Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi all - Wondering if this is really a science project as my 2nd grader wants to prove that his which hand can perform better....and he wants to use his Takewon do skills....writing skills, etc...
Any help here appreciated.
The topic came from my child saying one of my hand can hold more than other hand....so which one perform better?
Thanks in advance.

Hi,

I moved your question to the social sciences forum, hopefully someone there knows more about this topic than us physicists!

Keith

Thanks Keith. My bad. I should have thought this before.
So far my son is gathering some good stuff for the record keeping.
Sincerely,

Hi,

Have you thought about testing reaction times with your two hands? One really good way to test reaction times is to drop a ruler between the index finger and thumb of another person, who is told to grab it as soon as possible. You can then measure directly how far they let it drop. You should probably test each person multiple times, since there will be some variation in the results (the first time they may not do as well because they really don't know what to expect, etc.).

You could do this with both hands with a variety of people, both right-handed and left-handed, and see if one hand performs better than the other (and whether or not that varies with handedness).

Hi nmehta,

It depends what hand is more dominant to the other side. It also depends on what activity your student is doing. I prefer dropping a ruler from 6 inches away from hand. Then drop it and catch in hand and measure the differences of the opposing hands. Hope this sort of helped.

Hi,
My suggestion is to play a video game and try it with your right hand and then with your left hand. You can always document the number of targets one hits and how much time a person takes to complete his game. Another variation would be to see if girls/boys can be better with their right hand or left hand. I hope this helps.

Take care,
Jay

Hi there,

The other experts have already given you some great suggestions and advice. I just wanted to point out that your son should decide what aspect of "performance" he wants to examine - reaction time, dexterity (as for writing), or strength. As other experts have already mentioned, a person's dominant hand has a very large influence on this. If your son works with multiple people for this project (which I highly recommend), it will be important to note which is the dominant hand for each person.

Reaction time can be tested with the ruler drop.
Dexterity can be tested with a writing exercise or video games.
Strength can be tested with something called a hand dynamometer, which you may be able to access through a school.

Let us know if you have more questions!

Heather