NO.

31 CREACTION TIME
It is necessary to work in pairs for this experiment.
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

(e)
(f)
(g)

(h)
(i)

Copy Table 1 into your notebook.

The subject marks a pencil line down the centre of his thumb-nail and sits
sideways at a bench or table with his forearm resting flat on the bench and his
hand over the edge.
The experimenter holds a ruler vertically between the subjects first finger and
thumb with the zero opposite the line on the thumb but not quite touching the
thumb or fingers.
The subject watches the zero mark and, as soon as the experimenter releases
the ruler, the subject grips it between finger and thumb to stop it falling any
further. He then records in column 1 of the table the distance on the ruler
opposite the mark on his thumb.
This is then repeated 4 times and average distance calculated. This distance
can be converted to a time by consulting table 3.
The ruler is now used to measure the distance from the subjects eye to the base
of his neck and along the arm to the middle of the forearm. The distance is
recorded in the table.
The experiment is now repeated with the same subject but this time he lets the
ruler rest lightly against his thumb or fingers, closes his eyes and grips the ruler
as quickly as possible after he feels it begin to fall. The experiment is repeated
4 times and the results are recorded in column 2.
The total distance is measured from the finger-tips to the head, and the head to
the forearm, and recorded in the table.
Copy table 2 into your notebook and collect the reaction times for your class
and calculate the average in both cases.
Table 2
Reaction times: class results
Sight
Touch
Table 1

Speed of response to sight Speed of response to

touch

1
2
3
4

1
2
3
4

Total
Average
Time
Distance
(nerve
pathway)

Total
Average
Time
Distance
(nerve
pathway)
Total
Average

315762681.DOC

Page 1 of 2

Total
Average

DISCUSSION
1

Was there a significant difference in reaction times using sight and touch (a)
for your own results, (b) for the class results when averaged?
The nervous pathway for the motor impulses from brain to forearm was
probably the same for both experiments but the sensory pathway from eye to
brain was much shorter than from finger-tips to brain. What differences in
results would this lead you to expect?
State whether you think the class results fulfilled this expectation. If they did
not, discuss the possible reasons for their not doing so.
Assuming, for the moment, that in the touch experiment, the time of reaction is
the same as the time taken for the nerve impulse to travel from the sensory
organs in the finger-tips to the brain and back to the forearm, calculate the
speed of conduction, in cm per second, of the nerve impulse by dividing the
distance travelled by the reaction time.
The conduction of velocity of nerve impulses in mammalian nerve fibres
ranges from 2 to 100m per second. Your results are probable about 5 to 15m
per second. What are the faults in the assumption made in question 4 that
might account for this low value?
Although it was the fingers which gripped the ruler, you were told to measure
the distance to the forearm. Why was this?

3
4

Distance in
cm

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

315762681.DOC

Time in
seconds

0.045
0.064
0.078
0.090
0.101
0.111
0.120
0.128
0.136
0.143
0.150
0.156
0.163
0.169
0.175
0.181
0.186
0.192
0.197
0.202

Distance in
cm

21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40

Page 2 of 2

Time in
seconds

0.207
0.212
0.217
0.221
0.226
0.230
0.235
0.239
0.243
0.247
0.252
0.256
0.260
0.263
0.267
0.271
0.275
0.278
0.282
0.286