It's a lab

How fast can you react? In this lab, you will be measuring your reaction time in response to a falling object. Under a constant acceleration (gravity = g ), the average velocity is gt/2 (time = t), if the starting velocity is 0. Distance (d) is related to acceleration and time by the following equation: d = V(av.)t or (gt/2)(t) = (gt:/2) For the purposes of this lab, you will be measuring the distance (how far the ruler falls before you catch it) and solving the above for time. To be a fighter pilot you must have very fast reactions - travelling at speeds of over 2500 km per hour (twice the speed of sound) means about 700m every second! So splits of a second can make all the difference, you blink your eyes and you've moved an incredible 140m! Could you respond to outside events with minimal delay and take appropriate action. .. let's test your reaction time? The simple experiment described on this page is dead simple, you record the time it takes to react to catch a falling ruler. We'll work out your results in a minute, but first - here comes the science! The experiment tests how long it takes the brain to translate visual information (falling ruler) into your voluntary (or conscious) motor commands and actions (grasping finger movements) that lead to the ruler being caught. The shorter the time, the faster your reactions.....that's if you were paying attention in the first place! Indeed practice specifically affects the "associative centres' in the brain, so that you can respond faster to what's happening in your visual world. The flow of information along the 'visual' and 'motor' nerve pathways is relatively constant even with lots of practice. It all comes down to 'attention' or '...being on the ball!' Biggles' guide to.. 5 Associative centres Brain Catch the ruler!' RULER + FALLING = rule What should I do ! 4 Visual centres 2 visual information about falling rater grasping action 7 Arm Motor command to catch rule distance travelled The distance the reaction timer travels before you catch it has been converted to time using the equation d=1/2at where a is the acceleration due to gravity.visual information about falling ruler Eye 3 grasping action 8 8 Arm Motor command to catch ruler distance travelled The distance the reaction timer travels before you catch it has been converted to time using the equation d=1/2at where a is the acceleration due to gravity. From the table below, the 'mean catch distance' on the ruler can be converted into a 'mean reaction time' in milliseconds (Remember: 1 millisecond is one thousandth of a second). Distance Reaction time Distance Reaction time (cm) (milliseconds) (cm) (milliseconds) 50 16 180 60 17 190 70 18 190 80 19 200 90 20 200 6 100 21 210 7 120 22 210 8 130 23 220 9 140 24 220 10 140 25 230 11 150 26 230 12 160 27 230 13 160 28 240 170 29 24 170 30 250 Experimental Procedures: You and your partner fill in this part... Distance Ruler Falls Time in (cm) milliseconds (See chart) 1 2 3 4 5 Total Average Experimental question KEY Reaction Time (milliseconds) 12 T3 AVE Trials Data analysis: The data tables and graphs show (Describe the date in words)_