Physics Project

I have always excelled at math and science. Sophomore year, I had to decide whether I would take regents or honors physics in my junior year. I was already going to take AP biology, and I had planned on signing up for regents physics so that I wouldn't get too overwhelmed by science courses. Everyone warned me that honors physics was a tough class. However, I ended up taking the honors because my friend didn't want to be alone in that course. This is one of the best choices I've made in my life. I loved my honors physics class. Physics allows me to apply my math knowledge into real world situations that I can visualize and even test experimentally. Additionally, it requires me to problem solve and think problems through meticulously, which I love.

The ocean floor is a very dark and is filled with algae however, crabs that live here can still easily catch and eat plankton. Scientists are wondering, is it the crab’s other senses doing the job or is it just there sight? On the ocean floor not much light gets in which leads everyone to think that the crabs can't see however, some light does reach the crabs and the plankton the crabs eat. Most visible light does not reach the ocean floor in normal conditions except yellow light and green light. Since the plankton reflects all visible light the plankton would appear yellowish green to the crab’s eyes. Even though the green and yellow light reaches the floor in normal conditions the area where the crabs live is packed with algae. According to evidence cards F and G algae reflects green light but all the other colors of visible light are absorbed with algae. This states that only green light has a large chance of making it to the bottom so the crabs can see the plankton.

Explain the visual process, including the stimulus input, the structure of the eye, and the transduction of light energy.

After being shown a picture of an elephant they eye will take the light that is reflected from the object and it will enter the eye through the pupil. Then the light will be focused by the cornea and the lens to form a sharp image of the elephant in the retina. The retina is the network of neurons that cover the back of the eye and contains the visual receptors for a person vision. The visual receptors are made up of cones and rods that contain light sensitive chemicals called visual pigments. Visual pigments reacht to light and cause a triggered electrical signals to occur. These electrical signals will then flow through a network of neurons and this network of neurons is what makes up a persons retina. After the flow through the network of neurons occurs the electrical signals will emerge from the back of the eye in the area

In this experiment, the signal generator was set so that the frequency meter showed a reading of 1,803 Hz. The microphone was moved to a distance from the speaker so that the oscilloscope displayed a straight diagonal line. This position was of the microphone was recorded as the initial position, or beginning of a wavelength. The microphone was then moved farther in the same direction until the oscilloscope displays the same horizontal line. This position was recorded as final position, or the end of the wavelength. The distance between the two positions represents one wavelength for this frequency. This was repeated for frequencies of 2,402 Hz, 3,002, Hz, 3,602 Hz, and 4,201 Hz.

When it comes to vision, we see things based on the light reflected from surfaces. The reflected light waves enter the eye through the cornea at the front of the eye, it's resized at the pupil, focused by the lens, and hits the retina at the back. The light is then detected by rods and cones, photoreceptors, which alters the light into electrical signals. The optic nerve transmits those vision signals to the lateral geniculate nucleus, where visual information is transmitted to the visual cortex of the brain then converts into the objects that we see.

The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus has eight arms so reach her prey with. Rodents, frogs, bird nest eggs, are a couple of their enjoyable meals that they ingest. With eyesights similar to humans they can see well in both day and

Almost all animals and a fair amount of plants are photosensitive. Photosensitive is the ability to detect and react to light. Many organisms can only recognise simple light, and react to them, however their eyes are not developed enough to recognise colour or images. To be able to form an image, an organism needs far more developed eyes. Almost all vertebrates, and some more

such as other land or sea mammals, birds and fish have either much superior eyesight,

The eyelids are made up of four layers, the skin, muscle, connective tissue and conjunctiva. The process of vision occurs when light waves from an object, enter through the iris. Light then passes through the lens of the eye, a double convex structure that is used to focus the light, and then reaches the retina. Inside the retina are rods and cones. Rods are used to sense light and dark, and cones are used for sensing colors. Whether the light entering the eye hits the cones or rods, a signal is sent across the optic nerve to the brain where it is processed and viewed as an image. Some issues people have with eyesight are as follows. Those who are farsighted are unable to see things clearly at a short distance, compared to a long distance. This occurs when the light that enters the eye is focused behind the retina, and not directly onto it. When the cornea is not curved enough, this happens. Nearsightedness is when one can see objects clear at a short distance, but not at a longer distance, and this is often caused by a change in the cornea. A Blind spot is the location the optic disk, where the optic nerve fiber exits, and at this location there are no cones or rods, so there is a blind spot.

Chameleons have the most distinctive eyes of any reptile. The upper and lower eyelids are joined, with only a pinhole large enough for the pupil to see through. Each eye can pivot and focus independently, allowing the chameleon to observe two different objects simultaneously. This gives them a full 360-degree arc of vision around their bodies.

I looked into the physics of the eye itself and into corrective lenses because I wear glasses. The human eye is a very complex piece of anatomy. Like a camera, the eye is able to refract light and produce an image that can enable someone to see.

My results showed that the half crabs would travel a further distance when subject to higher light intensities (such as the maximum light environment) whereas the half crabs would travel a lesser distance when subject to lower light intensities (such as the minimum light environment). This proved my hypothesis to be correct as I predicted that the half crabs will move more quickly when subject to higher light intensities as a negative phototactic response.

1. Debra Ronca,(2008) ‘How the London eye work’ Available from http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/london-eye2.htm. [Accessed 28 November 2012]