Investigate different ways in which reaction times Essay

Some people have slower reaction times than others. To find this out, I have decided to test some people in my class. We are now going to investigate different ways in which reaction times of people can be measured. Reaction times A reaction time is how long a person takes to react to something. Methods of Testing Reaction Times 1: Time how long it takes to move from one point to another, after being told to start by a blow of a whistle, clap of hands or simply by saying go. 2: Time how long it takes to rise from the blocks in a race. 3: Time how long it takes a person to react when someone instructs them to stand up. 4: Time how long it takes for a person to press a button when a buzzer goes off, record how long the buzzer is ringing for. 5: Time how long it rakes for someone to turn off a light when it starts flashing using an electronic device to time how long it takes for the light to be switched off. 6: Drop a ruler and measure the distance it drops before the person catches it. The class discussed all of the above methods and decided that some would not work and that some wouldn’t be possible due to lack of resources. The class decided to use the same method of measuring reaction times so that we could collect enough data. 1: This method would be very hard to time, as the accuracy of the time would also depend upon the reaction time of the person holding the stopwatch. Also the time taken would not only measure reaction time it would also depend on how fast the person can run. 2: This would be a good method if we had access to Olympic standard equipment, which would measure the time electronically from the sound of the gun to rising from the blocks. 3: This method, just like number 1, would be hard to do. The time again would also depend upon how quickly the person can move to a standing position. The reaction time is how long it takes to begin to stand and this would not be possible to measure. 4: We cannot record this properly as we do not have any stopwatches to make sure we have an accurate reading. 5: This applies the exact same as number 4, we do not have the possible equipment for this method. 6: This is possible as the distance the ruler drops only depends upon the reaction time of the person trying to catch the ruler. After considering all the possible methods, my class decided to use the dropping of a ruler and measuring how far it falls. When we conduct this experiment, the arm will be held out at shoulder length and the ruler will be held between the thumb and the index finger at 0cm. We shall work in pairs, one person will say go and the other person will release and try to catch the ruler with the same hand. The first person will keep a record of the distance the ruler has dropped. We will assume that the longer the distance means greater time.