• Question: why do are puple get biger and smaller

    Asked by to Michael on 25 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Michael Kelly

      Michael Kelly answered on 25 Jun 2014:

      Pupils get bigger and smaller for a couple of reasons. They get smaller as things get brighter this protects the inside of the eye, and larger when it gets darker this allows more light into the eye and increases the ability to see in the dark.

      Pupils also change size depending on where we are looking, when we look at things near to us the pupil shrinks this helps with focusing. The pupils also change in reponse to emotional stimuli, when we look at someone we really like or love our pupils get bigger. This is thought to be a signalling mechanism.

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