Required practicals 🔬🧬🧪

Question 1

What’s the required practical, to investigate reaction-time ? ⏰ [6]

Answer 1

1) person 1 sits on a stool with a good upright posture and then places the forearm of their dominant arm, across the table, with their hand overhanging the edge.

2) person 2 must now hold the ruler vertically, and the 0cm mark should be between person 1’s thumb and first finger.

3) person 2 should randomly drop the ruler [at a random time] and person 1 has to catch the ruler with their thumb and first finger, as quickly as possible when it drops.

4) person 2 records the measurement on the ruler, that’s level with the top of person 1’s thumb

5) and now repeat the test several times and calculate a mean. Then record results and use an online conversion table

6) and when done, repeat the experiment with the two people switching places

Question 2

Describe the set up, for the reaction time practical ⏰

Answer 2

• firstly two people must work together- person one and two. [person two measures the reaction time of person one]

Question 3

Why is a conversion table used ? ⏰

Answer 3

• and now repeat the test several times and calculate a mean. Then record results and use an online conversion table.
• in this step, a conversion table is used to convert the results into a reaction time.

Question 4

After the practical is done, why should the two people swap places ? ⏰

Answer 4

• and when done, repeat the experiment with the two people switching places- swapping places, allows us to see whether two people have different reaction times.

Question 5

What’s the three variables in the ruler drop test ? ⏰

Answer 5

• independent variable- the person having their reaction time tested.
• dependent variable- the reaction time
• control variable- the starting distance bewteen the thumb and the first finger, should be kept constant

Question 6

What are all the control variables in the ruler drop test ? ⏰

Answer 6

• control variable- the starting distance bewteen the thumb and the first finger, should be kept constant
• and the ruler at the top of the thumb, should always be measured.
• ; the conditions in the room should be kept the same [level of background noise and lighting]

Question 7

What’s steps one to two of the required practical, to investigate reaction-time? ⏰

Answer 7

1) person 1 sits on a stool with a good upright posture and then places the forearm of their dominant arm, across the table, with their hand overhanging the edge.

2) person 2 must now hold the ruler vertically, and the 0cm mark should be between person 1’s thumb and first finger.

Question 8

What’s steps three to four of the required practical, to investigate reaction-time? ⏰

Answer 8

3) person 2 should randomly drop the ruler [at a random time] and person 1 has to catch the ruler with their thumb and first finger, as quickly as possible when it drops.

4) person 2 records the measurement on the ruler, that’s level with the top of person 1’s thumb

Question 9

What’s steps five to six of the required practical, to investigate reaction-time? ⏰

Answer 9

5) and now repeat the test several times and calculate a mean. Then record results and use an online conversion table

6) and when done, repeat the experiment with the two people switching places

Question 10

When doing the reaction-time practical, what other independent variables, could we investigate ? ⏰

Answer 10

• the effect of practise [on reaction time]
• the effect of the hand, catching the ruler [on reaction time]
• the effect of certain chemicals [on reaction-time]

Question 11

If we were to investigate the effect of practise on reaction time, what would we do ? ⏰

Answer 11

• one person would catch the ruler a large number of times.
• and we would then look to see if the reaction time changes, depending on the number of tries.

Question 12

If we were to investigate the effect of hands [a dominant hand] on reaction time, what would we do ? ⏰

Answer 12

• firstly carry out the test with the person’s dominant hand, and then carry it out with the non-dominant hand of the person.
• it could be expected, that the reaction-time is shorter with the dominant hand, compared to the non-dominant hand.

Question 13

If we were to investigate the effect of chemicals on reaction time, what would we do ? ⏰ [4]

Answer 13

• the test subject could drink a measured amount of cola, half an hour before the experiment.
• this would then be compared with their normal reaction time

Question 14

What problems could be encountered, when investigating the effect of chemicals on reaction time, what would we do ? ⏰ [2]

Answer 14

• ; since there could be another chemical in the cola affecting reaction times, we would have to carry out the test using a caffeine-free cola
• this reaction time, would then be compared with their normal reaction time

Question 15

What problems could be encountered, when investigating the effect of chemicals on reaction time, what would we do ? ⏰ [1]

Answer 15

• and we should also check that they have no medical issue, which could be affected by caffeine [e.g- allergies or a heart condition]

Question 16

What problems could be encountered, when investigating the effect of chemicals on reaction time, what would we do ? ⏰ [1]

Answer 16

• carry out the test in a lab, where hazardous chemicals aren’t normally used.