

If your tower fell over, think about how you can redesign it to be more stable. Do you need to sacrifice some height to accomplish this?

If your tower did not fall over, push the limits! Can you make it even taller while keeping it stable?

Keep iterating (redesigning and rebuilding) your tower until it is stable but you cannot make it any taller without making it unstable.

Extra: Aim a fan at your tower to simulate wind. Does your tower stay standing?

Observations and results
Building the tallest possible tower may at first seem very simple-just stack all of your blocks vertically end to end, one on top of the other. That should give you the maximum possible height, right? Technically, yes, but it will also result in a tower that is extremely unstable because it's too tall and skinny. It might fall over on its own before you're even done building! Conversely, you can build an extremely stable tower by making it very short and wide-but then it won't be very tall! The best solution probably lies somewhere in between, with a tower that is wider at its base than at its top. You probably had to go through multiple iterations of building your tower until you found the design that worked best. This is a normal feature of the engineering design process.

More to explore
Building the Tallest Tower, from Science Buddies
Earthquake-Proof Engineering for Skyscrapers, from Scientific American
Popsicle Stick Trusses: What Shape Is Strongest?, from Scientific American
STEM Activities for Kids, from Science Buddies
This activity brought to you in partnership with Science Buddies

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How Tall Can You Build a Tower Before It Topples?

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A structural science activity from Science Buddies

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While text-based content is always important when seeking answers to a question, creating visuals such as infographics, charts, graphs, animated GIFs, and other shareable images can do wonders for catching your readers' attention and enhancing your article or report. Knowing color theory and design can help you make content stand out.

I know what you might be thinking: "I don't know how to design awesome visuals. I'm not creative." Neither am I, yet I found a strength in data visualization at HubSpot, where I've spent most of my days creating infographics and other visuals for blog posts.

Consider this your introductory course to color theory, types of color schemes, and the use of palettes. We'll be covering the following topics:

What is color theory?

Color theory is the basis for the primary rules and guidelines that surround color and its use in creating aesthetically pleasing visuals. By understanding color theory basics, you can begin to parse the logical structure of color for yourself to create and use color palettes more strategically. The result means evoking a particular emotion, vibe, or aesthetic.

While there are many tools out there to help even the most inartistic of us to create compelling visuals, graphic design tasks require a little more background knowledge on design principles.

Take selecting the right color combination, for instance. It's something that might seem easy at first but when you're staring down a color wheel, you're going to wish you had some information on what you're looking at. In fact, brands of all sizes use color psychology to learn how color influences decision-making and affects design.

Understanding how colors work together, the impact they can have on mood and emotion, and how they change the look and feel of your website is critical to help you stand out from the crowd - for the right reasons.

From effective CTAs to sales conversions and marketing efforts, the right color choice can highlight specific sections of your website, make it easier for users to navigate, or give them a sense of familiarity from the first moment they click through.

But it's not enough to simply select colors and hope for the best - from color theory to moods and schemes, finding the right HTML color codes, and identifying web-accessible colors for products and websites, the more you know about using color, the better your chances are for success.

Read on for our designer's guide to color theory, color wheels, and color schemes for your site.

Color Theory 101: Color Theory Basics

Let's first go back to high school art class to discuss the basics of color.

Remember hearing about primary, secondary, and tertiary colors? They're pretty important if you want to understand, well, everything else about color.

What are primary colors?

Primary colors are those you can't create by combining two or more other colors together. They're a lot like prime numbers, which can't be created by multiplying two other numbers together.

There are three primary colors:

Think of primary colors as your parent colors, anchoring your design in a general color scheme. Any one or combination of these colors can give your brand guardrails when you move to explore other shades, tones, and tints (we'll talk about those in just a minute).

When designing or even painting with primary colors, don't feel restricted to just the three primary colors listed above. Orange isn't a primary color, for example, but brands can certainly use orange as their dominant color (as we at HubSpot know this quite well).

Knowing which primary colors create orange is your ticket to identifying colors that might go well with orange - given the right shade, tone, or tint. This brings us to our next type of color ...

What are secondary colors?

Secondary colors are the colors that are formed by combining any two of the three primary colors listed above. Check out the color theory model above - see how each secondary color is supported by two of the three primary colors?

There are three secondary colors: orange, purple, and green. You can create each one using two of the three primary colors. Here are the general rules of secondary color creation:

Red + Yellow = Orange

Blue + Red = Purple

Yellow + Blue = Green

Keep in mind that the color mixtures above only work if you use the purest form of each primary color. This pure form is known as a color's hue, and you'll see how these hues compare to the variants underneath each color in the color wheel below.

What are tertiary colors?

Tertiary colors are created when you mix a primary color with a secondary color.

From here, color gets a little more complicated, and if you want to learn how the experts choose color in their design, you've got to first understand all the other components of color.

The most important component of tertiary colors is that not every primary color can match with a secondary color to create a tertiary color. For example, red can't mix in harmony with green, and blue can't mix in harmony with orange -- both mixtures would result in a slightly brown color (unless of course, that's what you're looking for).

Instead, tertiary colors are created when a primary color mixes with a secondary color that comes next to it on the color wheel below. There are six tertiary colors that fit this requirement:

Red + Purple = Red-Purple (magenta)

Red + Orange = Red-Orange (vermillion)

Blue + Purple = Blue-Purple (violet)

Blue + Green = Blue-Green (teal)

Yellow + Orange = Yellow-Orange (amber)

Yellow + Green = Yellow-Green (chartreuse)

Designers use a color wheel to pick the best and most compatible colors to ensure the combinations achieve the desired visual effect.

The Color Wheel

Okay, great. So now you know what the "main" colors are, but you and I both know that choosing color combinations, especially on a computer, involves a much wider range than 12 basic colors.

This is the impetus behind the color wheel, a circle graph that charts each primary, secondary, and tertiary color - as well as their respective hues, tints, tones, and shades. Visualizing colors in this way helps you choose color schemes by showing you how each color relates to the color that comes next to it on a rainbow color scale. (As you probably know, the colors of a rainbow, in order, are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.)

When choosing colors for a color scheme, the color wheel gives you opportunities to create brighter, lighter, softer, and darker colors by mixing white, black, and gray with the original colors. These mixes create the color variants described below:

Hue

Hue is pretty much synonymous with what we actually mean when we said the word "color." All of the primary and secondary colors, for instance, are "hues."

Hues are important to remember when combining two primary colors to create a secondary color. If you don't use the hues of the two primary colors you're mixing together, you won't generate the hue of the secondary color. This is because a hue has the fewest other colors inside it. By mixing two primary colors that carry other tints, tones, and shades inside them, you're technically adding more than two colors to the mixture - making your final color dependent on the compatibility of more than two colors.

If you were to mix the hues of red and blue together, for instance, you'd get purple, right? But mix a tint of red with the hue of blue, and you'll get a slightly tinted purple in return.

Shade

You may recognize the term "shade" because it's used quite often to refer to light and dark versions of the same hue. But actually, a shade is technically the color that you get when you add black to any given hue. The various "shades" just refer to how much black you're adding.

Tint

A tint is the opposite of a shade, but people don't often distinguish between a color's shade and a color's tint. You get a different tint when you add white to a color. So, a color can have a range of both shades and tints.

Tone (or Saturation)

You can also add both white and black to a color to create a tone. Tone and saturation essentially mean the same thing, but most people will use saturation if they're talking about colors being created for digital images. Tone will be used more often for painting.

With the basics covered, let's dive into something a little more complicated - like additive and subtractive color theory.

Additive & Subtractive Color Theory

If you've ever played around with color on any computer program, you've probably seen a module that listed RGB or CMYK colors with some numbers next to the letters.

Ever wondered what those letters mean?

CMYK

CMYK stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (Black). Those also happen to be the colors listed on your ink cartridges for your printer. That's no coincidence.

CMYK is the subtractive color model. It's called that because you have to subtract colors to get to white. That means the opposite is true - the more colors you add, the closer you get to black. Confusing, right?

Think about printing on a piece of paper. When you first put a sheet in the printer, you're typically printing on a white piece of paper. By adding color, you're blocking the white wavelengths from getting through.

Then, let's say you were to put that printed piece of paper back into the printer, and print something on it again. You'll notice the areas that have been printed on twice will have colors closer to black.

I find it easier to think about CMYK in terms of its corresponding numbers. CMYK works on a scale of 0 to 100. If C=100, M=100, Y=100, and K=100, you end up with black. But, if all four colors equal 0, you end up with true white.

RGB

RGB color models, on the other hand, are designed for electronic displays, including computers.

RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue, and is based on the additive color model of light waves. This means, the more color you add, the closer you get to white. For computers, RGB is created using scales from 0 to 255. So, black would be R=0, G=0, and B=0. White would be R=255, G=255, and B=255.

