Reflexes through the Ages: Which Age Group Has the Quickest Reflexes?

Overview

Objectives/Goals We wanted to determine if 2nd Graders, 7th Graders or adults had the quickest reflexes. Methods/Materials We built a reflex testing device by creating a sturdy frame, then attached a clothes pin to the top bar from which we dropped a ruler. We released the ruler from the same height every time and the subject had to catch it. We took a measurement at the point where it was caught. We had three groups with 16 subjects each: 2nd Graders (ages 7-8), 7th Graders (ages 12-13) and adults (ages 25-70). We repeated the experiment 7 times with each subject, discarded the highest and lowest reading and calculated the average for each subject and then for each age group. We noticed a difference between males and females and calculated the averages in the same way. Results The adults were the fastest, but only a little bit faster than the 7th Graders. The 2nd Graders were a lot slower than the two older groups. We found that males were faster in every age group. Conclusions/Discussion Our hypothesis was not supported by our results, because we expected 7th Graders to be faster than adults. Reflexes seem to develop quickly through childhood (there was a big improvement from 2nd Grade to 7th Grade) and seem to keep on developing into adulthood, before it starts to decline.

Competition history

• CSEF 2009 Human Biology (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1319

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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