Hand Reaction Time

Purpose of Experiment

We are conducting this experiment to find which hand is faster.

Hypothesis

I think that my dominant hand is faster because I use it more and it has had a lot more practice doing things.

Controlled Variables

• Your partner can not tell you when he or she will drop the ruler.
• Your arm must be at a ninety degree angle when catching the ruler.
• Don’t stress the rubber band when putting it around you thumb and pointer finger.
• Make sure that your partner does not push the ruler down, but instead just drops it.

Independent Variable

The independent variable is your dominant hand v.s. your non - dominant hand.

Dependant Variable

The dependant variable is the number that your finger is on when you catch the ruler.

Materials

• 1 30cm ruler
• 1 regular sized rubber band
• 1 partner
• 2 hands

Procedure

Put the rubber band around your thumb and pointer finger without stressing the rubber band. Stressing the rubber band is creating a larger space between your fingers and the ruler, therefore it would take more time to catch it.

Have a partner hold a ruler above the hole that your fingers and the rubber band should be making with the zero on the bottom and the thirty on the top. Make sure that your partner does not tell you when he or she will drop the ruler, because this could change your data and make your hands reaction time seem faster than it actually is. Also make sure that your arm is at a ninety degree angle.

Your partner will drop the ruler at any time and you will try to catch it as fast as you can with your thumb and pointer finger.

Record your data and repeat this process ten times before you test your other hand.

Video

Data Tables

Emily Perry

Tests	Dominant Hand	Non-Dominant Hand
Test 1	22 cm	20 cm
Test 2	23 cm	18 cm
Test 3	30	17.4 cm
Test 4	21.2 cm	13.7 cm
Test 5	10.9 cm	30
Test 6	19.6 cm	28.7 cm
Test 7	17.1 cm	25.6 cm
Test 8	15.5 cm	8 cm
Test 9	12.5 cm	24 cm
Test 10	11.3 cm	11 cm

Brenda Lee

Tests	Dominant Hand	Non-Dominant Hand
Test 1	30cm	14.5 cm
Test 2	1.5 cm	30cm
Test 3	13.4 cm	18 cm
Test 4	22 cm	21 cm
Test 5	15.5 cm	18 cm
Test 6	29.9 cm	25.2 cm
Test 7	4 cm	11.4 cm
Test 8	19.8 cm	13.1 cm
Test 9	28.1 cm	23.7 cm
Test 10	13.3 cm (177.5)	12.1 cm (187)

Bella Salathe

Tests	Dominant Hand	Non-Dominant Hand
Test 1	30	13.3 cm
Test 2	25cm	24.1 cm
Test 3	19 cm	4.6 cm
Test 4	25.5cm	18.2 cm
Test 5	30cm	20 cm
Test 6	17 cm	5.6 cm
Test 7	7.8 cm	7.7 cm
Test 8	16.2 cm	29.9 cm
Test 9	17.1 cm	17.5 cm
Test 10	5 cm	16.8 cm

Graphs

My partners' hand reaction time graph

Conclusion

Most of the data above supports my hypothesis. From looking at my graph, I can tell that my dominant hand is faster than my non - dominant hand. The data that does not support my hypothesis is Bella's data. I figured this might be, because she uses both hands to write with. Brenda's data was close between her dominant hand and her non - dominant hand, but her dominant had was still faster. I can still conclude that my left hand is faster than my right hand.