Comparing Hand-Eye Coordination of Seventh and Third Graders
Researched by Ryan K.  2003-04	PURPOSE HYPOTHESIS EXPERIMENT DESIGN MATERIALS PROCEDURES RESULTS CONCLUSION RESEARCH REPORT  BIBLIOGRAPHY  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  ABOUT THE RESEARCHER

The purpose of this experiment was to compare the hand-eye coordination of third graders with seventh graders.

I became interested in this idea when I was driving my radio control car and I started wondering why I was worse at driving it than my older brother was.

The information gained from this experiment can be used by coaches and insurance companies. Coaches can choose better players and the insurance companies can charge younger drivers more for insurance if it is proven that they are less coordinated.
 
 

My first hypothesis was that the seventh graders would make fewer mistakes on average than the third graders when driving through the course. 

I based my first hypothesis on the information gained from speaking to Debbie Sheppard, the Registered Occupational Therapist at my school. She said, “As you grow, your hand-eye coordination usually gets better because you usually play more sports.”

My second hypothesis was that the seventh graders would drive the car through the course at a faster speed on average than the third graders.

I based my second hypothesis on several observations. Many seventh graders spend several hours a year playing video games that are car races or chases. I think they have practiced turning accurately and driving quickly so much more than third graders that this training will improve their scores.
 
 

The constants in this study were:
* The testing environment
* The course the car was run on
* The radio controller used for the experiment
* The radio control car for the experiment
* The battery condition of the car
* The battery condition of the controller
* The amount of time given to each subject to practice
* The experimenter’s script read to each subject as directions
* Number of trials for each subject

The manipulated variable was the average age of the subjects.

The responding variables were the amount of mistakes made by each subject and the time taken to navigate the course. 

To measure the responding variables I tallied the mistakes and I measured the time taken to navigate the course with a digital stopwatch. 

1. Hand out and collect parent permission slips to three seventh grade classes and three third grade classes to gain subjects.
2. Make a course outlined with masking tape on a flat, hard surface (such as flooring) using the blueprint as a guide.
3. Accompany the first subject to the testing area.
4. On the data collection sheet, record the subject’s age, gender and name.
5. Read the experimenter’s script aloud to the subject as instructions.
6. Then, give a short demonstration to the subject on how to operate the radio control car.
a. Show how the controller works
b. Answer any questions the subject has
7. Let the subject practice driving the car for about two minutes.
8. When the subject is done test-driving the radio control car, set up the test.
a. Set the stopwatch
b. Put the radio control car at the start of the course
c. Hand the controller to the subject
9. Wait for the subject to state that they are ready by saying “ready” then the experimenter says “go” and starts the stopwatch.
10. While the subject drives through the course, tally the number of mistakes made, on the data collection sheet. (A mistake is any time the wheel of the car touches the tape or goes outside the tape.)
11. When the subject reaches the end of the course, stop the stopwatch.
12. Record the time it took the subject to drive through the course and the amount of mistakes on the data collection sheet.
13. Repeat steps 8-12 one more time with the same subject.
14. Thank the subject for their time and escort them back to their classroom to get another subject.
15. Repeat steps 3-14 with all the other subjects being tested.
16. Erase all names from the data sheets.
17. Average the scores for each test group.
 
 

The original purpose of this experiment was to compare the hand-eye coordination of third graders with seventh graders.

The results of the experiment were that the seventh graders’ average time was 28.5 seconds and their average number of mistakes was 3.5 errors. The third graders’ average time was 57.4 seconds and their average number of mistakes was 7.7 errors.

See the table and graphs below.
 
 

My first hypothesis was that the seventh graders would make fewer mistakes on average than the third graders when driving through the course.

The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted, because it took the seventh graders half as much time on average as it took the third graders.

My second hypothesis was that the seventh graders would drive the car through the course at a faster speed on average than the third graders.

The results indicate that this hypothesis should be accepted, because the seventh graders made half as many errors on average as did the third graders.

Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if there truly is a difference between girls’ and boys’ hand-eye coordination, as my data appears to suggest. On a completely different note, I realize that the speed of my test car could affect student performance. I now wonder what radio control car shape and brand is the fastest and most accurately controlled.

If I were to conduct this project again I would make the course a bit easier. I observed that it was much too difficult for the third graders.  I would try to find a task for my subjects to complete that none of them would have practiced before the experiment. I would also test many more subjects in each age group.
 

