rp- reaction time
Requires two people to work together
-Person 2 will measure the reaction time of person 1.
1- person 1 sits in a stool with good upright posture.
2- person 1 then places the forearm of their dominant arm across the table with their hand overhanging the edge
3- Then person 2 holds a ruler vertically - the 0cm mark should be between person 1 thumb and first finger.
4- person 2 then tells person 1 to prepare to catch the ruler
5- person 2 now drops the ruler at a random time.
6- person 1 has to catch the ruler with their thumb and first finger as quickly as possible when it drops.
7- person 2 now records the measurement on the ruler that is level with of person 1 thumb.
8- at this point person 1 has a short rest.
The test is then repeated several times and a mean is calculated.
From these experiments, we can convert our results to a reaction time. - to do this we use a conversion table.
at the end the two people switch places with person 1 testing the reaction time of person 2. - this allows us to see whether the two people have different reaction times.
The independent variable- the person having their reaction time tested.
The dependant variable- is the one that is measured for each change in the independent variable. So in this case is the reaction time.
Control variable- the starting distance between the thumb and the first finger should be kept constant. Always measure the ruler at the top of the thumb. We should keep the conditions in the room the same. ( the lighting and background noise) if any of this was to change then could affect the dependant variable.
What we could investigate-
reaction time would become shorter the more the person practised
Whether the reaction time depends on the hand catching the ruler so carry out the test with the dominant hand and then with the non dominant hand of the same person. So might expect reaction is shorter with the dominant hand then non dominant hand,
Whether caffeine can affect reaction time - the test subject drinkers a measured amount of cola half and hour before the experiment. Then compare this reaction time with the normal reaction time.