School Paper Ideas

Measuring the reaction time

Another idea is to measure the hand reaction speed of various students by age, sex, rank, size, etc. The measuring device could be mechanical with input into a laptop, or the data could be manually entered into a computer. You would need a switch to be held down by the subject, a random light or sound that would signal the subject to react, another switch that the subject must activate, and a timer to measure the reaction time. Part of the project could be writing a computer program that analyses the data.

The problem with reaction tests on martial artists is that they strike with great force, especially when trying to move quickly, so they will hit the reaction switch very hard. This means the switch will have to be rugged. Using key pushes on a laptop will not work because the laptop will get damaged.