Hunar Sandhu

Investigate the rate of nerve impulse:

Introduction: The nervous system is composed of cells called neurons. It is responsible for coordinating actions and transmitting signals between different parts of the body. These cells can carry messages at high speeds in the form of electrical impulses (Ward, William, and Alan Damon). There are two main parts of our nervous system: The central nervous system, which consists of the brain and the spinal cord Peripheral nervous system that connects all parts of the body to the central nervous system

Reaction time is way of measuring the quickness of an organism. Quickness refers to the response one gives to some sort of stimulus. Reflex arc is the nerve pathway that the body undertakes. It is a very fast, automatic response. It has three main steps: A sensory neuron that takes in information and translates it to an electrical impulse. This impulse gets sent to the central nervous system Relay neurons act as process centres and determine the right response to the stimulus. These neurons are located in the central nervous system A motor neuron is a neuron that takes the response and sends it to the effectors which results in a specific response

(IvyRose Holistic.)

There are a lot of factors that can affect someones rate of reaction. The reaction time can be accelerated or decelerated according to the environment and atmosphere you have been exposed to. Factors such as gender, being left or right handed and age can all affect reaction rates. As a person gets older, the muscle movement is slowed and the muscles do not respond as quickly as they did (Somoski, Nick). To examine a factor, an experiment will be conducted on whether age will affect ones reaction rate under controlled environment. This experiment will be testing the visual reaction time. Independent Variable: The age of the participants. (5 within these age groups: 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70) Dependent Variable: The reaction rate of the participants.

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Control Variables Left or Right handed

Effect on results Research shows that left handed people tend to have a slightly faster reaction rate. Research shows that males tend to have a slightly faster reaction rate that females. The more tired the person is, slower their reaction rate tends to be. The temperature can have some effect on the reaction rate as warmer temperature makes the person sleepier. Any sickness or illness can have an effect on the reaction rate of the participant. The sickness can slow the reaction rate significantly.

Gender of participants

How they will be controlled All participants will be right handed in order to have no other variables other than age affecting the results. All participants will be males in order to have fair results. Make sure that the participants have had 7 or more hours of sleep so they are not tired The temperature will be tested with a thermometer before each participant begins the activity. Make sure that all participants are healthy and do not have any sickness or illness.

Amount of sleep

Temperature of the room

Health of participants

Focused Question: How will age have an effect on the participants reaction rate in a reaction based activity. Hypothesis: Higher the age of the participants, slower the reaction rate. A part of the brain called the corpus callosum is a group of neural fibers that connects the left and right side. With age, the connection becomes weaker (Somoski, Nick). This is the major reason why, with age, the reaction rate deteriorates. Materials: 30 cm ruler 30 participants, 5 within these age groups : 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, 41-50, 51-60, 61-70 (All should be right handed males, with more than 7 hours of sleep) A table/bench and a chair A room with constant temperature for all the participants A pen and a table of results Thermometer

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Method: 1. Subject 1 enters the room. 2. Subject 1 sits on a chair at a table, with their right hand over the edge. 3. Hold the ruler at the 30 cm mark so that the 0 cm end is just at the participants index finger. 4. Tell the participant that when you release the ruler they have to grab it as fast as possible. Do not make any sounds or gestures when you are releasing the ruler, this ensures that the participant has reacted to the visual stimulus of seeing the ruler being released. Record the centimetre mark. 5. Repeat the experiment five more times. 6. Repeat steps 1-5 for all the participants.

References: Ward, William, and Alan Damon. Pearson Baccalaureate: Higher Level (plus Standard Level Options) : Biology Developed Specifically for the Ib Diploma. Harlow, [England: Pearson Education, 2007. Print. "Experiment: How Fast Your Brain Reacts To Stimuli." Experiment: How Fast Your Brain Reacts To Stimuli. Backyard Brains, n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. Somoski, Nick. "Factors That Affect Reaction Time." By Nick Somoski. Science360, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. "The Pathway of a Nerve Impulse." The Pathway of a Nerve Impulse. IvyRose Holistic, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2013.