DID YOU KNOW?
Bulls are colorblind and respond to the motion of a red cape and not its color.
TO A COLOR BLIND PERSON, DOES THE WORLD LOOK LIKE A BLACK AND WHITE MOVIE?
Color blindness is misleading, because it rarely means that no colors are seen. Bulls, like most color blind people have trouble telling the difference between red and green. Thus, they are said to be red-green color blind.
Color blindness is caused when there is a decrease or absence of cones in the eyes. Cones are light sensitive cells inside the eye that absorb different light colors. The three types of cones are red cones, green cones, and blue cones.
DISCOVER FOR YOURSELF
Look through different colored cellophane or plastic, such as the red, yellow, and blue transparent plastic report folders. Notice that the color of things looks different. This is not how color blind people see things. But, it gives you an idea how the world would look if some of the cones in your eyes were not properly working.
CONCLUSION
Color blindness generally means that an organism has a color vision deficiency. This vision disorder is due to a decrease or absence of some of the eyes cones.
Think about This:
Fact: Yellow light bulbs are often used for outdoor lighting.
Inquiry Question:
"I wonder… Are flying insects colorblind to yellow?”
Problem:
What effect does the color of light have on attracting flying insects?
Hypothesis:
A hypothesis is an inference or guess based on previous knowledge that answers the problem question.
Example Hypothesis:
If the light is yellow, then there will be fewer flying bugs attracted to it.
On Your Own
How could you experiment to test this hypothesis?
Send your experimental ideas and I will post responses next week. Send responses to Janvancl (at) aol (dot) com
You can find more fun science challenges in Janice VanCleave’s Super Science Challenges (Wiley/Jossey-Bass, 2008).
Loading ...
I work at an agency for the blind, and one of my friends here has retinitis pigmentosa, which destroys the cones in the eye. It's interesting that he sees colors as different colors–e.g., my green shirt looks brown. Good experiment!