When you're creating color on a computer, your color module will usually list both RGB and CMYK numbers. In practice, you can use either one to find colors, and the other color model will adjust accordingly.

However, many web programs will only give you the RGB values or a HEX code (the code assigned to color for CSS and HTML). So, if you're designing digital images or for web design, RGB is probably your best bet for choosing colors.

You can always convert the design to CMYK and make adjustments should you ever need it for printed materials.

The Meaning of Color

Along with varying visual impact, different colors also carry different emotional symbolism.

Red - typically associated with power, passion, or energy, and can help encourage action on your site

Orange - joy and enthusiasm, making it a good choice for positive messaging

Yellow - happiness and intellect, but be wary of overuse

Green - often connected to growth or ambition, green can help give the sense that your brand is on the rise

Blue - tranquility and confidence, depending on the shade - lighter shades provide a sense of peace, darker colors are more confident

Purple - luxury or creativity, especially when used deliberately and sparingly on your site

Black - power and mystery, and using this color can help create necessary negative space

White - safety and innocence, making it a great choice to help streamline your site

Worth noting? Different audiences may perceive colors differently. The meanings listed above are common for North American audiences, but if your brand moves into other parts of the world, it's a good idea to research how users will perceive particular colors. For example, while red typically symbolizes passion or power in the United States, it's considered a color of mourning in South Africa.

While it's possible to create your website using a combination of every color under the rainbow, chances are the final product won't look great. Thankfully, color experts and designers have identified seven common color schemes to help jumpstart your creative process.

Let's examine each type of color scheme in more detail.

1. Monochromatic

Monochromatic color schemes use a single color with varying shades and tints to produce a consistent look and feel. Although it lacks color contrast, it often ends up looking very clean and polished. It also allows you to easily change the darkness and lightness of your colors.

Monochromatic color schemes are often used for charts and graphs when creating high contrast isn't necessary.

Check out all the monochromatic colors that fall under the red hue, a primary color.

2. Analogous

Analogous color schemes are formed by pairing one main color with the two colors directly next to it on the color wheel. You can also add two additional colors (which are found next to the two outside colors) if you want to use a five-color scheme instead of just three colors.

Analogous structures do not create themes with high contrasting colors, so they're typically used to create a softer, less contrasting design. For example, you could use an analogous structure to create a color scheme with autumn or spring colors.

This color scheme is great for creating warmer (red, oranges, and yellows) or cooler (purples, blues, and greens) color palettes like the one below.

Analogous schemes are often used to design images rather than infographics or bar charts as all of the elements blend together nicely.

3. Complementary

You may have guessed it, but a complementary color scheme is based on the use of two colors directly across from each other on the color wheel and relevant tints of those colors.

The complementary color scheme provides the greatest amount of color contrast. Because of this, you should be careful about how you use the complementary colors in a scheme.

It's best to use one color predominantly and use the second color as accents in your design. The complementary color scheme is also great for charts and graphs. High contrast helps you highlight important points and takeaways.

4. Split Complementary

A split complementary scheme includes one dominant color and the two colors directly adjacent to the dominant color's complement. This creates a more nuanced color palette than a complementary color scheme while still retaining the benefits of contrasting colors.

The split complementary color scheme can be difficult to balance because unlike analogous or monochromatic color schemes, the colors used all provide contrast (similar to the complementary scheme).

The positive and negative aspect of the split complementary color model is that you can use any two colors in the scheme and get great contrast ... but that also means it can also be tricky to find the right balance between the colors. As a result, you may end up playing around with this one a bit more to find the right combination of contrast.

5. Triadic

Triadic color schemes offer high contrasting color schemes while retaining the same tone. Triadic color schemes are created by choosing three colors that are equally placed in lines around the color wheel.

Triad color schemes are useful for creating high contrast between each color in a design, but they can also seem overpowering if all of your colors are chosen on the same point in a line around the color wheel.

To subdue some of your colors in a triadic scheme, you can choose one dominant color and use the others sparingly, or simply subdue the other two colors by choosing a softer tint.

The triadic color scheme looks great in graphics like bar or pie charts because it offers the contrast you need to create comparisons.

6. Square

The square color scheme uses four colors equidistant from each other on the color wheel to create a square or diamond shape. While this evenly-spaced color scheme provides substantial contrast to your design, it's a good idea to select one dominant color rather than trying to balance all four.

Square color schemes are great for creating interest across your web designs. Not sure where to start? Pick your favorite color and work from there to see if this scheme suits your brand or website. It's also a good idea to try square schemes against both black and white backgrounds to find the best fit.

7. Rectangle

Also called the tetradic color scheme, the rectangle approach is similar to its square counterpart but offers a more subtle approach to color selection.

As you can see in the diagram above, while the blue and red shades are quite bold, the green and orange on the other side of the rectangle are more muted, in turn helping the bolder shades stand out.

No matter which color scheme you choose, keep in mind what your graphic needs. If you need to create contrast, then choose a color scheme that gives you that. On the other hand, if you just need to find the best "versions" of certain colors, then play around with the monochromatic color scheme to find the perfect shades and tints.

Remember, if you build a color scheme with five colors, that doesn't mean you have to use all five. Sometimes just choosing two colors from a color scheme looks much better than cramming all five colors together in one graphic.

Examples of Color Schemes

Now that you are familiar with color scheme types, let's take a look at some in the wild.

Type: Monochromatic
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The use of blues and purples really make this monochromatic blueberry-inspired template stand out. Each shade builds on the next and provides ample contrast despite remaining within the same color family.

Type: Triadic
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As we mentioned earlier, nature is a great way to get inspiration for your color palette. Why? Because mother nature already has it figured out. Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism took advantage of these triadic shades to showcase the region's natural beauty.

Type: Analogous
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Eco-friendly Women's health company Your Daye uses a blend of pastels and earthy tones for its analogous color scheme. The effect is soothing and pleasing to the eye.
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1. Leverage natural inspiration.

Once your site operations are solid, it's time to start selecting colors.

Not sure what looks good? Take a look outside. Nature is the best example of colors that complement each other - from the green stems and bright blooms of flowering plants to azure skies and white clouds, you can't go wrong pulling context from natural colors and combinations.

2. Set a mood for your color scheme.

With a few color choices in mind, consider the mood you want your color scheme to set. If passion and energy are your priorities, lean more toward red or brighter yellows. If you're looking to create a feeling of peace or tranquility, trend toward lighter blues and greens.

It's also worth thinking negatively. This is because negative space - in either black or white - can help keep your design from feeling too cluttered with color.
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3. Consider color context.

It's also worth considering how colors are perceived in contrast.

In the image below, the middle of each of the circles is the same size, shape, and color. The only thing that changes is the background color.
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Yet, the middle circles appear softer or brighter depending on the contrasting color behind it. You may even notice movement or depth changes just based on one color change.

This is because the way in which we use two colors together changes how we perceive it. So, when you're choosing colors for your graphic designs, think about how much contrast you want throughout the design.

For instance, if you were creating a simple bar chart, would you want a dark background with dark bars? Probably not. You'd most likely want to create a contrast between your bars and the background itself since you want your viewers to focus on the bars, not the background.

4. Refer to your color wheel.

Next, consider your color wheel and the schemes mentioned above. Select a few different color combinations using schemes such as monochrome, complementary, and triad to see what stands out.
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Here, the goal isn't to find exactly the right colors on the first try and create the perfect design, but rather to get a sense of which scheme naturally resonates with your personal perception and the look of your site.

You may also find that schemes you select that look good in theory don't work with your site design. This is part of the process - trial and error will help you find the color palette that both highlights your content and improves the user experience.

5. Draft multiple designs.

Draft and apply multiple color designs to your website and see which one(s) stand out. Then, take a step back, wait a few days and check again to see if your favorites have changed.

Here's why: While many designers go in with a vision of what they want to see and what looks good, the finished product often differs on digital screens that physical color wheels - what seemed like a perfect complement or an ideal color pop may end up looking drab or dated.

Don't be afraid to draft, review, draft again and throw out what doesn't work - color, like website creation, is a constantly-evolving art form.

Pro tip: Use HubSpot's Color Palette Generator to help. The Color Palette Generator is easy to use: first, select your brand's primary color. Then, choose complementary colors. The software will provide several full-color palette options that add neutral tones to your primary and complementary colors. You can customize your color palette to your liking.

How to Use Color Palettes

While color schemes provide a framework for working with different colors, you'll still need to use a color palette - the colors you will select to use for your project. If you're stumped about what colors to use, consider using a palette generator to get your creativity flowing.

