Question 1

Why do we have a blind spot in our visual field?
A)from looking at the sun too much
B)because of an opening through which the optic nerve passes
C)because of the way the lens focuses light, a spot is missed on the retina
D)from the fovea's placement

Accepted Answer

The blind spot is caused by an opening in the retina through which the optic nerve passes, which has no photoreceptors. Therefore, light that falls on this spot cannot be detected by the visual system, creating a blind spot in our visual field. The other options (A, C, D) do not accurately describe the cause of the blind spot.

Question 2

Some people have nearsightedness (myopia)or farsightedness (hyperopia)because the distance between their _____ and their _____ is either too short or too long.
A)cornea; lens
B)iris; pupil
C)rods; cones
D)lens; retina

Accepted Answer

When the distance between the lens and the retina is too short, or too long, the lens focuses images in front of or behind the retina instead of on it.

Question 3

The last vision-processing step before signals are sent to the brain is in the _____
A)amacrine cells.
B)bipolar cells.
C)horizontal cells.
D)ganglion cells.

Accepted Answer

The signals from photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) in the retina are transmitted to bipolar cells, which then transmit the signal to ganglion cells. The ganglion cells are the final stage of processing before the visual signals are sent via the optic nerve to the brain. Therefore, D (ganglion cells) is the correct choice. Amacrine and horizontal cells are intermediate cells that modify and refine the signals between photoreceptor cells and bipolar cells but are not the final processing step.

Question 4

The nerve fibers from the _____ half of each retina go to the _____ hemisphere.
A)right; left
B)right; right
C)left; left
D)back; front

Accepted Answer

Each optic nerve carries information from both the left and right halves of the retina. However, at the optic chiasm, the fibers from the nasal (inner) halves of each retina cross over to the opposite side. This means that the nerve fibers from the right half of each retina go to the left hemisphere of the brain, and the fibers from the left half of each retina go to the right hemisphere of the brain.

Question 5

When you look directly at an object, the image of the object focuses on a spot where many receptor cells called cones are packed together. This spot, which also gives us our sharpest vision, is the _____
A)retina.
B)ganglion.
C)fovea.
D)blind spot.

Accepted Answer

The spot where many receptor cells called cones are packed together and also gives us our sharpest vision is the fovea. The retina contains both rods and cones, and the ganglion cells are located behind the retina. The blind spot is the point where the optic nerve exits the eye and there are no photoreceptor cells present.

Question 6

While at The Home Depot picking out a color of paint for her bathroom, Leticia narrows her search down to two options. She likes the color of the first one and the purity in color of the second one. Leticia's decision is between the _____ of the first paint choice and the _____ of the second paint choice.
A)hue; saturation
B)hue; brightness
C)saturation; brightness
D)color; hue

Accepted Answer

Hue refers to color, whereas saturation refers to purity of color.

Question 7

_____ is purity of a color, or the degree to which the light waves producing it are of the same wavelength.
A)Saturation
B)Trichromaticity
C)Brightness
D)Hue

Accepted Answer

Saturation refers to the intensity or purity of a color, and is determined by the amount of white light mixed with the hue. The more saturated a color is, the more pure and vibrant it appears.

Question 8

Alec has always been able to see a wide array of vibrant colors, but he has not been so fortunate when it comes to seeing at night or in otherwise dim lighting. Alec speculates that his color vision is far superior to his night vision. Based on his speculation, which of the following would be true?
A)Alec has rods that function well, but cones that are not as effective as they could be.
B)Alec has no rods in his retinas.
C)Alec has cones that function very well, but rods that are not as effective as they could be.
D)Alec has no cones in his retinas.

Accepted Answer

Cones are for color and Alec's color vision is fine. His night vision is poor, which would suggest a problem with his rods.

Question 9

_____ is the dimension of light that refers to the specific color perceived.
A)Trichromaticity
B)Hue
C)Saturation
D)Brightness

Accepted Answer

Hue refers to the specific color perceived, such as red, blue, or green. Trichromaticity refers to the three types of cones in the eye that perceive different wavelengths of light, while saturation refers to the intensity or purity of a color, and brightness refers to the level of lightness or darkness.

Question 10

If our visual perception depended only on the feature detectors in the visual cortex, what would we see?
A)whole images but without any color
B)only horizontal lines
C)only lines at a forty-degree angle
D)collections of isolated features

Accepted Answer

The feature detector neurons respond only to specific patterns. They can't integrate these into whole images.

Question 11

The receptor cells that allow us to see color and fine detail in adequate light are the _____
A)rods.
B)focus cells.
C)cones.
D)color cells.

Accepted Answer

Cones are the receptor cells responsible for allowing us to see color and fine detail in adequate light. Rods, on the other hand, are responsible for our ability to see in low light conditions but do not detect color. Focus cells and color cells are not accurate terms for describing our visual receptors.

Question 12

The first stage of vision processing takes place in the _____
A)retina.
B)brain.
C)occipital lobe.
D)lens.

Accepted Answer

The first stage of vision processing takes place in the retina, which is located at the back of the eye and contains photoreceptor cells (rods and cones) that detect light and send signals to the brain through the optic nerve.

Question 13

Our visual perceptions are complete only when _____ has (have)combined and assembled millions of pieces of visual information into a whole.
A)the occipital lobe
B)the thalamus
C)numerous brain areas
D)the brain stem

Accepted Answer

Although we tend to think of the occipital lobes as the part of the brain associated with vision, it also takes an integrated effort in many other areas of the brain to produce our visual perceptions.

Question 14

_____ is the intensity of light energy perceived as a color, which is based on the amplitude of the light wave.
A)Hue
B)Trichromaticity
C)Saturation
D)Brightness

Accepted Answer

Brightness is the correct answer because it refers to the intensity of light energy perceived, which is directly related to the amplitude of the light wave. Higher amplitude waves are perceived as brighter. Hue refers to the color itself, based on the light's wavelength, saturation describes the intensity or purity of the color, and trichromaticity is a theory about how color vision works in the human eye, not a property of light itself.

Question 15

The axons of the ganglion cells bundle together to make the two _____ nerves, which come together at the _____
A)optic; optic chiasm.
B)visual; blind spot.
C)suprachiasmatic; optic chiasm.
D)fovea; visual chiasm.

Accepted Answer

The axons of the ganglion cells bundle together to form the optic nerves, which then come together at the optic chiasm. The other options either don't make sense in the context of the question or are not accurate.

Question 16

Our eyes can respond to as little as five photons of light because of the extreme sensitivity of our _____ to light.
A)cones
B)light cells
C)adaptive cells
D)rods

Accepted Answer

Rods are the receptor cells that help us with dark vision because they are very sensitive to even small amounts of light.

Question 17

The receptor cells for vision are located in the _____ and are called _____ and _____
A)cornea; rods and cones.
B)retina; rods and cones.
C)lens; adaptation and focus cells.
D)retina; adaptation and focus cells.

Accepted Answer

The receptor cells for vision are located in the retina, which is located at the back of the eye. These receptor cells are called rods and cones. The cornea is a protective covering on the front of the eye, and the lens helps to focus light onto the retina. However, neither of these structures contain rod or cone cells. Similarly, while there are cells in the retina that play a role in adaptation and focus, these are not the primary receptor cells for vision.

Question 18

Our vision can adapt to change between bright light and dark, but it takes a moment because the _____ in our receptor cells must break apart into _____ and _____ for light adaptation and recombine for dark adaptation.
A)color sensors; black; white
B)rhodopsin; opsin; retinal
C)opsin; rhodopsin; retinal
D)pigment; rods; cones

Accepted Answer

Rhodopsin is present in the sensory receptors called rods. It is made up of opsin and retinal. In bright light, they break apart, so our vision adapts to light; in dark adaption, they recombine.

Question 19

The optic nerve fibers synapse on the _____, which transmits the neural impulses to the _____
A)hypothalamus; thalamus.
B)thalamus; frontal cortex.
C)thalamus: primary visual cortex.
D)optic chiasm; occipital lobe.

Accepted Answer

The optic nerve fibers synapse on the thalamus, specifically in the lateral geniculate nucleus, which then transmits the neural impulses to the primary visual cortex located in the occipital lobe for visual processing.

Question 20

Which of the following sequences is correct? On its way to the brain, light signals are _____ and then _____
A)transduced by rods and cones; passed to amacrine, bipolar and horizontal cells.
B)sent through the fovea; transduced by amacrine, bipolar and horizontal cells.
C)converted by ganglion cells; sent to the rods and cones.
D)transduced by rods and cones; sent next to the V1 area.

Accepted Answer

Light signals are first transduced (converted into electrical signals) by rods and cones in the retina. These signals are then passed to other types of cells within the retina, including amacrine, bipolar, and horizontal cells, before reaching the brain.

Quiz 3: Sensation and Perception

Why do we have a blind spot in our visual field?

Some people have nearsightedness (myopia) or farsightedness (hyperopia) because the distance between their _ and their _ is either too short or too long.

The last vision-processing step before signals are sent to the brain is in the _____

The nerve fibers from the _ half of each retina go to the _ hemisphere.

When you look directly at an object, the image of the object focuses on a spot where many receptor cells called cones are packed together. This spot, which also gives us our sharpest vision, is the _____

While at The Home Depot picking out a color of paint for her bathroom, Leticia narrows her search down to two options. She likes the color of the first one and the purity in color of the second one. Leticia's decision is between the _ of the first paint choice and the _ of the second paint choice.

_____ is purity of a color, or the degree to which the light waves producing it are of the same wavelength.

Alec has always been able to see a wide array of vibrant colors, but he has not been so fortunate when it comes to seeing at night or in otherwise dim lighting. Alec speculates that his color vision is far superior to his night vision. Based on his speculation, which of the following would be true?

_____ is the dimension of light that refers to the specific color perceived.

If our visual perception depended only on the feature detectors in the visual cortex, what would we see?

The receptor cells that allow us to see color and fine detail in adequate light are the _____

The first stage of vision processing takes place in the _____

Our visual perceptions are complete only when _____ has (have) combined and assembled millions of pieces of visual information into a whole.

_____ is the intensity of light energy perceived as a color, which is based on the amplitude of the light wave.

The axons of the ganglion cells bundle together to make the two _ nerves, which come together at the _

Our eyes can respond to as little as five photons of light because of the extreme sensitivity of our _____ to light.

The receptor cells for vision are located in the ___ and are called _ and ___

Our vision can adapt to change between bright light and dark, but it takes a moment because the ___ in our receptor cells must break apart into _ and ___ for light adaptation and recombine for dark adaptation.

The optic nerve fibers synapse on the _, which transmits the neural impulses to the _

Which of the following sequences is correct? On its way to the brain, light signals are _ and then _