Hooked On Science – Toilet Paper X-Ray Tube

SCIENCE SAFETY
PLEASE follow these safety precautions when doing any science experiment.
• ALWAYS have an adult present.
• ALWAYS wear the correct safety gear while doing any experiment.
• NEVER eat or drink anything while doing any experiment.
• REMEMBER experiments may require marbles, small balls, balloons, and other small parts. Those objects could become a CHOKING HAZARD. Adults are to perform those experiments using these objects. Any child can choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons. Keep uninflated or broken balloons away from children.

INGREDIENTS
• Toilet Paper Tube

INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1: Using your right hand, hold the toilet paper tube against your right eye, so you can see through the tube. Keep both eyes open.
STEP 2: Hold your left hand, palm toward your face, hand wide open, against the left side of the tube, keep both eyes open, and observe. What do you see? Describe how this model allows you to receive different types of information through your sense of sight, process the information in your brain, and respond to the information.

EXPLANATION
As you look through the toilet paper x-ray tube, a hole appears in your left hand. This is an optical illusion caused by your brain taking what your right eye observes, what your left eye observes, and putting the images together to create a picture. This confuses your brain, creating a picture with a hole in your hand.

Download these instructions here and check the Hooked on Science page for more science experiments.