Exploring Vision: Activities to explore your vision

Activity 1: Eye Anatomy Study

a. Watch this video on vision carefully (stop and review) and rewatch if necessary
b. Please go to this website: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bigeye.html
c. Read carefully and study the information on Eye Anatomy & Physiology. (more detailed)
d. Under “Learn More” Take the Quiz on Eye Anatomy & Physiology
e. Record your maximum score
f. Now, fill in the diagram below (Eye-Lateral View). Draw or just record answers by
number
 1. Posterior Chamber
2. Suspensory Ligaments
3. Anterior Chambers
4. Cornea
5. Iris
6. Lens
7. Optic Nerve
8. Retina
9. Vitreous Chamber

Exploring Physiology of the Vision

Note: The activities here are listed and explained on a website. They need to be read
carefully. Do the best you can to do them. You may have to recruit a family member or
two to help you. If you don’t have the materials required, do what you can. Record your
responses on a google doc.

Activity 2: Blind Spot

g. Go to this webpage: http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chvision.html

h. Do the “Blind Spot” Activities described
i. What did you learn about blind spots? Why do they exist? What did you find most
interesting? Your explanation should be a paragraph or so.
The blind spot is a spot on an individual’s retina that does not have receptors that
respond to light meaning that an image would not be seen if it were to be displayed in the
blind spot. The blind spot is located where the optic nerves exit the eye towards the
brain. The optic nerve carries images to the brain where it is processed. I found the idea
that there is a certain extent to which an image can come close to our eye until it
“disappears.”

Activity 3: Depth Perception

j. Go down the page until you get to Depth Perception 1 & Depth Perception 2. Do these
activities as they are described.
k. What did you learn about depth perception? Why might depth perception be important to
animals, including humans? Your explanation should be a paragraph or so.
Depth perception is the ability to judge the distance of an object. This is extremely
important to animals including humans due to the fact that it is necessary for us to
determine the closeness or how far away an object is. Alongside this, Depth perception
keeps humans safe and away from harm. This can be seen in the situation of driving as
the driver must be able to tell whether or not they’re hitting something (surrounding cars,
signs, people, etc.) Depth perception is crucial for animals as they need to be able to
determine the distance between themselves and their prey.
Activity 4: Optical Illusions

l. Lower down on the same website as above in #3, there are several optical illusions for
you to explore. Try at least 4 different ones.
m. Can you explain how each works? Do your best. Why do optical illusions exist?
Optical illusions utilize colors, light, shades, and patterns in order to create an
image that sends the wrong message to our brain and how we view something. This
creates misunderstandings in what information the brain is attempting to gather. This
creates an illusion that does not accurately represent what the true image is. Optical
illusions exist in order to find some sense in what is occurring around us. The Magical
Cube utilizes colors and shading in order to trick our mind that the colored area is the
back of the box which distorts what is being shown. The Muller-Lyer illusion utilizes
patterns by changing the direction of lines making our brain assume that one line is
longer than the other when they are the same length.

Activity 5 : Accommodation

n. Watch this video on accomodation

o. Try this: You can determine your nearest point of accommodation (the distance
closest to you where you can still focus an image on your retina). If you were to go
closer, the image would be blurry. Find a piece of text, like a book that you can
maneuver close to your eyes. You will need one partner (family member) and a ruler.
Choose 1 eye, close the other. Holding your head still, bring the text closer and closer to
your eye. Start further away and move in. When the text just becomes blurry (no longer
clear), measure the distance from the text to your eye in centimeters.
p. Record in the table below.
q. Have an older family member (at least 30 years old) try this too.
r. Record their data also

Age Nearest
Accomodation Point
(Cm)

13 7

16 10
Extra Credit

s. Choose a vision disorder or disease (such as color blindness or an astigmatism) to

research. Read up on this problem.
t. Describe what you learned. What is most important to understand about this problem?
What is most interesting? Your explanation should be a paragraph or so.