2.To determine reaction time to catch a falling object, a metre stick.

3.To determine what factors other than ability affect how well we can learn a simple procedure.

1.My personal reaction time to catch a falling metre stick will be (shorter, longer) than the class average and will (increase, decrease) with practice.

2.The time that I require to follow a maze from its entrance to its exit will (increase, decrease) with practice and (increase, decrease) with an increasing time interval between practices.

metre stickglue stickwatch or clock with a second hand

light cardboardtooth picks

PROCEDURE:

1.Sit on a tall stool or clean counter top with your legs hanging freely and relaxed.

2.Have your partner strike your leg with the edge of their hand quickly and lightly just below the kneecap.

3.Repeat Step 2 but this time tense your leg muscle just before the strike.

4.Repeat Step 2 but this time don't watch ! Get involved in a distracting task such as counting the number of letters on this page and have your partner strike without warning.

5.Reverse roles with your partner and repeat Procedures 1-4.

6.Answer the questions in the Observations section for "Reflex Action".

1.Have your partner hold a metre stick vertically next to your desk with the "zero" mark down.

2.Rest your arm on the desktop and position your thumb and forefinger held 5 cm apart around the zero mark but without touching the metre stick.

3.Concentrate on the bottom of metre stick !

4.Your partner will drop the metre stick without warning !

5.Catch the metre stick with your thumb and forefinger but do NOT move your arm.

6.Record in Table I the number of centimetres the metre stick fell before you caught it.

7.Repeat Procedures 1-6 four more times.

8.Reverse roles with your partner and repeat Procedures 1-7.

1.On a piece of cardboard build a simple maze using tooth picks and a glue stick but complying with all of the following rules:

a.The entrance and exits to your maze must be on opposite sides of the cardboard but not necessarily on opposite corners. It would be wise to lightly sketch your maze plan in pencil before gluing down the toothpicks.

b.The maze will consist of tooth picks glued end to end so that the sharp end always points toward the direction of the maze exit. To minimize stickiness caused by glue on the finished maze, run the glue onto the tooth pick, not the paper !

c.You may use a maximum of 40 and a minimum of 35 tooth picks.

d.You may not break a tooth pick into parts but you may start the next tooth pick anywhere along a given tooth pick, not necessarily the end. This however will automatically create a "false lead".

e.Your maze must have 3 or 4 false leads or dead end pathways but each of these cannot be longer than 4 tooth picks. You may NOT split and rejoin the same pathway or go in circles.

2.Close and cover your eyes with the hand you normally do NOT write with.

3.While your partner times, try to follow your own maze with you forefinger from entrance to exit. If you stray down a dead end, your partner will wait till you reach its end, then will lift your finger back onto the toothpick preceding the one at which you took a wrong turn.

4.Record in Table III the exact time in seconds required to successfully trace the maze to its exit.

5.Repeat Procedures 1-4 a total of three times in a row in each case recording the time in Table III.

6.Reverse roles with your partner and repeat Procedures 2-5.

7.Both partners should repeat Procedures 2-5 each class day for about 2 weeks.

OBSERVATIONS AND DATA:Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1.Muscles relaxed but you are alert.

2.Muscles tensed and you are alert.

3.Muscles relaxed and you are distracted.

2.Record the reaction time for each distance fallen using the following chart.

3.Calculate the average distance fallen and the average reaction time to one decimal.

3.Calculate the average time to complete your maze each class day.

1.What is the stimulus in this activity and what is the response ?

2.Describe exactly the five steps in the reflex arc that carry the nerve impulses involved.

3.Is it possible to prevent your body from responding to this stimulus ? If so, how ?

4.Describe the reflex arc that carries nerve impulses in the event that you touch a hot object.

1.How is the distance the ruler falls related to reaction time ?

(ie. The further the ruler falls the (longer, shorter) is the reaction time)

2.Describe how your reaction time changes with practice.

3.What part of the reflex arc is responsible for this change ?

2.Compare your completion time on your maze to your time on your partner's maze.

your completion time on your own maze.

1.Make a judgment statement concerning your first hypothesis concerning reaction time being certain to specifically state the correctness of each of your two predictions.

2.Make a judgment statement concerning your second hypothesis concerning learning time to successfully negotiate your maze being certain to specifically state the correctness of each of your two predictions.

3.With reference to your graph, and assuming that all learning follows a similar pattern, what two factors other than natural talent determine how well you learn ?

1.Instrumental:

List the names and state the uncertainty of any measuring instruments used.

2.Procedural:

List factors that we were unable to control but that might affect the results.

DISTANCE FALLENREACTION

TRIALBY METRE STICKTIME

(cm)(seconds)

1

2

3

4

5

AVERAGE

STUDENTREACTIONSTUDENTREACTION

TIME (sec)TIME (sec)

114

215

316

417

518

619

720

821

922

1023

1124

1225

1326

CLASS AVERAGE

TIME TOAVERAGE

DAYTRIALCOMPLETE MAZETIME

(seconds)(seconds)

1

12

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3

1

2

3