Adventures in Science and Technology - The Need for Speed Project

[Biology]

The time that it takes your body to react to a situation is called your reaction time. A reaction starts when your body receives a message from one of your senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch). When the message is received, nerves carry it to your brain where it is decoded and another message is sent to a particular part of your body which causes a reaction. What is your reaction time in a given situation? Try this test and see!

metre stick
a friend

Hold your hand out with your palm facing to the side.
Have a friend hold the metre stick up so that your index finger is lined up with the 0 cm mark.
Have your friend drop the metre stick.
Catch the metre stick as quickly as possible.
Record the number of centimetres that the stick has fallen. (This will be the number next to your index finger.)
Repeat steps 1-5 but using your other hand.
Now reverse roles with your friend. Have your friend do steps 1-6.

Did you have a better reaction time with your left hand or your right hand? How did you compare to your friend? You've probably often been in a situation where you had to react fast. Maybe you were riding your bike, and you had to swerve to miss a dog. Maybe you were playing a video game, and you jumped out of the way of a monster just in time. Imagine you put your finger on something hot. The longer your reaction time... OUCH!

Produced by Galactics.
Comments: galactics@spacesim.org.
Last updated on 14 August 1998.