Certified Ophthalmic Technician (COT) Practice Test 2025 - Free COT Practice Questions and Study Guide

Visual acuity specifically measures the sharpness or clarity of vision, indicating how well a person can see fine details at a specified distance. This is often assessed using an eye chart where letters or symbols are presented at different sizes to evaluate how well an individual can distinguish them. A standard measurement is based on the ability to see a defined threshold of detail, usually expressed in a fraction, such as 20/20 vision, where the first number indicates the distance at which a person can see the letters, and the second number indicates what a typical person can see at that distance.

The other options refer to different aspects of vision. Color discrimination involves the ability to differentiate between colors, peripheral vision assesses the ability to perceive objects outside of direct line of sight, and depth perception is the ability to perceive the world in three dimensions, crucial for judging distances. Each of these plays a vital role in overall vision but does not specifically quantify clarity, which is the focus of visual acuity testing.