Experimental Design Outline:

1. Question (2 marks)
Please pose 2 or 3 questions related to the above scenario and reaction
times. Please
chose one of these questions to design your experiment for. Please indicate
which question
you will be investigating by circling it.
a) What are the effects of sugar combined with caffeine on human reaction
times for a visual stimulus?
b) What are the effects of sugar on human reaction times for a visual
stimulus?
c) What are the effects of caffeine on human reaction times for a visual
stimulus?
2. Hypothesis (1 mark)
Please state the hypothesis for your experiment.
If a test subject consumes caffeine, then his reaction time will be quicker.
3. Independent Variable (1 mark)
Please state the independent variable for your experiment
The independent variable is the amount of caffeine consumed by a test
subject.
4. Dependent Variable (1 mark)
Please state the dependent variable for your experiment.
The Dependant variable is the reaction time of the test subject (for a visual
stimulus).
5. Controlled Variables (2 marks)
Please identify 4 possible variables that you may need to control in your
experiment.
a) Daily intake of calories
b) Daily intake of water
c) Amount of sleep
d) Type of caffeinated food/beverage being consumed
6. Control Group (1 mark)
Please identify your control group.
People consuming 0 milligrams of caffeine per day.

7. Data Collection and Presentation (5 marks)

Please create a tidy, well-organized data table (use a ruler) for your
experiment
that includes a proper title. Please note that table titles go above tables and
should
be descriptive such as "Table 1. The Effect of Various Amounts of Nitrogen on
Tomato Plant Growth Rates". (1 mark)
Please make up data for your experiment. You may choose whether this
data will
support or refute your initial hypothesis. (1 mark)
Table 1. The Effects of caffeine on human reaction time for a visual
stimulus.
Milligrams of caffeine
0
80
160
240
320
400
480
560

Humans reaction time for a visual

stimulus (seconds)
0.26
0.26
0.255
0.25
0.24
0.23
0.222
0.20

Please graph your data on the grid below. Please ensure that the
independent and
dependent variables are graphed on the correct axes and the axes are
correctly
labeled with titles and units of measure. Please note that graph titles go
below
graphs and should be descriptive such as "Figure 1. The Effect of Various
Amounts
of Nitrogen on Tomato Plant Growth Rates". (3 marks)

0.3
0.26

0.25

0.26

0.26

0.25

0.24

0.23

0.22

0.2

0.2

0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0

80

160

240

320

400

480

560

Humans reaction time for a visual stimulus (seconds)

figure 1. The Effects of caffeine on human reaction time for a visual
stimulus.
8. Data Analysis and Communication (2 marks)
Please state a conclusion based on your data. Please note that a
conclusion should
remind the reader of the initial hypothesis and should state whether the data
supports or refutes the hypothesis.
Through observing the data collected, we can conclude that the effects of
caffeine do quicken human reaction times for a visual stimulus. However, this
change is minimal.

 Please suggest a further question related to this experiment that may be

addressed
in future investigations.
For future investigations I suggest that the effect of caffeine combined with
sugar be tested.