Here are some best practices to make the most out of your color palette:

1. Work in grayscale.

This may sound counter-intuitive but starting with black and white can help you see exactly how much contrast exists in your design. Before getting started with color, it's important to lay out all the elements like text, CTAs, illustrations, photos, and any other design features. The way your design looks in grayscale will determine how well it looks in color. Without enough light and dark contrast, your design will be hard to view, leaving your audience with a less than satisfactory user experience. Low contrast designs also make them inaccessible for those with a vision impairment.

2. Use the 60-30-10 rule.

Often used in home design, the 60-30-10 rule is also useful for website or app design.<

60%: primary or main color

30%: secondary colors

10%: accent colors

While you're certainly not limited to using just three colors, this framework will provide balance and ensure your colors work together seamlessly.

3. Experiment with your palette.

Once you've made your color selection, experiment to discover which work better together. Consider how copy or type looks on top of your designated main color (60% is typically used as the background color).

Try not to use your main colors for buttons since you're already using it everywhere else. Consider one of your accent colors instead.

4. Get feedback or conduct A/B testing.

So you've finished your draft. Now it's time to test it. Before sending your design to market, you'll want to test how users interact with it. What may look good to you, may be difficult to read for others. Some things to consider when asking for feedback:

Are the CTAs generating attention?

Are the colors you chose distracting?

Is there enough color contrast?

Is the copy legible?

Getting another set of eyes on your design will help you spot errors or inconsistencies you may have missed in the creation process. Take their feedback in stride and make adjustments where needed.

Put simply? Practice makes perfect. The more you play with color and practice design, the better you get. No one creates their masterpiece the first time around.

Color Tools

There's been a lot of theory and practical information for actually understanding which colors go best together and why. But when it comes down to the actual task of choosing colors while you're designing, it's always a great idea to have tools to help you actually do the work quickly and easily.

Luckily, there are a number of tools to help you find and choose colors for your designs.

Adobe Color

One of my favorite color tools to use while I'm designing anything - whether it's an infographic or just a pie chart - is Adobe Color (previously Adobe Kuler).

This free online tool allows you to quickly build color schemes based on the color structures that were explained earlier in this post. Once you've chosen the colors in the scheme you'd like, you can copy and paste the HEX or RGB codes into whatever program you're using.

It also features hundreds of premade color schemes for you to explore and use in your own designs. If you're an Adobe user, you can easily save your themes to your account.

Illustrator Color Guide

I spend a lot of time in Adobe Illustrator, and one of my most-used features is the color guide. The color guide allows you to choose one color, and it will automatically generate a five-color scheme for you. It will also give you a range of tints and shades for each color in the scheme.

If you switch your main color, the color guide will switch the corresponding colors in that scheme. So if you've chosen a complementary color scheme with the main color of blue, once you switch your main color to red, the complementary color will also switch from orange to green.

Like Adobe Color, the color guide has a number of preset modes to choose the kind of color scheme you want. This helps you pick the right color scheme style within the program you're already using.

After you've created the color scheme that you want, you can save that scheme in the "Color Themes" module for you to use throughout your project or in the future.

Preset Color Guides

If you're not an Adobe user, you've probably used Microsoft Office products at least once. All of the Office products have preset colors that you can use and play around with to create color schemes. PowerPoint also has a number of color scheme presets that you can use to draw inspiration for your designs.

Where the color schemes are located in PowerPoint will depend on which version you use, but once you find the color "themes" of your document, you can open up the preferences and locate the RGB and HEX codes for the colors used.

You can then copy and paste those codes to be used in whatever program you're using to do your design work.

Finding the Right Color Scheme

There's a lot of theory in this post, I know. But when it comes to choosing colors, understanding the theory behind color can do wonders for how you actually use color. This can make creating branded visuals easy, especially when using design templates where you can customize colors.
Editor's note: This article was originally published in June 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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The nervous system must receive and process information about the world outside in order to react, communicate, and keep the body healthy and safe. Much of this information comes through the sensory organs: the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. Specialized cells and tissues within these organs receive raw stimuli and translate them into signals the nervous system can use. Nerves relay the signals to the brain, which interprets them as sight (vision), sound (hearing), smell (olfaction), taste (gustation), and touch (tactile perception).

1. The Eyes Translate Light into Image Signals for the Brain to Process

The eyes sit in the orbits of the skull, protected by bone and fat. The white part of the eye is the sclera. It protects interior structures and surrounds a circular portal formed by the cornea, iris, and pupil. The cornea is transparent to allow light to enter the eye, and curved to direct it through the pupil behind it. The pupil is actually an opening in the colored disk of the iris. The iris dilates or constricts, adjusting how much light passes through the pupil and onto the lens. The curved lens then focuses the image onto the retina, the eye's interior layer. The retina is a delicate membrane of nervous tissue containing photoreceptor cells. These cells, the rods and cones, translate light into nervous signals. The optic nerve carries the signals from the eye to the brain, which interprets them to form visual images.

2. The Ear Uses Bones and Fluid to Transform Sound Waves into Sound Signals

Music, laughter, car honks - all reach the ears as sound waves in the air. The outer ear funnels the waves down the ear canal (the external acoustic meatus) to the tympanic membrane (the "ear drum"). The sound waves beat against the tympanic membrane, creating mechanical vibrations in the membrane. The tympanic membrane transfers these vibrations to three small bones, known as auditory ossicles, found in the air-filled cavity of the middle ear. These bones - the malleus, incus, and stapes - carry the vibrations and knock against the opening to the inner ear. The inner ear consists of fluid-filled canals, including the spiral-shaped cochlea. As the ossicles pound away, specialized hair cells in the cochlea detect pressure waves in the fluid. They activate nervous receptors, sending signals through the cochlear nerve toward the brain, which interprets the signals as sounds.

3. Specialized Receptors in the Skin Send Touch Signals to the Brain

Skin consists of three major tissue layers: the outer epidermis, middle dermis, and inner hypodermis. Specialized receptor cells within these layers detect tactile sensations and relay signals through peripheral nerves toward the brain. The presence and location of the different types of receptors make certain body parts more sensitive. Merkel cells, for example, are found in the lower epidermis of lips, hands, and external genitalia. Meissner corpuscles are found in the upper dermis of hairless skin - fingertips, nipples, the soles of the feet. Both of these receptors detect touch, pressure, and vibration. Other touch receptors include Pacinian corpuscles, which also register pressure and vibration, and the free endings of specialized nerves that feel pain, itch, and tickle.

4. Olfaction: Chemicals in the Air Stimulate Signals the Brain Interprets as Smells

The sense of smell is called olfaction. It starts with specialized nerve receptors located on hairlike cilia in the epithelium at the top of the nasal cavity. When we sniff or inhale through the nose, some chemicals in the air bind to these receptors. That triggers a signal that travels up a nerve fiber, through the epithelium and the skull bone above, to the olfactory bulbs. The olfactory bulbs contain neuron cell bodies that transmit information along the cranial nerves, which are extensions of the olfactory bulbs. They send the signal down the olfactory nerves, toward the olfactory area of the cerebral cortex.

5. Home of the Taste Buds: The Tongue Is the Principal Organ of Gustation

What are all those small bumps on the top of the tongue? They're called papillae. Many of them, including circumvallate papillae and fungiform papillae, contain taste buds. When we eat, chemicals from food enter the papillae and reach the taste buds. These chemicals (or tastants) stimulate specialized gustatory cells inside the taste buds, activating nervous receptors. The receptors send signals to fibers of the facial, glossopharyngeal, and vagus nerves. Those nerves carry the signals to the medulla oblongata, which relays them to the thalamus and cerebral cortex of the brain.
Download Special Senses Lab Manuals

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Did you know that the nervous system is the most complex body system? Learn about the functions of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

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human endocrine system, group of ductless glands that regulate body processes by secreting chemical substances called hormones. Hormones act on nearby tissues or are carried in the bloodstream to act on specific target organs and distant tissues. Diseases of the endocrine system can result from the oversecretion or undersecretion of hormones or from the inability of target organs or tissues to respond to hormones effectively.

It is important to distinguish between an endocrine gland, which discharges hormones into the bloodstream, and an exocrine gland, which secretes substances through a duct opening in a gland onto an external or internal body surface. Salivary glands and sweat glands are examples of exocrine glands. Both saliva, secreted by the salivary glands, and sweat, secreted by the sweat glands, act on local tissues near the duct openings. In contrast, the hormones secreted by endocrine glands are carried by the circulation to exert their actions on tissues remote from the site of their secretion.

As far back as 3000 bce, the ancient Chinese were able to diagnose and provide effective treatments for some endocrinologic disorders. For example, seaweed, which is rich in iodine, was prescribed for the treatment of goitre (enlargement of the thyroid gland). Perhaps the earliest demonstration of direct endocrinologic intervention in humans was the castration of men who could then be relied upon, more or less, to safeguard the chastity of women living in harems. During the Middle Ages and later, the practice persisting well into the 19th century, prepubertal boys were sometimes castrated to preserve the purity of their treble voices. Castration established the testes (testicles) as the source of substances responsible for the development and maintenance of "maleness."

