Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi -
We're doing the "Pixel Puzzle: Why Video Game Characters Look Better Today" project for my son's science fair (2nd grade). The teacher wrote "How do you test this" on his Pixel Puzzle submission. In your opinion, is the difference of appearance when drawing the same character with different number of pixels sufficient for "testing"? (sample 1: Video game image with 8 x 8 pixels, sample 2: same image with 32 x 32 pixels). If you have other ideas that will satisfy the teachers request for more "testing" that would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Hello, there. What a fun project!

This is a subjective question, and there are a couple ways to test this.

1. Show the 2 pictures to friends and family. Without telling them which has more pixels, ask them which picture they think shows more detail. Keep a tally of how many times each picture is chosen and report which one is chosen more.

2. Are there details in your picture that show up in the higher resolution picture that don't show up in the lower resolution picture? The details of a belt buckle, teeth, or eyes perhaps. If not, look online for pictures at different resolutions and see if you can find an example. Photography tutorial websites are a great resource to find pictures at different resolutions.

I hope this helps. Write back if you have further questions. Good luck!