Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Please help...I don't know what my control group should be, if I am researching how age affects the time it takes to complete an exam.

Since you are comparing the test-taking abilities of different age groups there is no control. Your hypothesis could be that people aged 55 to 70 take significantly longer to solve test problems than people aged 25-40. On average this is true, but individuals within a group can vary a lot, so you need to test a fairly large number of people to get accurate data.

I would suggest using brain games like what are found on Lumosity. Those test speed, memory, ability to stay focused, and lots more, plus they yield a score which you can use to quantitate your results--and they are fun!. You could even have your volunteers do Lumosity games for 10 days and compare their scores at the beginning with their scores at the end to see which age group improved the most. Of course, you have to recruit people who have never done lumosity, otherwise your results will be skewed.

Sybee

Hi there,

SciB already gave some excellent advice. What is your main question, hypothesis, and experimental procedure? If you provide a little more detail, we would be able to give you more helpful advice! How many people are you planning to recruit for your study, and what age groups are you interested in testing? In regards to the exam, what kind of exam would you give them? Is it going to be an exam on a certain subject only (i.e. math, biology, etc.) or is the exam going to include many different subjects?

Post back with more details and we'll be glad to help you brainstorm more ideas!

Best,
Connie

Hi - there might be a good way to test brain 'quickness' that involves the ability to focus attention -
Look up ' Stroop Effect'. This is easily administered and fun to do.
I've used this in my anatomy lesson plans to demonstrate how the brain can be confused.
It might work for your experiment.