Dollar Bill Reaction Time Presentation

What is Your Reaction Time?

By: Jordan Suprise, Alex Bloch, and Carley Sommers

Materials:

• Dollar Bill
• Meter Stick
• Reaction Time Scale
• Playing Card
• Computer Paper

Hypothesis

If one person holds the top of a dollar bill, a playing card, or a piece of computer paper and drops it, then the other person will most likely not catch it due to their reaction ability and the downward force of gravity on the falling object.

Newton's Laws of Motion and Reaction Time-

The first law of motion states that "a body continues in its state of constant velocity unless it is acted upon by an unbalance force".

His law is a part of our experiement because of gravity and forces. The law relates to our experiment in many ways. The main way this relates to our experiment is gravity and force. The body continuing to move at a constant speed is the dollar bill, or other object, when it is dropping and the unbalance force is the person fingers dropping.

Greene, Nick. "Newton's Laws of Motion - Space and Astronomy Definition - Online Dictionary and Glossary Definition of Newton's Laws of Motion." Space & Astronomy at About.com. 2011. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://space.about.com/od/glossaries/g/newtlawsmotion.htm>.

Theory

These are the things that can affect the way this experiment will turn out, which includes your brain connections, how far apart your fingers are, and reaction time.

Brain Connections-

A healthy human brain holds about 200 billion nerve cells, that are like neurons, which are banded together by trillions of tiny contacts called synapses. At the synapses their electrical impulse moves along one neuron and is played back to one another.

This is true because if your brain doesn't interpret the signal that was sent when the person releases the dollar bill or other object, you won't be able to catch it immediatly.

Distance Between Your Fingers-

Many people have various differences of length between their fingers. For example, Alex has three and a half inches between her thumb and pointer finger, while I have three inches.

The distance between your fingers will determine your ability to catch the object being pulled down by gravity as someone releases it.

Reaction Time-

Reaction time is defined as the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to it. Your reaction time can also be a major factor when it comes to catching a dropped object. If you have a slower reaction time, obviously it will be harder to catch the falling object.

"Stunning Details of Brain Connections Revealed." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. Web. 26 May 2011. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101117121803.htm>.

Procedure

1. Try the dollar bill trick first

2. Then use the calibrated stick to show why it is virtually impossible to catch the dollar bill.

3. If you place the dollar bill over the calibarted stick so that Washington's face is at the zero mark, you can see that the person has about 1/8 of a second to catch the dollar bill. Few people have that capablility.

Conclusion-

Depending on your reaction time, your brain connectivity and the distance between your fingers, you might not be able to catch the dollar bill. Another reason that someone might not be able to catch the dollar bill is because of Newton's first law of motion. Some real world examples of this experiment is pitching a softball and a car slamming on their brakes. In conclusion many things affects someones reaction time in catching the dollar bill, including their brain connectivity, the distance between their fingers, and Newton's first law.

Real Worl Experiences-

• Pichting and catching a softball
• Slamming on your brakes

Picture Sorces-

http://www.myclassiclyrics.com/artist_biographies/Isaac_Newton_Biography.htm

• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/ust/sports/w-softbl/auto_action/794033.jpeg&imgrefurl=http://www.utahstateaggies.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/120106aab.html&usg=__S0Oy8-BDlAEIRNUjvdWbCvjjLfE=&h=231&w=150&sz=15&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=iuBlzwgM-OwezM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=103&ei=CwrfTZfxBerc0QHAsbSsCg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcatching%2Ba%2Bsoftball%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1516%26bih%3D710%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=764&vpy=234&dur=2940&hovh=184&hovw=120&tx=72&ty=143&page=1&ndsp=38&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0&biw=1516&bih=710
• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.marshu.com/articles/images-website/articles/presidents-on-us-paper-money/one-dollar-bill-large.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.marshu.com/articles/presidents-on-us-united-states-paper-bills-currency.php&usg=__avVWnqYqVETBDkh2Vkq8Fp8iuTk=&h=303&w=718&sz=78&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=unHY912n6c3X7M:&tbnh=102&tbnw=255&ei=ZQrfTZXjFeLV0QHikaHjCg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Ddollar%2Bbill%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1T4ADFA_enUS424US426%26biw%3D1532%26bih%3D710%26tbm%3Disch%26prmd%3Divns&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=388&vpy=127&dur=2927&hovh=146&hovw=346&tx=154&ty=89&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&biw=1532&bih=710
• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://bryanking.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/10_weird_facts_about_the_brain.jpg&imgrefurl=http://bryanking.net/10-weird-facts-about-the-brain/&usg=__Ir-lXHVi_HBRLARhDbsC-rY59mM=&h=299&w=300&sz=25&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=ixTd5VTqkF-TRM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=142&ei=lQvfTcu3G8Hc0QH6y4HjCg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbrain%2Bimpulses%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26rlz%3D1T4ADFA_enUS424US426%26biw%3D1516%26bih%3D710%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=317&vpy=67&dur=1678&hovh=224&hovw=225&tx=93&ty=137&page=1&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&biw=1516&bih=710
• http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.concealcarrymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/muscle-memory-dollar-bill.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.concealcarrymag.com/ccm-columns/features/muscle-memory-and-action-versus-reaction/&usg=__-mttv_twPGjBvreqP8PJBzIHbno=&h=174&w=300&sz=8&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=tUv__vk-HKGuKM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=180&ei=hgzfTd2aNIbd0QHAgomkCg&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dcatching%2Bthe%2Bdollar%2Bbill%2Btrick%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4ADFA_enUS424US426%26biw%3D1516%26bih%3D710%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=136&vpy=111&dur=26&hovh=139&hovw=240&tx=133&ty=88&page=1&ndsp=32&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0&biw=1516&bih=710