This knowledge led to an abiding interest in restoring or enhancing male sexual powers. In the 18th century, London-based Scottish surgeon, anatomist, and physiologist John Hunter successfully transplanted the testis of a rooster into the abdomen of a hen. The transplanted organ developed a blood supply in the hen, though whether masculinization occurred was unclear. In 1849 German physiologist Arnold Adolph Berthold performed a similar experiment, except, instead of hens, he transplanted rooster testes into capons (castrated roosters). The capons subsequently regained secondary sex characteristics, demonstrating that the testes were the source of a masculinizing substance. Also in the 19th century, French neurologist and physiologist Charles-Édouard Brown-Séquard asserted that the testes contained an invigorating, rejuvenating substance. His conclusions were based in part on observations obtained after he had injected himself with an extract of the testicle of a dog or of a guinea pig. These experiments resulted in the widespread use of organ extracts to treat endocrine conditions (organotherapy).

Modern endocrinology largely originated in the 20th century, however. Its scientific origin is rooted in the studies of French physiologist Claude Bernard (1813-78), who made the key observation that complex organisms such as humans go to great lengths to preserve the constancy of what he called the "milieu intérieur" (internal environment). Later, American physiologist Walter Bradford Cannon (1871-1945) used the term homeostasis to describe this inner constancy.

The endocrine system, in association with the nervous system and the immune system, regulates the body's internal activities and the body's interactions with the external environment to preserve the internal environment. This control system permits the prime functions of living organisms-growth, development, and reproduction-to proceed in an orderly, stable fashion; it is exquisitely self-regulating, so that any disruption of the normal internal environment by internal or external events is resisted by powerful countermeasures. When this resistance is overcome, illness ensues.

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Human endocrine system | Description, Function, Glands, & Hormones

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Human endocrine system, group of ductless glands that secrete hormones necessary for normal growth and development, reproduction, and homeostasis.

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Author: Jana Vasković MD * Reviewer: Nicola McLaren MSc
Last reviewed: September 18, 2023
Reading time: 20 minutes

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Nervous system (anterior view)

The nervous system is a network of neurons whose main feature is to generate, modulate and transmit information between all the different parts of the human body. This property enables many important functions of the nervous system, such as regulation of vital body functions ( heartbeat, breathing, digestion), sensation and body movements. Ultimately, the nervous system structures preside over everything that makes us human; our consciousness, cognition, behaviour and memories.

The nervous system consists of two divisions;

Definition

A network of neurons that sends, receives and modulates neural impulses between different body parts.

Divisions

Central nervous system
Peripheral nervous system

Central nervous system

Brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system

Spinal and cranial nerves.
Functional divisions:
- Somatic nervous system
- Autonomic nervous system; sympathetic, parasympathetic and enteric divisions

Understanding the nervous system requires knowledge of its various parts, so in this article you will learn about the nervous system breakdown and all its various divisions.

Cells of the nervous system

Two basic types of cells are present in the nervous system;

Neurons

[Neurons: Structure and types]

Neurons, or nerve cell, are the main structural and functional units of the nervous system. Every neuron consists of a body (soma) and a number of processes (neurites). The nerve cell body contains the cellular organelles and is where neural impulses ( action potentials) are generated. The processes stem from the body, they connect neurons with each other and with other body cells, enabling the flow of neural impulses. There are two types of neural processes that differ in structure and function;

Axons are long and conduct impulses away from the neuronal body.

Dendrites are short and act to receive impulses from other neurons, conducting the electrical signal towards the nerve cell body.

Every neuron has a single axon, while the number of dendrites varies. Based on that number, there are four structural types of neurons; multipolar, bipolar, pseudounipolar and unipolar.

Learn more about the neurons in our study unit:

How do neurons function?

The morphology of neurons makes them highly specialized to work with neural impulses; they generate, receive and send these impulses onto other neurons and non-neural tissues.

There are two types of neurons, named according to whether they send an electrical signal towards or away from the CNS;

Efferent neurons (motor or descending) send neural impulses from the CNS to the peripheral tissues, instructing them how to function.

Afferent neurons (sensory or ascending) conduct impulses from the peripheral tissues to the CNS. These impulses contain sensory information, describing the tissue's environment.

The site where an axon connects to another cell to pass the neural impulse is called a synapse. The synapse doesn't connect to the next cell directly. Instead, the impulse triggers the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters from the very end of an axon. These neurotransmitters bind to the effector cell's membrane, causing biochemical events to occur within that cell according to the orders sent by the CNS.

Ready to reinforce your knowledge about the neurons? Try out our quiz below:

Glial cells

Glial cells, also called neuroglia or simply glia, are smaller non-excitatory cells that act to support neurons. They do not propagate action potentials. Instead, they myelinate neurons, maintain homeostatic balance, provide structural support, protection and nutrition for neurons throughout the nervous system.

This set of functions is provided for by four different types of glial cells;

Myelinating glia produce the axon-insulating myelin sheath. These are called oligodendrocytes in the CNS and Schwann cells in the PNS. Remember these easily with the mnemonic "COPS" (Central - Oligodendrocytes; Peripheral - Schwann)

Astrocytes (CNS) and satellite glial cells (PNS) both share the function of supporting and protecting neurons.

Other two glial cell types are found in CNS exclusively; microglia are the phagocytes of the CNS and ependymal cells which line the ventricular system of the CNS. The PNS doesn't have a glial equivalent to microglia as the phagocytic role is performed by macrophages.

Most axons are wrapped by a white insulating substance called the myelin sheath, produced by oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells. Myelin encloses an axon segmentally, leaving unmyelinated gaps between the segments called the nodes of Ranvier. The neural impulses propagate through the Ranvier nodes only, skipping the myelin sheath. This significantly increases the speed of neural impulse propagation.

White and gray matter

The white color of myelinated axons is distinguished from the gray colored neuronal bodies and dendrites. Based on this, nervous tissue is divided into white matter and gray matter, both of which has a specific distribution;

White matter comprises the outermost layer of the spinal cord and the inner part of the brain.

Gray matter is located in the central part of the spinal cord, outermost layer of the brain (cerebral cortex), and in several subcortical nuclei of the brain deep to the cerebral cortex.

Master the histology of nervous tissue with our customizable quiz: We got you covered with neurons, nerves and ganglia!

Nervous system divisions

Nervous system breakdown (diagram)

So nervous tissue, comprised of neurons and neuroglia, forms our nervous organs (e.g. the brain, nerves). These organs unite according to their common function, forming the evolutionary perfection that is our nervous system.

The nervous system (NS) is structurally broken down into two divisions;

Central nervous system (CNS) - consists of the brain and spinal cord

Peripheral nervous system (PNS) - gathers all neural tissue outside the CNS

Functionally, the PNS is further subdivided into two functional divisions;

Somatic nervous system (SNS) - informally described as the voluntary system

Autonomic nervous system (ANS) - described as the involuntary system.

They say that the nervous system is one of the hardest anatomy topic. But you're in luck, as we've got a learning strategy for you to master neuroanatomy in a lot shorter time than you though you'll need. Check out our quizzes and more for the nervous system anatomy practice!

Although divided structurally into central and peripheral parts, the nervous system divisions are actually interconnected with each other. Axon bundles pass impulses between the brain and spinal cord. These bundles within the CNS are called afferent and efferent neural pathways or tracts. Axons that extend from the CNS to connect with peripheral tissues belong to the PNS. Axons bundles within the PNS are called afferent and efferent peripheral nerves.

Central nervous system

The central nervous system (CNS) consists of the brain and spinal cord. These are found housed within the skull and vertebral column respectively.

The brain is made of four parts; cerebrum, diencephalon, cerebellum and brainstem. Together these parts process the incoming information from peripheral tissues and generate commands; telling the tissues how to respond and function. These commands tackle the most complex voluntary and involuntary human body functions, from breathing to thinking.

The spinal cord continues from the brainstem. It also has the ability to generate commands but for involuntary processes only, i.e. reflexes. However, its main function is to pass information between the CNS and periphery.

Learn more about the CNS anatomy here:

Peripheral nervous system

The PNS consists of 12 pairs of cranial nerves, 31 pairs of spinal nerves and a number of small neuronal clusters throughout the body called ganglia.
Peripheral nerves can be sensory (afferent), motor (efferent) or mixed (both). Depending on what structures they innervate, peripheral nerves can have the following modalities;

Cranial nerves

Cranial nerves are peripheral nerves that emerge from the cranial nerve nuclei of the brainstem and spinal cord. They innervate the head and neck. Cranial nerves are numbered one to twelve according to their order of exit through the skull fissures. Namely, they are: olfactory nerve (CN I), optic nerve (CN II), oculomotor nerve (CN III), trochlear nerve (CN IV), trigeminal nerve (CN V), abducens nerve (VI), facial nerve (VII), vestibulocochlear nerve (VIII), glossopharyngeal nerve (IX), vagus nerve (X), accessory nerve (XI), and hypoglossal nerve (XII). These nerves are motor (III, IV, VI, XI, and XII), sensory (I, II and VIII) or mixed (V, VII, IX, and X).

