Vision Test
Test your visual acuity with the ability to count the number of tiny dots and compare your score with the eagle!
This activity introduces pupils to the concept of visual acuity and its difference in relation to zoom.
Age Group: 9-12 years
Duration: 15 minutes
Biomimicry Connection:
The eyesight of many animals is much better than that of humans. Birds of prey have, for example, much better visual acuity (sharpness of vision) - we test this in this activity. Knowledge of the functioning of the eyes of predators can be used to improve some devices, for example for satellite monitoring of planet earth.
Activity Details:
Tools and Materials
- Worksheet with 21 pictures of stars (see below) printed on A4 paper.
Description
- Prepare paper with 21 stars (see above). The distance from which the number of stars can be counted reliably is roughly 15 metres (if the classroom is not enough, use the school corridor).
- Place the pupils at 25 metres distance from the paper, from which it it is difficult to count the stars accurately.
- Ask pupils to count the stars and gradually share their estimates. (They can first write their estimates on a piece of paper and then compare them.)
- Talk about how the merging of several stars into one and, as a result, the problem of counting them accurately is related to visual acuity. Birds of prey would not have a problem with this even from several times greater distance, also because they have much more visual receptors on the retina of their eyes than we do.
- You can end the activity with an example from a real starry sky. There, one binary star can be recognized in the Big Dipper - Mizar and Alcor. These stars are called 'horse' and 'rider.' A person with sharp vision sees the 'rider' separately from the 'horse.' About one person out of ten can do that.