You are working in a lab when you find a bottle of unlabeled chemicals. You open the bottle and your nasal passages immediately begin to feel as though they are burning. Your lab partner wonders what sort of "smell" produces burning, as in what type of olfactory receptors lead to this sensation. What do you tell your partner?

The sense of smell depends on the sensory receptors which responds to the airborne chemicals. Olfactory receptors are also known as smell receptor or protein capable of binding the odour molecules which plays a important role in the sense of smell.

The smell of the chemicals produce s a burning sensation inside the nose. This is because the chemicals in the solution binds to the branches of the trigeminal nerve in epithelial lining. As a result of which the olfactory receptors sends a signal to our brain and it causes a burning sensation in the nose.