What Happens as We Age? Australind Senior High School By Grace Stubbs & Dayna Jacob Reaction times of different ages groups

The aim of our experiment (what happens as we age?) was to determine ones reaction time through the system that we chose. This system was how quickly a person could catch a 30 centimetre ruler with no warning, with a low amount of centimetres being the best. This method was very helpful in that it was easy to test.

Once we decided on a topic, we categorised people into 3 different age groups: Junior 10 – 25 yrs old, Intermediate 25 – 50 yrs old and Seniors 50+ yrs old. We then went off and collected our data, we chose to use first hand data. To receive our results we tested exactly 10 people for each age group. This gave us an accurate outcome for our experiment. After this, we displayed all our data in a graph.

The mean results of each age group: Junior: 18.1cm Intermediate: 16.9cm Seniors: 20.2cm

Average reactions of ruler drop Reaction (cm) Age Groups

The graph on the previous slide shows us that the age group of ‘intermediates’ (25 – 50 yrs old) had the best reactions due to the fact that they scored the lowest. Low is better because it signifies they took little time to react. This was evident as they received an average total of 16.9 cm, closely followed by our Juniors. Lets see that graph again… Average reactions of ruler drop Reaction (cm) Age Groups

This result could have occurred because people in the juniors category’s brain and nervous systems has not fully developed yet causing their reactions to be slower or delayed. However, our intermediates age group are at their prime. In that their brain is fully matured and are generally more focused. Whereas the seniors brain has developed though is getting ‘slower’ possibly due to their age. The judgements we made seem to be in a pattern. Starting low, increasing to a full peek, and then heading down again. Just like our results, in that the juniors are on their way up, the intermediates at the top and the seniors going down again. Some what like this:

During this task we thought of a few improvements we could do next time in order to make this experiment more interesting, or more accurate. Here are some: Test more people for each age group, this will make the results (averages) more precise. Vary the height from which the ruler is dropped to make the experiment more challenging, although for each person the height must be the same to ensure the fairness. Make sure the distance between ones fingers, when catching the ruler, is the same for each test. If the participants fingers are too far apart it will have an effect on the end result (they may take longer to react).