RESEARCH REPORT Introduction Hand-eye coordination is important for human success and survival in the world today. If we didn’t have good hand-eye coordination we couldn’t do a lot of things like type, play most sports, write, dial a phone accurately, or drive. Surgeons wouldn’t be able to perform delicate surgeries and construction workers wouldn’t be able to swing a hammer or make cuts accurately. Hand-eye coordination makes a big difference in our lives.  It affects all of us.   The Human Brain The human brain is what controls the entire body. It is constantly receiving information from the senses about things inside the body and outside it. It is a grayish-pink, jellylike ball with many ridges and grooves on its surface. It is about the size of both a persons fists together. A system of blood vessels provides the brain with the vast supply of oxygen and food that it requires. The brain uses about 20 percent of the oxygen used by the whole body when at rest and the brain can only go for three to five minutes without oxygen before serious damage occurs. The brain is at the upper end of the spinal cord. The spinal cord is a cord of nerve cell that carries messages between the brain and other parts of the body. Also, 12 pairs of nerves join the brain directly to certain parts of the body.    Reflex A reflex is an unconscious action done by an animal. For example, if you touch a hot stove your hand automatically withdraws. It is a reflex. It involves contraction of the flexor group of muscles and the relaxation of the opposite extensor group. But if the pain is strong then the coordinating nerve cells pass to the arm muscles and also the muscles of torso and legs which makes you jump, not only moving your hand but your whole body.    The Nervous System The nervous system is a system inside the body that allows an animal to adjust to changes in its environment. The nervous system in vertebrates is made up of the brain, the spinal cord and the nerves. The nervous system in invertebrates varies from a simple net of nerves to an extremely organized system of nerve cords and a brain. The nervous system provides passageways by which information travels to a person’s brain from their surroundings. The brain then sends instructions to various muscles using other passageways so that the body can respond to the information. Billions of nerve cells or neurons make up the nervous system. Nerves are made up of cordlike bundles of neuron fibers. The nerves form a group of passageways that guide information rapidly throughout the body.   The Eyes The eyes are a major part of hand-eye coordination. They see much around us. However the eyes don’t really see objects. They actually see the light that the objects reflect or give off. The light rays enter the eyes through transparent tissues and the eyes change the rays into electrical signals that are sent to the brain, which interprets them as visual images.   The eyelids protect the front of the eyeball and the eyelashes protect from dust and other things that might get into the eye. The conjunctiva is a membrane that lines the inside of the eyelids and extends over the front of the white part of the eye that produces mucus that wets the eyeball. It also helps clean the eyeball by making tears.  The innermost layer of the wall of the eyeball is the retina. It is very fragile. Light-sensitive cells in the retina absorb light rays and change them into electrical signals. There are two types of light-sensitive cells, rods and cones, and they were named after their shape. The retina for each eye has about 120 million rods and about 6 million cones, so about 126 million light-sensitive cells!   Radio Control Cars Radio control cars are always wire-less and usually have a controller, which has steering controls for the car attached to the radio transmitter. The transmitter sends a signal through a radio frequency to the receiver in the car.    Mazes Mazes are complicated and confusing paths that are also called labyrinths.  In Greek mythology Daedalus built the Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete as a prison for the Minotaur. Today mazes are used as toys or amusements and for testing skill in problem solving. According to The World Book Encyclopedia, “Psychologists use mazes in experiments to test the reactions of animals.” Most of these experiments are related to learning.    Summary Hand-eye coordination is important for human success in almost every thing they do. In fact it affects our ability to survive in our complex world. Without good hand-eye coordination our job and daily living skills would suffer. Hand-eye coordination affects all of us in many ways.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Barth, Daniel S. “Reflex Action.” World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2001. CD-ROM. Chicago, Illinois. World Book Inc. Barrett, Susan L. It’s All in Your Head. MN, Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing Inc, 1992. pp. 6-7, 15 Edelson, Edward. The Nervous System. New York, Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991. pp. 57 Goldberg, Morton F. “Eye.” World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2001. CD-ROM. Chicago, Illinois. World Book Inc. Hansen, William F. “Labyrinth.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 1998 Kanouse, David. “Reflex.” Encarta. November 18, 2003. MSN. “Maze.” The American Heritage Student Dictionary. 1994 Stevens, Charles F. “Nervous System.” World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2001. CD-ROM. Chicago, Illinois. World Book Inc. Tyson, Jeff. “How Radio Controlled Toys Work.” February 2, 2004 <http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/rc-toy.htm/printable.>

I would like to thank the following people for helping make my project possible:
* My parents for supporting me and making me go to all the late class to work on my project.
* My sister for coming to all of the late classes with me and making me work at them and for doing her project with me.
* My brother for never letting me complain and for always helping me when I needed it.
* All of the seventh grade teachers for letting me take their students during class time.
* Mrs. Clifton for letting me leave her classroom so many times during the experiment.
* Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Steiner for letting me talk to their kids and for letting me take third graders during their class time.
* All the people at Lince Elementary School for letting me use the Lecture Hall.
* Mrs. Edinger for letting me use her radio control car for the experiment.
* Mr. Newkirk for pushing me to get done with my experiment and for never letting me goof off.
* Mrs. Helms for taking me to Lince Elementary School to test the third graders, for helping during class and late classes and for supervising do my experiment.
* All of the students I tested for letting me test them and for trying to do well.
 
 

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