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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