(Due Dates)
Abstract:
Can Girls Perceive Optical Illusion at a higher percentage than boys? Optical Illusions- Abstract
Optical Illusions are very interesting 2-D contortions and I have always been fascinated by them. I would always wonder if certain people can see what they are supossed to. I wanted to do an experiment where I am testing 20 people from each gender (age 13-14. 8th grade) to discover who can can see optical illusions and who cannot. The purpose for this experiment is simply curiosity. This information could be useful to Ophthalmologists (eye doctors) or people who really have an interst in how the eyes may work when seeing and figuring out an optical illusion. My testable question is: Can girls perceive optical illusions at a higher percentage than boys? I think that the data between boys and girls would be very similar and close to the same. Of course the information will depend on the person and each person's eyesight. In my background research I found out that female and male eyes are not different but it actually depends on the individual's brain and focus. In this experiment the first thing that I did was find an optical illusion that to test ten eighth grade boys and ten eighth grade girls with. I found an illusion called the 7-faced illusion and I will test to see if they can see all seven faces. I will record and observe the data I have collected. The next thing I will do is time them on if they can find all 7 faces in less than 3 minutes. I am hoping that this experiment will help prove my hypothesis correct but I am soon to find out.
Topic: I will be studying optical illusions and if different genders see them differently. i hope to discover if more girls can find the optical illusions in 5 minutes than the boys and vise versa.
Purpose: I have always been fascinated by optical illusions and seeing if certain people can see them. I wanted to do an experiment where I am testing 20 people from each gender (age 13-14. 8th grade) to discover who can can see optical illusions and who cannot. The purpose for this experiment is simply curiosity. This information could be useful to Ophthalmologists (eye doctors) or people who really have an interst in how the eyes may work when seeing and figuring out an optical illusion.
Testable Question: Do girls perceive optical illusions at a higher percentage than boys?
Background Research:
Vision-How does vision work?
The eye has many different parts that help us see. The first part is an outer transparent covering called the cornea. Behind the cornea is the lens. When light passes through the eye, the lens focuses an image on the retina, the big area of light sensitive tissue behind the lens. The retina can also be identified as visible white part. The iris is the colored part of the eye that opens and closes depending on the light. With more light, the iris closes and with less light the iris opens. In the middle of the iris is the pupil. When you look at an object light reflects off of it an enters through the pupil. The lens focuses on the image and sends it to the retina. Inside the retina are millions of tiny nerve cells that send the image throught the optic nerve to the brain allowing us to see.
Optical Illusions-What different types of Optical Illusions are there?
Optical Illusions are images that trick our eyes to see something that isn't there or is partially there. Optical Illusions are put into 8 categories. These categories are Impossible Illusions, 3-D illusions, camoflauge and optical illusions, facial illusions, after images, ambiguous optical illusions, distortion illusions, color and shadow illusions. Some people believe that being able to see optical illusions are based on the eye's physical traits or the person's culture. Although there aren't any differences between male and female eyes, I believe that attention span and focus are major factors that would effects the data.
Hypothesis: I think that the data between boys and girls would be very similar and close to the same. Of course the information will depend on the person and each person's eyesight.
Variables:
Dependent: the rate at which they see the optical illusion.
Independent: gender (girls-boys)
Controlled: the same illusion, 8th graders (age), time (no more than 2 minutes), time of day (in the morning people may not be fully awake and therefore are not completely focused on what is going on), the number of boys and girls.
Materials:
pencil and paper
Procedure:
Data: There were 7 faces in the illusion to find.
| |
5 faces | 7 faces |
| Boys | 0 | 10 |
| Girs | 4 | 6 |
Analyzing Data and Drawing Conclusions:
In this experiment, one of the most alarming things that I observed was how quickly the boys were able to find all 7 faces. It seemed like it took the girls a lot longer to find all of the faces that they could and still only half of them were able to find all of the faces. Although in my data that wasn't mentioned, It was very interesting to observe. I think I got the results that I did because the girls possibly might over think where they thought the other two faces were (because 1/2 only saw 5/7 of the faces in the illusion.) For example I also observed that the girls were unsure of the other two faces because they looked like something else, and the boys just went with their first guess. I was a bit baffled with the turnout of this experiment.
My hypothesis was not proven correct so that is one thing that did not work out so well for me. I would definitely change the optical illusion I chose, the number of people that I tested and the time and place I tested them. The illusion that I chose was not very complicated and more confusing than optical and I think i shouldv'e tested more people so that my data was more accurate. When I did my testing it was in science class and during lunchtime so the noise and the crowd were inconvenient. If I were to do another experiment sort of similar to this I would most definitely make sure that my data was as accurate as can be.
Application of the Results:
This information could be used if someone was interested in knowing if girls can perceive optical illusions at a higher percentage than boys can. I discovered that boys I tested could see the optical illusion 50% higher than the girls I tested could. My discovery couldn't really be useful I don't think, but if someone were to do a project or browse for information or simply just out of curiosity, then the information I gathered may be useful.
Resources: