Sensory Adaptation: video worksheets, differentiated.

Please ensure you can access the video before you get this resource. Beginning with the familiar example “your own hose doesn’t smell”, the film explains sensory adaptation with a number of examples: temperature, touch etc. Detection of absolutely vs relatively small stimuli — in different organs, with examples to try in the film; afterimage; saccades; temperature changes (not absolute temperatures) detected. Tensor tympani muscle; selective hearing; proprioception and Stratton’s inverting goggles. Delays between channels (sight and touch) reconciled by the brain, experiments to manipulate and demonstrate this. Benefits of sensory adaptation. Why jump-cuts in films exploit the phenomenon.

Find the film by searching YouTube’s Be Smart channel for “Why You Can’t Smell Yourself (and Other Ways Your Senses Lie to You)”. My link omits a supporter’s message at the end, the film will stop straight after my sheet’s final question if you use my embedded link.

16 questions for the 19-min film (not inc. the omitted message). Differentiated! Both versions look very similar, but “B” version has subtle clues. Questions right up to the end (of my embedded link), no slack time! Excellent subtitles, typed in by a human, not auto-generated nonsense. Answer sheet. Very easy to mark. .doc & .pdf for all files. Link to film on all sheets.

See also Brain, Perception, Reality: video worksheets, differentiated