DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE?

Brittany LutheranSharpsville Area Middle SchoolEighth Grade

Question

Will the age of a person effect

how well a person can see

in the dark?

Motivation

The reason I chose to do my project is that my vision is

not very good and I wanted to know once I get older if my vision would get worse.

I also chose to test my subjects in the dark

because darkness adds a challenge that I am curious

about.

Research• Vision is the process in which light

waves from an object being looked at are registered, interpreted and stored as an image by the brain.

• Various malfunctions in the process of vision may occur as a person ages.

• Rhodopsin is the chemical that allows night-vision.

• Rhodopsin in the human rods is less sensitive to the longer red wavelengths of light.

• Many animals have a tissue layer called the tapetum lucidum in the back of the eye that reflects light back through the retina, increasing the amount of light available for it to capture.

Hypothesis

If a person’s age is increased, then

the person’s ability to see in

the dark will decrease.

Materials

• Ten people without corrective lenses• Vision testing poster• A dark room• A box to cover light• A night light • Tape measure

Procedure1. Gather ten people from the age

groups of 7-8 year-olds, 12-13 year-olds, and 39-41 year-olds.

2. Have the vision testing poster, a dark room, and a light with a cardboard box over top ready.

3. Measure 3.7 meters from the board to where the person will be standing and 1.8 meters from the board to the light and 1.8 meters from the person to the light.

4. Take the test subject into the room and give them one minute to adjust their eyes without looking at the poster.

5. After one minute have them start reading the poster from top to bottom or until they cannot see anymore.

6. Record data and repeat with other test subjects.

Variables and Controls

Independent Variable: The age of the person being tested

Dependent Variable: Ability to see vision testing poster

Controls: Amount of darkness, vision testing poster, distance from board

Series10

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

7 and 8 year olds

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 100

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

12 and 13 year olds

Axis Title

Axis Title

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Average

Age Range 7-8Age Range 12-13Age Range 39-41

Visio

n

ConclusionIn conclusion my hypothesis was proven correct. The 7-8 year olds had an average

vision of 20/20 while the 12-13

year olds had an average of 20/30 and 39-41 year olds

hadan average of 20/50. This

happened because when we age we lose eye lubrication and decreased muscle tone which affects how well we

see.

Going further

If I were to go further with my experiment,

I would test if gender effects how well a person can

see.