How large is the surface of your skin?

baby sitting on floor with toilett paper in front of sofa

Your skin is more than just natural packaging for your body – it is a large organ and contains things like nerve cells, sweat glands and small blood vessels. But how large is the surface of your skin? How can you measure how large your skin surface is?

Before you get started

If you are experimenting at home:
1. Let your parents know and discuss the experiments with them beforehand.
2. Do not eat or drink at your workspace.
3. Wash your hands thoroughly before and after the experiment.
4. Be careful and cautious with the materials.

Graphic figure boy pouring liquid in flask

sticky tape and roll of toilet paper on floor

You will need

A second person to work with you
1 roll of toilet paper
Masking tape
Measuring tape or meter stick

Let’s get started!

lower part of body wraped in toilet paper

1. Stand on one leg

One child stands with their left foot on the end of the toilet paper.
The second child carefully wraps the paper around up to the first child’s hip and down their right leg. The paper should not overlap!

upper part of body wraped in toilet paper

2. Wrap above the waist and down one arm

Start wrapping again over the trousers (stick the end down first) and up the chest.
Then wrap the toilet paper around one shoulder, down one arm and to the hand.

upper part of body and head wraped in toilet paper

3. Wrap the other arm and then the head

Now wrap the other arm up from the hand to the shoulder. Wrap around the shoulder and neck, then finally around the head. And you’re done! Now you can carefully unwind the paper again.

4. Mark out a square meter

Use masking tape to mark out a 1x1-meter square on the floor. Neatly fill in the square with the toilet paper. If the square is completely filled but you still have some paper left, put a second layer on top of the first until all the paper is laid out.

How many squares could you fill? That number is the approximate size of the surface of your skin.

Did you know?
What’s under the surface of our skin?

Answer:

We can only see the surface of the skin with our eyes. It is an organ made up of several layers. The components of the skin fulfill a variety of functions.

Dermis: The dermis is located between the epidermis and hypodermis. It contains many nerves, blood vessels and other components such as sweat glands.

Hypodermis: The hypodermis forms the lowest layer of the skin. It consists mainly of fat tissue.

Hair: Hair begins in the dermis and extends up to the surface of the skin. It is moved by small muscles and protects us from the sun’s rays and heat loss.

Sebaceous glands: The sebaceous glands are mainly located in the upper part of the dermis and are attached to hair follicles. They form fat that protects our skin and hair.

Epidermis: The epidermis is the outer layer of our skin and so provides a protective barrier from the external environment.

Nerves: The nerves are in the hypodermis and dermis. They allow us to feel touch and pain. Some of them have an oval end.

Blood vessels: Blood vessels supply the skin with nutrients and oxygen.

Sweat glands: The twisted tubes of the sweat glands are located deep in the skin, from where they wind their way up to the surface. Their function is to form sweat.