Names omitted Student IDs omitted Behavior

Today, many students enjoy listening to music while studying for a test. But sometimes the music can be distracting and there will be no information is retained.

Do different types of music affect study habits?

If reggae (a type of music) gives better test scores than pop, heavy metal, and rap, then reggae keeps the student focused while also relaxing.

According to the University of Phoenix those who listen to music while studying for a test tend to have lower test scores then those who study without music. But it depends on the type of music being listened to. Some students can study effectively with music playing, while others are distracted by any outside noise. Many students have said that they enjoy listening to classical while studying. They have shown a significant increase in scores. USA Today published a story about how listening to music that has lyrics can be very distracting. Especially when studying for English or Social Studies because lyrics affect the same parts of the brain that comprehend language. The brain can think that you are studying, but actually it is being distracted and listening to the music.

Independent Variable – The test and the study guide Dependent Variable- The genre of music Controlled Variable- The participant that does not listen to music while studying.

Study Guide 10 question test Pen or Pencil Stopwatch Music player Earphones

The first step was to give participant a study guide about Texas history and have them listen to a certain type of music ( rap, pop, reggae, heavy metal). They were each tested separately. While one person read the study guide without music. The second step was to give the participants 10 minutes to complete the test without any distraction. Then the test will be graded and all data will be recorded.

Type of musicTimeScore Participant 1No music4:26 seconds90 Participant 2Heavy metal4:15 seconds90 Participant 3Pop3:57 seconds100 Participant 4Rap5:20 seconds60 Participant 5Reggae2:33 seconds80

This bar graph shows how each participant scored based on the type of music they were listening to. Bar graphs are clear to understand and an inference can be made fairly quickly.

The participant who listened to pop had the highest score (100). No music and heavy metal participants scored a 90. Reggae participants scored a 80. Finally, the rap participants scored a 60.

If reggae (a type of music) gives better test scores than pop, heavy metal, and rap, then reggae keeps the student focused while also relaxing. Our hypothesis was incorrect, the participant who listened to pop scored a 100. This type of music is actually very upbeat and motivates the student to keep working. On the other hand, rap is not a good choice of music, the participant scored an 60.

The importance of this study was to find an efficient genre of music that will keep students focused and relaxed. Our experiment found that pop is the best type of music to listen to while studying for test. We will recommend to our friends to listen to pop while studying. Recently, we have started listening to this type of music and we noticed our test scores rose!

How could lyrics in a song affect your study habits and test scores? Something different that we would have done is to use a heart monitor to see how much the music excites the participant.

We would like to thank our parents for supporting our project and allowing us to stay after school to work on it. Also the librarian who let us use the computers and printer. We would also like to thank our science teacher who helped us most of all.

Good Study Habits. (n.d.). GEAR UP. Retrieved October 22, 2013, from Which Study Habits Can You Improve?. (n.d.). Which Study Habits Can You Improve?. Retrieved October 22, 2013, from assessments/improving-study-habits.shtml Should you listen to music while studying?. (n.d.). Should You Listen to Music While Studying?. Retrieved October 22, 2013, from life/2013/08/should-you-listen-to-music-while-studying.html Music and Studying: Helpful or Not?. (n.d.). Independence University Blog. Retrieved October 22, 2013, from or-not Should you listen to music while you study? | USA TODAY College. (n.d.). Should you listen to music while you study? | USA TODAY College. Retrieved October 22, 2013, from /should-you-listen-to-music-while-you-study