Science Fun

Reaction Time Human Body Science Experiment

In this fun and easy human body science experiment, we’re going to explore and investigate reaction time. 

Materials:

  • Dollar bill
  • Friend

Instructions:

  1. Hold a dollar bill vertically between the thumb and forefinger of one of your hands.
  2. Now with the opposite hand, position your thumb and forefinger near the bottom of the dollar bill.
  3. Release the dollar bill. You should be able to easily catch the dollar bill.
  4. Now have your friend hold the dollar bill vertically between their thumb and forefinger.
  5. Position your thumb and forefinger near the bottom of the bill but do not touch the bill.
  6. Instruct your friend to drop the dollar bill without you knowing when this will occur.
  7. You may find it much harder to catch the dollar bill.


 

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How it Works:

Since you are controlling when the dollar bill will drop during the first test, you can anticipate the fall and easily catch the bill. In the second test it is much harder because now your eye has to capture when your friend drops the bill and then send a nerve signal from your eye, to your brain, and then to your finger muscles. This happens in milliseconds but the difference can be visualized in the extra difficulty involved when attempting to catch the bill dropped by your friend. 

 

Make This A Science Project:

Try dropping smaller, larger, longer, and shorter items. Try a blindfold and using a bell to signal when the item has been dropped. 

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