A student puts her hand on hot glassware, but withdraws her hand before she feels the pain. Explain how and why her awareness of the pain is delayed.
When the student puts her hand on hot glassware, the heat is rapidly transferred to the skin on her hand. This triggers nerve endings in the skin to send signals to the brain indicating that there is potential harm and pain. However, before the brain fully processes these signals and the individual feels the pain, the student quickly withdraws her hand from the hot glassware due to the reflex action of the body.
The delay in awareness of the pain occurs because the reflex action of withdrawing the hand is a rapid response that bypasses the full processing of the pain signals by the brain. This is an evolutionary adaptation that helps protect the body from harm by allowing for quick reactions to potentially dangerous stimuli. Once the hand is safely removed from the hot glassware, the brain eventually processes the pain signals and the individual becomes aware of the sensation of pain.