Among many strategies for learning cranial nerves anatomy, our experts have determined that one of the most efficient is through interactive learning. Check out Kenhub's interactive cranial nerves quizzes and labeling exercises to cut your studying time in half.

Jump right into our cranial nerves quiz in multiple difficulty levels:

Or learn more about the cranial nerves in this study unit.

Spinal nerves

Spinal nerves emerge from the segments of the spinal cord. They are numbered according to their specific segment of origin. Hence, the 31 pairs of spinal nerves are divided into 8 cervical pairs, 12 thoracic pairs, 5 lumbar pairs, 5 sacral pairs, and 1 coccygeal spinal nerve. All spinal nerves are mixed, containing both sensory and motor fibers.

[Spinal nerves (diagram)]

Spinal nerves innervate the entire body, with the exception of the head. They do so by either directly synapsing with their target organs or by interlacing with each other and forming plexuses. There are four major plexuses that supply the body regions;

Want to learn more about the spinal nerves and plexuses? Check out our resources.

Ganglia

Ganglia (sing. ganglion) are clusters of neuronal cell bodies outside of the CNS, meaning that they are the PNS equivalents to subcortical nuclei of the CNS. Ganglia can be sensory or visceral motor (autonomic) and their distribution in the body is clearly defined.

Dorsal root ganglia are clusters of sensory nerve cell bodies located adjacent to the spinal cord. They are a component of the posterior root of a spinal nerve.

Autonomic ganglia are either sympathetic or parasympathetic. Sympathetic ganglia are found in the thorax and abdomen, grouped into paravertebral and prevertebral ganglia. Paravertebral ganglia lie on either side of vertebral column ( para- means beside), comprising two ganglionic chains that extend from the base of the skull to the coccyx, called sympathetic trunks. Prevertebral ganglia (collateral ganglia, preaortic ganglia) are found anterior to the vertebral column ( pre- means in front of), closer to their target organ. They are further grouped according to which branch of abdominal aorta they surround; celiac, aorticorenal, superior and inferior mesenteric ganglia.

Parasympathetic ganglia are found in the head and pelvis. Ganglia in the head are associated with relevant cranial nerves and are the ciliary, pterygopalatine, otic and submandibular ganglia. Pelvic ganglia lie close to the reproductive organs comprising autonomic plexuses for innervation of pelvic viscera, such as prostatic and uterovaginal plexuses.

Find everything about ganglia needed for your neuroanatomy exam here.

Somatic nervous system

The somatic nervous system is the voluntary component of the peripheral nervous system. It consists of all the fibers within cranial and spinal nerves that enable us to perform voluntary body movements (efferent nerves) and feel sensation from the skin, muscles and joints (afferent nerves). Somatic sensation relates to touch, pressure, vibration, pain, temperature, stretch and position sense from these three types of structures.

Sensation from the glands, smooth and cardiac muscles is conveyed by the autonomic nerves.

Autonomic nervous system

The autonomic nervous system is the involuntary part of the peripheral nervous system. Further divided into the sympathetic (SANS), parasympathetic (PANS) systems, it is comprised exclusively of visceral motor fibers. Nerves from both these divisions innervate all involuntary structures of the body;

Balanced functioning of these two systems plays a crucial role in maintaining homeostasis, meaning that the SANS and PANS do not oppose each other but rather, they complement each other. They do so by potentiating the activity of different organs under various circumstances; for example, the PSNS will stimulate higher intestine activity after food intake, while SANS will stimulate the heart to increase the output during exercise.

Autonomic nerves synapse within autonomic ganglia before reaching their target organ, thus all of them have presynaptic and postsynaptic parts. Presynaptic fibers originate from CNS and end by synapsing with neurons of the peripheral autonomic ganglia. Postsynaptic fibers are the axons of ganglion neurons, extending from the ganglion to peripheral tissues. In sympathetic nerves, the presynaptic fiber is short as the ganglia are located very close to the spinal cord, while the postsynaptic fiber is much longer in order to reach the target organ. In parasympathetic nerves it's the opposite; the presynaptic fiber is longer than the postsynaptic.

The autonomic nervous system seems to be the only thing that can act without your free will. Learn about how it does that here.

Sympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic system (SANS) adjusts our bodies for situations of increased physical activity. Its actions are commonly described as the "fight-or-flight" response as it stimulates responses such as faster breathing, increased heart rate, elevated blood pressure, dilated pupils and redirection of blood flow from the skin, kidneys, stomach and intestines to the heart and muscles, where it's needed.

Sympathetic nerve fibers have a thoracolumbar origin, meaning that they stem from the T1-L2/L3 spinal cord segments. They synapse with prevertebral and paravertebral ganglia, from which the postsynaptic fibers travel to supply the target viscera.

Parasympathetic nervous system

The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) adjusts our bodies for energy conservation, activating "rest and digest" or "feed and breed" activities. The nerves of the PSNS slow down the actions of cardiovascular system, divert blood away from muscles and increase peristalsis and gland secretion.

Parasympathetic fibers have craniosacral outflow, meaning that they originate from the brainstem (cranio-) and S2-S4 spinal cord segments (-sacral). These fibers travel to thoracic and abdominal organs, where they synapse in ganglia located close to or within the target organ.

Enteric nervous system

Enteric nervous system comprises the SANS and PANS fibers that regulate the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. This system is made of parasympathetic fibers of the vagus nerve (CN X) and sympathetic fibers of the thoracic splanchnic nerves. These fibers form two plexuses within the wall of the intestinal tube which are responsible for modulating intestinal peristalsis, i.e. propagation of consumed food from esophagus to rectum;

Mnemonic

You can easily remember these two plexuses using a simple mnemonic! ' SMP & MAPS', which stands for:

Submucosal

Meissner's

Parasympathetic

Myenteric

Auerbach's

Parasympathetic

Sympathetic

Clinical notes

Vagotomy

Vagotomy for gastric ulcers is an old procedure which is used as surgical management in patients with recurrent gastric ulcers when there is no effect of diet alterations or antiulcer drugs. The vagus nerve stimulates the secretion of gastric acid. Three types of vagotomy can be performed which would greatly diminish this effect.

Cranial nerve palsies

The 12 cranial nerves all leave/enter the skull through various foramina. Narrowing of these foramina or any constriction along the nerves course results in nerve palsy. For example, Bell's palsy affects the facial nerve. On the affected side of the face, the patient has:

hemiplegia

dry eyesan absent corneal reflex, overloud hearing and affected taste in the anterior 2/3 of the tongue.

an absent corneal reflex

overloud hearing

affected taste in the anterior 2/3 of the tongue

Limb nerve lesions

Limb nerve palsies often result from fracture, constriction or overuse. For example, carpal tunnel syndrome affects the median nerve, and occurs when the nerve is compressed within the tunnel. This is due to enlargement of the flexor tendons within the tunnel or swelling due to oedema. It often occurs in pregnancy and acromegaly.

Hirschsprung's disease

This is colonic atony secondary to a failure of the ganglion cells (described in the enteric nervous system section) to migrate into the enteric nervous system. This results in a severely constipated and malnourished child, which is in desperate need of corrective surgery.

Spina bifida

Failure of normal development of the meninges and/or vertebral neural arch results in a defect usually in the lumbar spine, where part of the spinal cord is covered only by meninges and therefore sits outside the body. Both environmental and genetic factors contribute to its cause. Folate supplements are now given to all pregnant mothers in early pregnancy for its prevention.

Parkinson's disease

Dopamine is essential for the correct functioning of the basal ganglia, structures in the brain that control our cognition and movement. Parkinson's patients suffer degradation of these dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, resulting in:

difficulty initiating movement

shuffling gait

masked facies

cog-wheel/lead-pipe rigidity in the limbs

Sources

All content published on Kenhub is reviewed by medical and anatomy experts. The information we provide is grounded on academic literature and peer-reviewed research. Kenhub does not provide medical advice. You can learn more about our content creation and review standards by reading our content quality guidelines.

References:

Blumenfeld, H. (2018). Neuroanatomy through clinical cases. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer.

Goodfellow, J., Collins, D., Silva, D., Dardis, R., & Nagaraya, S. (2016). Neurology & neurosurgery. New Delhi, India: Jp medical pub.

Patestas, M. A., & Gartner, L. P. (2016). A textbook of neuroanatomy. Hoboken: Wiley Blackwell

Waxman, S. G. (2010). Clinical neuroanatomy. New York: McGraw-Hill Medical.

