Would this science experiment work?

Question

Testing night vision:

1. Look at a normal, white light.

2. Go into a dark area with a number of obstacles. Measure how far you get in 1 minute.

3. Go back into a well lit area and wait for your vision to return to normal.

4. Look at the same light as before, this time wearing red-tinted glasses.

5. Repeat Step 2, but with slightly different obstacles.

6. Repeat the process with blue and green tinted glasses.

7. Conclude from your observations which colored light impacts the least on a person's night vision - therefore creates the best night vision.

Is this experiment valid??? I'm thinking of doing for a school project...

Answer 1

An experiment in the scientific method is used to test a Hypothesis. An experiment that works tests a hypothesis and yields data that either supports or invalidates the hypothesis.

I'm just guessing but I suppose your hypothesis is that different wavelengths of light have varying effects on night vision. Your data will be distance through an obstacle course or maybe how bruised your subjects shins are.

Your experiment sounds like fun and science should be fun.

Answer 2

yes.  your procedure sounds good.  just make sure you don't have too many variables: like limit the light exposure to the same amount of time each time you change the color filter, use the same person to do the obstacle course, and don't change the obstacles.  you can change their order, but make sure everything is still there.  Just to be sure, you should do the experiment with several people to see if the results are reproducible.  Good luck!

Answer 3

Sounds like an interesting experiment to me.

Answer 4

The beauty of scientific experiments is that you don't know if they work until you do it :)

Answer 5

Yes this is a valid experiment, good luck!

Answer 6

It's a valid experiment...

However instead of using white light to "normalise" the eyesight, it would be usual to use the colour filters when being exposed to the light. (Red normally effects it least, yellow/blue most)

So what you're testing is what colour light does night vision REQUIRE, not exposure to what colour light hinders it.

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Another thing to consider is some colour filters block out more of light. (Some kind of light meter might be useful?)

Also remember there are some people, who have one eye that reacts better to one kind of light (say a "red") and another that reacts better to another king of light (say green). They often find by shutting one eye they can see find in the dark, but with the other eye shut, they can't see a thing.