Do Boys or Girls See Optical Illusions Faster

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American School of Brasília
Do Boys or Girls See Optical Illusions Faster?
Gabriela Lima
Science 7E
Ms. Priscila
27/03/07
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Abstract

• My science fair project is a research and
  field test. In my experiment I will choose six 3D
  optical illusions from two sources, the book
  Magic Eye and the internet. Half of the
  pictures will be colorful while the other half
  will be black and white. I will show the pictures
  to all the girls and boys in Grade 7 and I will
  time the amount of time each person takes to
  interpret each image. Later I will calculate the
  mean for Grade 7 students, Grade 7 boys, Grade 7
  girls and the mean for the time Grade 7 students
  took to see the black and white images compared
  to the colorful images. Next, I will do the same
  experiment but now I will test the Grade 5 boys
  and girls. I will then compare my results and
  write a conclusion. By performing my project I
  will be able to see whether age, gender, and
  color of image affect the time the students take
  to interpret 3D optical illusion images.

3
Abstract Continued

• My experiment has five problems which are
• 1.) Do boys tend to see optical illusions faster
  than girls?
  
• 2.) Do Grade 7 students tend to see optical
  illusions faster than Grade 5 students?
  
• 3.) Do Grade 7 girls tend to see optical
  illusions faster than Grade 5 girls?
  
• 4.) Do Grade 5 boys tend to see optical
  illusions faster than Grade 7 boys?
  
• 5.) Which optical illusion are boys and girls
  able to see faster, colorful ones or the ones in
  black and white.
  

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Abstract Continued

• My hypothesis for each problem is
• 1.) Girls tend to see optical illusions faster
  than boys.
  
• 2.) Grade 7 students see optical illusions
  faster than Grade 5 students.
  
• 3.) Grade 7 girls tend to see optical illusions
  faster than Grade 5 girls.
  
• 4.) Grade 5 boys tend to see optical illusions
  slower Grade 7 boys.
  
• 5.) Boys and girls tend to see colorful images
  faster than black and white images.

5
Abstract Continued

• My project is about interpreting images. Not
  everyone knows that it is not the eyes that
  interpret the images we see but that is actually
  our brain that does this job. For a human to see
  an image, first the light passes through the
  cornea, then through the pupil, then through the
  lens, and finally arrives the retina. In the
  retina there are photoreceptor nerve cells that
  change the light rays into electrical impulses
  and send them through the optical nerve to the
  occipital part of your brain where an image is
  perceived. By performing my experiment I will be
  able to find out whether older, girls or boys
  brains interpret the images faster. I will also
  learn if girls or boys tend to see colorful
  pictures faster than black and white images.
  There are two types of photoreceptors cones,
  that are used for colored vision since it only
  works in light (the most used photoreceptors) and
  rods that are used in the dark (black and white).
  Many contests have been made to see who interpret
  3D optical illusion images faster and usually
  women won.

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Background

• In my science fair project students of
  different gender and ages will be interpreting
  images. For a person to see an image it passes
  through many phases, first light rays pass
  through the cornea (clear front windowshield of
  the eye), then it passes through the pupil. Next
  the light passes through the lens and finally
  arrives at the retina. In the retina the
  photoreceptor nerve cells change the light rays
  into electrical impulses and send them through
  the optical nerve to the occipital part of the
  brain where the brain will interpret the image.
  With the results of my experiment I will find out
  if older, girls or boys interpret the images
  faster.

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Background Continued

• I will also be able to find out whether we
  interpret colorful or black and white images
  faster. In our retina there are two types of
  photoreceptors rods and cones. The rods are not
  good for color vision and are used in the
  dark.They are very sensitive to light and dark
  changes, shape and movement. There are 120
  million rods in a humans retina. Cones are used
  for a colorful and detailed vision. They only
  work in bright light. The cones send signals to
  the brain that translates these messages into the
  perception of color. There are 6 million cones in
  a humans retina though we use our cones more
  than our rods.
• No experiment has ever been made to see if
  gender and age affects the time the students take
  to see a 3D optical illusion image though in the
  past there have been many contests sponsored by
  Magic Eye where most of the time women won.

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Purpose

• Performing this science fair project I want
  to find out who is faster at interpreting the 3D
  optical illusion images Grade 7 students or Grade
  5 students and whether girls or boys interpret
  the images faster. By that I will be able to
  conclude if gender and age affect how humans see.
  
• The five problems of my science fair project
  are
  
• 1.) Do boys tend to see optical illusions faster
  than girls?
  
• 2.) Do Grade 7 students tend to see optical
  illusions faster than Grade 5 students?
  
• 3.) Do Grade 7 girls tend to see optical
  illusions faster than Grade 5 girls?
  
• 4.) Do Grade 5 boys tend to see optical
  illusions faster than Grade 7 boys?
  
• 5.) Which optical illusion are boys and girls
  able to see faster, colorful ones or the ones in
  black and white.

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Hypotheses
Vs.

• My five hypotheses are
• 1.) If I give the 3D optical illusions to boys
  and girls to see than the girls will interpret
  the optical illusions faster since in the past
  contests most of the winners were women.
• 2.) If I give the 3D optical illusions to Grade
  7 students and Grade 5 students than the Grade 7
  students will see the images faster since they
  have a more developed brain.
• 3.) If I give the Grade 7 girls and the Grade 5
  girls the 3D optical illusions than the Grade 7
  girls will interpret the image faster since Grade
  7 girls have a more mature brain.
• 4.) If I give the 3D optical illusion images to
  Grade 5 boys and Grade 7 boys then the Grade 7
  boys will see the optical illusions faster than
  the Grade 5 boys because Grade 7 boys have a more
  mature brain than Grade 5 boys.
• 5.) If I give all boys and girls to see three
  colorful optical illusions and three black and
  white images then they will see the colorful
  images faster than the black and white images
  because we use our cones more than our rods.

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Materials

• During my science fair project I am going to use
  the following materials
  
• Six 3D optical illusion images
• Stopwatch
• Calculator
• Computer
• Grade 7 and Grade 5 students

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Methodology

• 1.) Pick a topic.
• 2.) Write outline, in the outline write down five
  hypotheses.
  
• 3.) Make a powerpoint.
• 4.) Choose six 3D optical illusion images half of
  the pictures will be colorful and the other half
  black and white from two sources, the book Magic
  Eye and the internet.
• 5.) Show the six images to each Grade 7 boy and
  girl.
  
• 6.) Use the stopwatch to time the amount of time
  each Grade 7 boy and girl takes to interpret the
  image.
  
• 7.) Calculate a mean for the Grade 7 girls and
  Grade 7 boys. Calculate the mean for all Grade 7
  students. Calculate the mean for the time Grade 7
  students took to see the black and white images
  compared to the colorful images.

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Meth0dology Continued

• 8.) Show the six images to each Grade 5 boy and
  girl.
  
• 9.) Use the stopwatch to time the amount of time
  each Grade 5 boy and girl takes to see the
  image.
  
• 10.) Calculate a mean for the Grade 5 girls and
  Grade 5 boys. Calculate the mean for all Grade 5
  students. Calculate the mean for the time Grade 5
  students took to see the black and white images
  compared to the colorful images.
• 11.) Do steps 2-7 again to repeat the experiment
  
  
• 12.) Analyze and compare results
• 13.) Draw conclusions

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Bibliography

• http//www.pasadenaeye.com/faq/faq15/faq15_text.ht
  ml
  
• http//www.harbinclinic.com/eyecenter/how.html
• http//faculty.washington.edu/chudler/retina.html