Author, review and layout:

Illustrators:

Nervous system (anterior view) - Begoña Rodriguez

12 cranial nerves (diagram) - Paul Kim

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The nervous system consists of the central and the peripheral nervous system. It generates, modulates and transmits information in the human body.

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(Image credit: UN Photo/Marie Frechon)

The Congo River is a long, arcing river with a basin that spans nine countries in West-Central Africa. This extensive body of water provides food, water, medicine and transport to about 75 million people in the surrounding basin, according to Yale University's Global Forest Atlas.

The Congo River zigzags across the equator twice as it flows from eastern Africa, through the Congo rainforest, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, according to Mongabay, a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news site. From its tributaries to where it meets the Atlantic Ocean, the massive river includes rapids, wetlands, floodplains, lakes and swamps.

In addition, the Congo River is the world's deepest recorded river at 720 feet (220 meters) deep in parts - too deep for light to penetrate, The New York Times reported. It's also the second-longest river in Africa, spanning a length of approximately 2,920 miles (4,700 kilometers), according to Phys.org. (Africa's Nile River is the longest river in the world at 4,135 miles, or 6,650 km long.) That makes the Congo River the ninth-longest in the world.
Related: Dying fish revealed Congo is world's deepest river
The region surrounding the Congo River holds an abundance of valuable resources, from ivory to rubber to timber, the BBC reported. "It's this massive freshwater heart of Africa," said Melanie Stiassny, an expert in Congolese ichthyology and curator at the American Museum of Natural History.

Governments have long fought for control of the Congo; the brutal colonial regime of the infamous King Leopold II of Belgium from 1885 to 1908, memorialized in the 1899 novella, " Heart of Darkness," by Joseph Conrad, was one of the bloodiest.

The location and geography of the Congo river system

The Congo River system runs through the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, western Zambia, northern Angola, and parts of Cameroon and Tanzania, according to National Geographic.

This long river system has a unique anatomy that divides it into three distinct regions: the upper, middle and lower Congo. The upper is made up of tributaries and rapids, the middle is mostly a steady stream, and the lower consists of gorges and falls, which can make it dangerous.

The tributaries, or the smaller rivers or streams that feed the Congo River, are known as the upper Congo. The Lualaba River forms the Congo River's main tributary. It originates in the southeastern corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the Katanga Plateau at an elevation of 4,000 feet (1,220 m), and flows northward through the country. It carries the most volume of water to the Congo of any of its tributaries. After 1,800 miles (2,900 km), the Lualaba River feeds into (and becomes) the Congo River.

Another smaller and more remote tributary that flows into the Congo River is the Chambeshi River, which starts in Zambia, and flows for about 300 miles (480 km) until it feeds into the Lualaba River near the border of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This larger network of rivers is sometimes referred to as the Congo-Lualaba-Chambeshi River system.

These tributaries in eastern Africa flow north, and they account for the source of the middle and lower river, Stiassny said. This upper Congo section begins to curve, and forms an arc after it passes through the equator in the central Democratic Republic of the Congo. The river features some major rapids here before reaching the city of Kisangani (formerly known as Stanleyville), one of the largest cities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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The Congo River Basin: Home of the deepest river in the world

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The Congo River is a long, arcing river in West-Central Africa, featuring a rainforest and providing food and transport for 75 million people.

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The Ganges (Ganga) River is a sacred body of water to Hindus that begins high in the Himalaya Mountains and empties out into the Bay of Bengal. The surrounding river basin has a population of more than four hundred million people.

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From the Mississippi to the Nile, the Earth’s major rivers cover vast distances and carry freshwater to millions.

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If you are new to orienteering then this excellent video will give you a clear picture of what it is all about. Don't be put off by the super-fit looking people running confidently through forest, most orienteers are not as fit as them!

Video - Start Orienteering - A Newcomer's Guide - Presented by Graham Gristwood

The video link below takes you straight to it.

This newcomer's video was produced by SLOW (South London Orienteers) with GB Team orienteers. It links to a series of other videos on techniques, that are included in the skills discussion elsewhere on Better Orienteering (in the Intermediate and Advanced sections). If you are completely new to orienteering then it is probably best to read more below and try having a go at orienteering first, then come back to the SLOW Get Up To Speed video series with a bit more experience.

Here is a visual summary of what you need to remember when trying orienteering.

New to orienteering? Here's some tips page 1

New to orienteering? Here's some tips page 2

You can download a copy of the tips below. It also has a full key to orienteering map symbols which is also included further down this web page. It can be helpful to have a copy of this summary on a smartphone or printed out, to refer to before trying an orienteering course, so that the basics are firmly in your mind before you set off. It is scaled for easy reading on a smartphone screen.

Photo: Steve Rush BOK

The International Orienteering Federation also has 3 introductory videos appropriate for juniors. They take maps and navigation back to absolute basics and can be helpful for juniors and those with little experience of maps as they start out navigating and orienteering.

available at https://orienteering.sport/orienteering/ and linked below:

However, if you are already used to using maps, you can skip these videos and scroll down.

Orienteering Part 1- The Map

The next 2 IOF animated videos are:

Orienteering Part 2- Planning your route

Orienteering Part 3 - Finding your way

The IOF Leaflet Let's Go Orienteering gives quick overview of what its all about.

An example of an orienteering map and course

Example map from British Orienteering - see Newcomer's Guide

This example map is from British Orienteering's Newcomer's guide that sets out the basics of orienteering.

It is important to remember that when viewing any map on a computer or phone screen it will not necessarily be seen at the size it is intended to be printed at. When viewed at the correct size the details should be clear to read.

The basics for beginners demonstrated in a bit more detail

Here is a series of 4 videos from MDOC (Manchester and District Orienteering Club) that take you through what we have looked at so far in simple steps and show how you can build up the basic skills in stages.

The 4 videos are:

Getting Started - Getting Going - Getting Confident - Getting Faster

The absolute basics for beginners are demonstrated with examples of people using the skills in urban and park areas on beginner's courses. They will help you be confident to go and try orienteering.

Plan, Picture, Direction - 3 steps to successful orienteering

To help you put these ideas into practice, Better Orienteering uses a simple model of 3 steps to think about when navigating - Plan, Picture, Direction

To get round an orienteering course successfully, for each leg of the course you should:

1 Plan - Make a Plan before you set off. Try to follow hand rails such as paths.

2 Picture - identify what you will see on the way. For example - I will follow a path to a junction and turn into the woodland from the open land on another path. I will see the control where the path crosses a stream.

3 Direction - Head in the right Direction following the map always keeping it orientated to north with the compass so it matches the terrain around you. Note key features you pass on the way and relate them to the map as you go. Fold the map, and move your thumb along keeping track of where you are.
Plan, Picture, Direction - 3 simple steps!
This is all explained in more detail in the Basic Navigation Routine section.

Types of map

Orienteering races take place in many types of terrain including woodland, moorland and urban areas. Urban maps are usually at 1:4000 scale (every centimetre on the map is 40 metres on the ground), or sometimes 1:5000, showing lots of detail around buildings. Woodland and moorland maps are usually at 1:10,000 (1 cm on map = 100 metres on the ground) or 1:15,000 scale (1 cm om map = 150 m on ground), giving a slightly less detailed view of a bigger area of terrain.

A woodland map Part of Hopton wood, 1:10,000 copyright Wrekin Orienteers

An urban map Wombridge and Cockshutt 1:5000 an urban map including an area of woodland. Copyright Wrekin Orienteers
Survey and Cartography by Rod Postlethwaite

Urban maps such as the Wombridge and Cockshutt map use a slightly different symbol set for urban areas compared to woodland maps. For simplicity the symbol set that is used on all non-urban maps is the one introduced here in the Beginner section.

A moorland map Part of Corndon 1:10,000 Copyright Wrekin Orienteers

The rough open moorland is coloured a dark yellow. See below for more explanation of map symbols.

Understanding map symbols

Simon Errington at Maprunner has produced a summary of current Orienteering Map Symbols to help you read what maps are showing. You don't need to know all these symbols straight away and you can refer to the key on the map.

Orienteering map symbols summary by Maprunner

Map symbols download

The most important symbols to remember are:

Yellow is open land

White is forest you can run through

Green is thicker, slower forest. Darker green = thicker forest

Solid black line is a forest road or dirt track

Dashed black line is a path or track. Thicker dashes = bigger path

Brown lines are contours showing land of equal height

You will quickly get used to the other symbols as you encounter them.

Orienteering maps can seem complicated to beginners, but don't be put off. They are surveyed and drawn to an incredibly high standard to provide an orienteer's view of the terrain. Once you tune in to orienteering maps you will find they provide all the information you need to choose a suitable route and then follow it reliably.

