Reaction Time Webtivity
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Written by Gregory W. Corder
and specifically intended for use by the teachers and students of Thomas
Harrison Middle School. Written
December 2001.
Objective: The student will use a
spreadsheet to determine his/her average reaction time.
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Background
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Reaction time is the time it takes you to respond
to a stimulus. Some people have fast reaction times and others have
slow reaction times. What is your reaction time?
Directions
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Open a spreadsheet program (e.g., Appleworks, Microsoft
Excel, etc.).
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Label cell A1 as "Trial". Note: do not
include the quotation marks at anytime during this activity.
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Type the number "1" into cell A2.
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Make a counter by typing "=1+A2" into cell A3.
The number "2" should appear in cell A3.
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Copy the formula in cell A3 down to cell A51.
To do this in Microsoft Excel,
highlight cell A3. Move the spreadsheet tool (the cross) to the lower
right corner of that cell. When it becomes very skinny, hold the
mouse button down and drag to cell A51. To do this in Appleworks
or Clarisworks,
highlight cells A3 through A51. Hold down the Open Apple Key and
press D.
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Label cell B1 as "Reaction Time".
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It is strongly suggested that you save your work
at this point
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Click here and
use this page to measure your reaction time. You can practice once.
Use the back arrow on this web browser to return to this page.
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Record your first reaction time in cell B2.
(Type only the number.) Continue recording each reaction time in the cell
below the previous one (i.e., continue down the column).
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Continue until you have a total of 50 reaction times.
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Now calculate your average reaction time in cell
B53. This is done in Microsoft Excel
by
typing "=average(A2:A51)". This is done in Appleworks
or Clarisworks
by typing "=average(A2..A51)".
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In cell A53 type "average reaction time" to label
the adjacent cell's value.
Questions:
1. What was your average reaction time?
___________ seconds
2. How does it compare with other classmates?
3. Do you think reaction time changes over one's lifetime? _________If
so, is it because of genetics or do you think it is affected by his/her
environment?
4. Can your reaction time can be altered?
_________ If so, how?
5. What careers need fast reaction time?
Extension: Highlight cells A2 through
B51 and make a line graph of these values.
1. What does this graph represent?
2. Did your reaction time improve with practice?
_______ How does the graph show this?