Sensation and Perception

             The human body responds and adapts to sensations and perceives
             stimuli in different ways. It is interesting to perform experiments which
             illustrate how subtle changes can affect these senses.
             Adaptation in physiology is "the responsive adjustment of a sense
             organ, such as the eye, to varying conditions, such as light intensity
             (http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entries/82/a0078200.html)."
             Two cups of water were obtained for this experiment. One cup
             contained sugar water, while the other contained fresh water. A sip of the
             sugar water was taken, and over the course of several minutes, the water
             was swished around in the mouth. Gradually, the sweetness began to fade,
             however when the water hit an area previously untouched, the sweet taste
             was strong. After the water was spit out, and a drink of fresh water was
             taken, the fresh water had an almost bitter taste.
             The sense that was utilized by this experiment was taste. The taste
             buds in the tongue had adapted to the sweetness of the water, so that when
             fresh water was applied, anything that was not sweet tasted bitter.
             This experiment involved placing 15 index cards over a flashlight in
             a dark room, and determining light perception. After all of the index
             cards were placed over the beam of light, the cards were slowly removed,
             one at a time until light was barely detected. When this light was
             detected, the number of cards remaining was eight. After waiting a few
             minutes, and leaving the flashlight and index undisturbed, the light began
             to look brighter. At this point, cards were replaced on the flashlight,
             one at a time over a fifteen minute period. As each card was replaced, the
             light was temporarily blocked out but gradually became brighter, though
             never as bright as the previous card. However, when the last card was
             ...

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