This video, What is an orienteering map? by Andy Paterson of Clydeside Orienteers, helps to demystify the layers of information that go into making up an orienteering map.

Using the compass

When using an orienteering map you need to keep it lined up with north for the map to make sense of the terrain around you. Thumb compasses are the most popular compasses for orienteering. Most of the time you won't need to do more than use the red compass needle to keep the map lined up to north, however, this explanation from Silva shows how you can get more from it if you need to, by taking a bearing between points on the map. Silva - How to use a thumb compass

This helpful overview of compasses by David Jukes of BKO covers many of the issues beginners encounter with compasses.

Understanding control descriptions

The controls you look for in orienteering courses are described in symbols that are used in orienteering all around the world.

The table below from Maprunner shows what the symbols used in orienteering control descriptions mean.
Beginner's courses usually have a description in plain English alongside the symbols.

A helpful summary of control descriptions from Maprunner

Control descriptions
Don't be put off, these control descriptions symbols become easy to understand very quickly.

How orienteering courses are graded

Orienteering courses are colour coded according to difficulty. The colours used do vary between countries, but you will be able find out when you register which is the right course for you. The colour coding here is the one used in the UK.

Orienteering is split into courses of different levels of difficulty and physical challenge on a colour coding system, so you will be able to find a suitable course to try. Smaller events follow the colour coding system and you sign up for the course at the race, referred to as 'entry on the day'. When you register for a course they will help you pick a course that is suitable for your fitness, experience and age group.

The major competitions are split into age classes instead where you will be competing against people of similar age to ensure a fair race.

A bit more detail of the colour coding system and how it relates to the technical difficulty of courses is explained in this leaflet Colour coded courses and technical difficulty by David Jukes of BKO

Major races usually require you to enter beforehand for the age group classes, but they normally have some colour coded courses you can enter on the day as well, typically White, Yellow and Orange.

The age groups for orienteering races go from under 10s to over 90. Juniors are in 2 year age groups up to 21, adults over 35 are in 5 year groups.

Photo by Rob Lines of Phil Broadhead M90

Orienteering is for everyone, as Phillip Broadhead (Wrekin Orienteers) M90 British Champion 2019 proves!

What if I get lost?

Don't worry getting a bit lost is normal. If you can no longer match the map to the terrain around you STOP and work out where you are. Here are some basic steps that will help you get back on track matched to the word STOP.

Stop - don't keep going and make it worse!

Trace where you have been on the map

Observe what significant features are around you and Match them to the map

If you can work out where you are, then you can either continue with your Plan, or make a New Plan.

If you are not sure where you are, then it may be necessary to Retrace your steps and try again. Don't feel bad about doing this if you need to, just continuing will simply get you more lost. Above all, don't panic, because you will usually be no more than 200 or 300 metres from your last known point (if you have been following the map as you go). You can always go back to your last known location and try again.

(Thank you Wojciech for suggesting STOP as the way to summarize what to do when you get lost).

The basic elements of navigation

Now that we have covered the basics of what orienteering is about, this video from the Irish Orienteering Association - 10 Elements of Orienteering videos, give another look at how it starts to join up. (Thanks to IOA for permission to integrate these videos). They cover some of the basics skills and ideas you will need to work with to go orienteering. We return to these skills in more detail in the next section Basic Navigation Routine that talks about the foundations for successful orienteering.

Don't worry if these ideas are not all totally clear yet - as you try orienteering they will make sense. they are included here to give an idea of what you are aiming for. It will help to look at these videos again after you have tried orienteering, because there are a lot of ideas to take on board. The ten short videos are listed below:

To view the videos visit http://www.orienteering.ie/video

The 10 Elements of Orienteering playlist includes:

Intro - What is orienteering?
Reading the map part 1
Orientating the map
Route choice
Relocation
Compass skills
Reading the map part 2
Route choice 2
Courses
Start 'n Finish

Different types of orienteering

Orienteering competitions are divided into the following types:

Foot orienteering There are races at different distances - Sprint, Middle, Long and Ultra-long - and on different types of terrain - urban, forest, moorland. This summary Long, Middle, Sprint by David Jukes of BKO gives more detail on the differences

Mountain Bike Orienteering (MTBO) - Sprint, Middle, Long

Ski Orienteering (Ski-O) - different distance races

Trail Orienteering (Trail-O Trail-O is for all physical ability levels, even those with significant physical mobility impairments and focuses on accurate map reading rather than running speed. This summary by David Jukes of BKO gives more detail

Orienteering world-wide

Orienteering may be a world-wide sport, but its homeland is Scandinavia.

This short video from the Swedish Orienteering Federation " Orienteering, more than just running ", gives a flavour of the different types of orienteering you can get involved with. After just a few words in Swedish at the start, it is a well produced video showing footage of people competing at all the types of orienteering available. Hopefully it can inspire you as to the world of navigation fun that orienteering opens up.

Orienteering more than just running
An overview of all the types of Orienteering - urban, forest, mountain bike and skiing
https://www.orientering.se/

Where can I try orienteering?

You can try orienteering at one of many races run all across the UK throughout the year. You can also try orienteering at permanent courses you can visit at any time. For countries other than the UK search for your country's orienteering association web pages for lists of upcoming races.

Have a look at the section Where can I try orienteering?

You now know what orienteering is and how to come along and have a go.

Enjoy trying orienteering and do explore the rest of the Better Orienteering website! There are also free downloads, more videos and links to many resources in the Suggested Reading and Resources section.

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If you are new to orienteering then this excellent video will give you a clear picture of what it is all about. Don't be put off by the super-fit looking people running confidently through forest, most orienteers are not as fit as them! Video - Start Orienteering - A Newcomer's Guide - Presented by Graham...

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Teacher's Guide

Intro

If someone drops two objects from the same height, one heavy, one light, which one will hit the ground first? If you are like most people, you may instinctively pick the heavier object. And why wouldn't you? After all, rocks fall faster than feathers. There are other factors besides weight that affect the speed of an object as it falls. This experiment will help students explore those factors, such as gravity and air. Students will use both their eyes and their ears to figure out how mass affects the speed at which something falls.

For more information and ideas on how to implement the activity in your classroom check out the video.

Key Terms

Mass: A measure of the amount of stuff (or matter) an object has. Not to be confused with weight or volume. Mass only says how much actual stuff there is, not how big an object is or how hard something is pulling on it.

Weight: Mass (amount of stuff) times how hard the planet is pulling on it (gravity). This means that your weight on the moon will be 1/6 of that on Earth (gravity on the moon is 0.166 times of that on Earth). However, your mass will still be the same.

Force: The push or pull an object feels because of interactions with other objects. If the interaction stops, then there is no force. It is formally defined as mass times acceleration. For example, gravity is a force that represents the pull the Earth has on all objects.

Velocity: A measure of how fast something is going in some specific direction. Not to be confused with speed, which is only how fast something is moving. "The car was going 65 mph south on I-95" is a measure of velocity. "The rollercoaster was moving at 65 mph when Billy got sick" is a measure of speed.

Acceleration: How fast the velocity is changing. When something accelerates it changes how fast it is going or the direction in which it is moving. For a positive change in acceleration means that the object is moving faster, a car going from 30 mph to 40 mph. A negative change means the object is moving slower, the car is going from 40mph to 30 mph. Finally, a change in the direction of the object's velocity without changing speed, such as if a car is moving North and turns East still moving, then the car accelerated because the direction of the car's velocity changed. Remember that velocity is a vector with direction and magnitude, therefore changes in any (or both) of those factors will produce an acceleration.

Air resistance: The force air exerts on something moving through it. When an object with a bigger surface falls through air, it feels more air resistance. Air resistance does not depend on the mass of the object.

Before the activity students should know:
Gravity from the Earth makes things fall by pulling objects toward the ground

There's a difference between weight and mass.

There's a difference between speed, velocity and acceleration.

That a force is mass times acceleration.

When something falls through air it experiences air resistance.

AFTER the activity students should know:

How mass affects the speed at which objects fall.

Why a hammer and a feather will fall at the same rate on the moon but not on Earth.

The Science Behind Falling Objects

If someone showed you two spheres of the same size but with different masses, say 1g and 10kg, and asked which would hit the ground first after being dropped from the Leaning Tower of Pisa, what would you say? If you're like most people, you would say the 10kg sphere would hit the ground first. Aristotle said so too, and for 1,000 years everyone believed him. But doing the experiment would show you, besides a great view of Pisa, that in fact, both spheres hit the ground at the same time.

This is exactly what Galileo did, showing the world that objects of different masses fall at the same rate. (This is also a good example of why it is important to do experiments yourself and not to just take someone else's word for it.) To start understanding why Galileo was right, we need to understand the difference between several physics words that are often jumbled together and confused: mass, weight, speed, velocity, acceleration, and force.

