Reaction Time

This practical lesson covers:

  1. The factors which affect human reaction time.

Investigating factors that affect human reaction time.


Aim:

To plan and investigate the effect of a factor on human reaction time. 

Background information:

Reaction time measures how quickly an individual responds to a stimulus, indicating the efficiency of their nervous and muscular systems. In this practical, you will measure reaction time by catching a dropped ruler. You will then vary factors such as alertness or environmental conditions to observe their effect on reaction time.

Equipment:

  1. Metre ruler

Which of the following is not a factor affecting human reaction time?

fatigue

gender

age

reaction distance

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Which part of the body is responsible for processing information and determining the response?

lungs

brain

liver

heart

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Which of the following is a measure of reaction time?

time taken to respond to a stimulus

body temperature

blood pressure

heart rate

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