
Pupil Size and Light
Easy
Why do your pupils get bigger in a dark room? The iris is the colored muscle in your eye. It controls how much light passes through the pupil (the dark opening in the center).
You work with a partner for this activity. One person closes their eyes for ten seconds. Then they open their eyes while the partner watches closely.
The pupil starts out large because the iris relaxed to let in more light. As soon as the eyes open the iris squeezes the pupil smaller to block the sudden flood of brightness.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that the pupil will become large when there is little light and small when there is a lot.
Method & Materials
You will have partners face one another and have one close his/her eyes for a count of 10 seconds, then open them.
You will need two people for this experiment.
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See what’s includedResults
The results of the experiment showed that when the eye was shut, the iris relaxed trying to get more light into the pupil. When the eye opened, there was a flood of light - the iris shut the pupil down, trying to limit the light coming in.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it allows students to observe and understand how the iris works in the eye.
Also Consider
Experiment variations to consider include having the partner open and close their eyes multiple times or having the partner look at different light sources.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related video
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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