Let's start with mass and weight. Mass is the amount of stuff an object has. Mass and weight are not the same thing: the mass of an object will stay the same no matter where it is in the Universe, but weight will not. If I had some amount of stuff, say an apple, and took it from the Earth to the Moon, I would still have the same amount of stuff: one apple (assuming I didn't get hungry on the trip). No matter where I put that one apple, I will always have the same amount of apple, unless I eat it. This means that here or on the Moon, my apple has the same mass. Mass has the unit of kilograms.

Now, weight is the amount of mass times the force of gravity, or how hard a planet is pulling an object towards itself. Going back to our apple, that apple would be a lot easier to lift and put in my mouth on the Moon than on Earth, right? The Earth pulls on the apple harder than the moon would, because the pull of the Earth (gravity) is stronger than that of the Moon. Even though I have the same amount of stuff, the same mass, the weight of my apple is greater on Earth than it is on the Moon. Weight is mass times acceleration, this acceleration is from the gravity force that pulls the objects toward the ground. Weight has the unit of Newtons, which is the units of mass (kilograms) times the units of acceleration. But how do we sometimes get units of mass when we ask for the weight of things? That is because the scales we use to measure weight factor in the acceleration of the pull of the Earth on the object. This factor is a constant on the Earth, meaning that it is always the same if you are on Earth. If I were on the moon and my apple weighs .25 Newtons, I will need to know the value of the acceleration of gravity on the moon to find its mass.

Now on to velocity, speed, acceleration and force. Velocity and speed are two different things, but the difference is very small. Velocity gives more information than speed does, because it tells us how fast something is moving in a specific direction. Speed is how fast something is going, but says nothing about the direction of that motion.. Acceleration says how much the velocity is changing in a specific direction. If something has a constant velocity, say moving south at 65 mph, there is no acceleration.

Now how can you make something accelerate? To accelerate, an object needs to feel a force, that means a pull or a push. If you kick a football with some amount of force, the football is going to change its velocity, which means it's accelerating. Force is mass times acceleration. This means that force is the amount of stuff times how hard it is being pushed or pulled. The bigger the force (the stronger the kick), the bigger change in the football's acceleration, since its mass doesn't change.

When something falls, it falls because of gravity. Because that object feels a force, it accelerates, which means its velocity gets bigger and bigger as it falls. The strength with which the Earth pulls on something in the form of gravity is a type of acceleration. Earth pulls on everything the exact same amount. Everything gets accelerated towards the Earth exactly the same way. The force that objects feel may be different because they have different masses, but the acceleration on Earth they experience is exactly the same. Weight is the force that acts on the mass due to gravity, because it is how much stuff there is times the acceleration at which is pulled towards the Earth, or any planet or moons. Because Earth gives everything the exact same acceleration, objects with different masses will still hit the ground at the same time if they are dropped from the same height.

The first time you say that, no one will believe you because everyone has dropped a marble and a feather at the same time and they hit the floor at different times. That is not because of differences in the acceleration - which is constant on Earth, it is because air is pushing against the object in the opposite direction the Earth is pulling. This force is caused by air resistance.

The less massive the object is, the more the force of air resistance slows the object down as it falls. If two objects were dropped on the moon, where there is no air, they would fall at the same rate no matter how much they differ in mass. The shape of the object can impact how much it is affected by air resistance. For example, if you drop a piece of paper horizontally, it has a lot of surface that is exposed to the air resistance. But if you drop the paper vertically, on the thin side, then there is less surface exposed to the air resistance. This means that, in that position, the paper will feel less push from the air and the same pull from the Earth. Two pieces of paper with the same mass dropped from the same height but with one in the horizontal position and the other in the vertical position will not hit the floor at the same time.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong did an experiment on the moon to convince everyone that Galileo was right, that two objects of different mass and shape -in this case a feather and a hammer - in the absence of air resistance will hit the ground at the same time.

Experiment 2 that you will be performing, two objects of different masses that roughly experience the same air resistance will be dropped and hopefully convince your kids that mass has nothing to do with how things fall.

Experiment 1

Materials

2 equal-sized pieces of paper

Chair or table (or both)

A ruler or metric tape (optional)

Beam balance (optional)

A camera to record the experiment (optional)

A chronometer or something to measure the time (optional)

In the student's guide we have asked the students to design their own experiment to test if two objects of the same mass but different shape hit the ground at the same time. The idea is to encourage them to be creative, to understand how to design experiments, and to think like scientists and engineers. They are given a set of materials that they can use to do their experiments. This is to prompt them, but they should be allowed to use other materials in their design. As the teacher, you can ask prompting questions to get them to think about the different aspects of the experiments. Below are the full instructions for one possible design.

The goal of the experiment is for students to understand that mass is not a factor that affects how objects fall, that they notice the shape matters and why it matters. Crumpling the paper or changing the direction in which the paper is dropped can support those ideas. They need to figure out which variables they should control for, for example dropping the papers at the same time or the presence of a strong air current, and consistency of the repeated experiments.

We ask the students to follow the scientific method to design the experiment.

The scientific method has five basic steps, plus one feedback step:

Make an observation.

Ask a question.

Form a hypothesis, or testable explanation.

Make a prediction based on the hypothesis.

Test the prediction.

Setting up

Take the two pieces of paper and crumple one into a ball.

If you have a beam balance, find the mass of each piece of paper. Write those values on your notes

Measure the height from which you will drop the pieces of papers. Make sure it is the same height. Write the height value on your notes

Get your timer and camera ready for recording

Come up with a hypothesis: Which piece of paper do you think would hit the ground first? The lighter one or the heavier one?

Drop the pieces of paper at the same time

Students should reflect on how the masses of the two pieces of paper were the same, yet the crumpled piece hit the ground first. Why?

Experiment 2

For this experiment students are asked to design a way to test if two objects of different mass but similar shapes hit the ground at the same time. They have been given a different set of materials from Experiment 1. In this case there are other variables to control for, such as how similar or different shapes affect the result and the difference in mass between the two objects.If the mass is double but the shape is the same, will the objects hit the floor at the same time? As with Experiment 1, we have given you a possible set up for the experiment. But again, students should have freedom to create their own designs.

Materials

2 balls similar in size but different mass 2 aluminum tart pans

Chair or table (or both)

A ruler or metric tape (optional)

Beam balance (optional)

A chronometer or something to measure the time (optional)

A camera to record the experiment (optional)

In the kit there are different sets of balls, repeat the experiment with all the possible wooden and rubber balls combinations. Make sure to label the balls and measure them to make good comparisons.

If you are working at home and do not have the exact materials, you can always substitute the balls with clay or playdough (see suggested resources for a recipe of homemade playdough). If you do not have either clay or playdough, then find two objects around the house that have the same shape but different weights. For example, two identical water bottles, one full and the other one with less water or no water. The purpose of this experiment is to test if objects with different masses but the same shape fall at the same time. Instead of aluminium tart pans you can use aluminum foil or any other type of paper/foil that will produce a sound when the dropped objects hit them.

As with activity 1, we ask the students to follow the scientific method to design the experiment.

Setting up

Place the two tart pans on the floor, bottom up, about a foot apart.

Select two equal sized balls

If you have a beam balance, find the mass of the two balls and write those values on your notes

Get your timer and camera ready to record your experiment

Come up with a hypothesis: Which ball do you think would fall faster? The lighter one or the heavier one?

Drop the balls at the same time

How many bangs did you hear on the tart pans each time you dropped the balls

Students should pay attention to how many bangs they heard each time they dropped the balls. Did it depend on how different the masses of the balls were? Which ball hit the floor faster?
Next Generation of science standards:
5-PS2-1. Support an argument that the gravitational force exerted by Earth on objects is directed down.

MS-ESS1-2. Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.

Corresponding Extension Activities
https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1zTsyJ5SZ8bFXugZMmCT0pUtRWgf0pXcg?usp=sharing https://colab.research.google.com/drive/1rliGPMBM7Ixy97Z0xpzADKcq4_aRzqIS?usp=sharing Suggested Resources
Videos for younger children
Gravity & Free Fall Danger! Falling Objects
Simulations & Videos:

Was Galileo Right?: Investigate the effect of gravity on objects of various masses during free fall. Predict what the position-time and velocity-time graphs will look like. Compare graphs for light and heavy objects.

Free Fall Model: This simulation allows students to examine the motion of an object in free fall.

Free Fall Fall Air Resistance: This simulation allows students to compare the motion of free falling objects with and without the influence of air resistance.

Veritasium: Misconceptions About Falling Objects 3.5-minute video

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If someone drops two objects from the same height, one heavy, one light, which one will hit the ground first? If you are like most people, you may instinctively pick the heavier object. And why wouldn't you? After all, rocks fall faster than feathers.

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Herpetology- the study of reptiles and amphibians. 

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