• Question: why do farts smell?

    Asked by diack to Alexandra, Dean, Jess, Luisa, Sian on 23 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Sian Foch-Gatrell

      Sian Foch-Gatrell answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      The gases include methane, and hydrogen sulphide which are bad smelling gases caused by the fermentation of foods in the stomach and intestines by microorganism activity

    • Photo: Dean Whittaker

      Dean Whittaker answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      I’m not entirely sure what gasses the smell comes from

    • Photo: Alexandra Kamins

      Alexandra Kamins answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      thanks to some marvelous bacteria that live in your gut! The bacteria munch on the things you eat, and produce gas, which you then fart out.

    • Photo: Luisa Ostertag

      Luisa Ostertag answered on 22 Jun 2010:

      I looked it up on wikipedia. They say: ‘that sulfur-containing compounds, such as methanethiol, hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) and dimethyl sulfide, were primarily responsible for the smell.’

      Farts are mainly made of nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, and hydrogen. The sulfur compounds take only a very small part in a fart but their smell is so intense that you will notice their presence nevertheless. 😉
      These compounds are produced by microorganisms in your gut, which digest the food you eat.

    • Photo: Jessica Housden

      Jessica Housden answered on 23 Jun 2010:

      I think it’s to do with bacteria in the gut! A lot of gases smell which is good so that you can smell the dangerous ones!

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