Browse by Grade & Topic: Human Perception

Everything we know about the world comes through our senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. In the Senses Gizmo, explore how stimuli are detected by specialized cells, transmitted...

Test your hearing range by listening to low-, medium-, and high-frequency sounds. Compare the relative loudness of sounds at each frequency to create an equal-loudness curve. In a quiet...

Measure your reaction time by clicking your mouse as quickly as possible when visual or auditory stimuli are presented. The individual response times are recorded, as well as the mean and...

Measure the time required to write a word when the mouse behaves in a normal fashion and when the direction of motion is reversed from left to right, up to down, or both. Run several...

Try to click your mouse once every 2 seconds. The time interval between each click is recorded, as well as the error and percent error. Data can be displayed in a table, histogram, or...

Try to estimate the passage of time by selecting a time interval, clicking the Start button, and clicking Stop when you think the interval has passed. The estimate and percent error are...

Observe how different colors of light are reflected or absorbed by colored objects. Determine that white light is a combination of different colors of light, and that one or more component...

Once light enters the eye, it must be focused on the retina. Manipulate the pupil diameter to regulate the amount of light that enters then eye, then change the lens shape to focus light....

Observe how photoreceptors on the retina are stimulated by different colors of light. Determine that cone cells are stimulated by specific colors of light and enable us to see color, while...