Reflexes and reactions are two different ways that the human body responds to external or internal stimuli. Reflexes are involuntary and send a message only through the spinal cord to act on a stimuli without any intervention from the brain. For example, sneezing is a reflex as it is an attempt to rid the body of possibly harmful particles (external stimulus) from entering the body. Another example would be immediately pulling the hand away after touching a hot (external stimulus) pot. All of these reflexes are used to immediately protect the body from what it perceives as a harmful stimulus whether it be a hot pot or a ball flying toward the face. Since reflexes respond to an “imminent danger”, they must react quickly and therefore do not
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A reaction is therefore voluntary, as a person must make a conscious decision to perform a task. For example, deciding to put on a sweater because of the cold weather would be a reaction. During a reaction, receptors on sensory neurons send an electrical impulse all the way up to the spinal cord. Then, the spinal cord passes the information onto the correct lobe of the brain which processes the stimulus and how to respond to it. Next, the interneurons transmit the message to motor neurons which travel to an effector in the desired spot of the body and conduct an action. In general, since the route of a reaction is longer, a reflex will be slightly faster. Humans have an average reaction time of .17 seconds for an auditory stimulus, .15 for a tactile stimulus, and .25 for a visual stimulus. Of course, this response time can be decreased by practice and increased by drowsiness, age, and alcohol consumption.This experiment will test an auditory reaction and a tactile reflex using using an accelerator to sense the time of stimulus and an EKG sensor to sense the time of response in different situations to determine whether a reflex is really faster than a reaction. This experiment will measure the effects of a tactile reflex and an auditory reaction on the response time using an accelerator to sense the time of stimulus and an EKG sensor to …show more content…
Figure two, referring to the same test subject this time for the reflex experiment, shows that the average time of stimulus was 4.92, while the average time of muscle contraction was 5.06. This totals to an average of .18 seconds for a reflex action to occur. This data shows that test subject one’s difference between reaction and reflex time was .16 seconds, with the reaction time being faster than the reflex. In a new test subject, reaction time was tested and the average time of stimulus was ____ seconds while the average time of muscle contraction was ____ seconds, making an average of ____ seconds reaction time (Figure ____). Figure _____, referring to the same test subject this time for the reflex experiment, shows that the average time of stimulus was ___, while the average time of muscle contraction was ____. This totals to an average of _____ seconds for a reflex action to occur. This data shows that test subject two’s difference between reaction and reflex time was ____ seconds, with the ____ time being faster than the ____. Test subject one’s results contradict the hypothesis and general knowledge of response times because it shows that the reaction time was faster than reflex. It is possible that the test results were skewed by swinging wires, malfunctioning
A reaction is therefore voluntary, as a person must make a conscious decision to perform a task. For example, deciding to put on a sweater because of the cold weather would be a reaction. During a reaction, receptors on sensory neurons send an electrical impulse all the way up to the spinal cord. Then, the spinal cord passes the information onto the correct lobe of the brain which processes the stimulus and how to respond to it. Next, the interneurons transmit the message to motor neurons which travel to an effector in the desired spot of the body and conduct an action. In general, since the route of a reaction is longer, a reflex will be slightly faster. Humans have an average reaction time of .17 seconds for an auditory stimulus, .15 for a tactile stimulus, and .25 for a visual stimulus. Of course, this response time can be decreased by practice and increased by drowsiness, age, and alcohol consumption.This experiment will test an auditory reaction and a tactile reflex using using an accelerator to sense the time of stimulus and an EKG sensor to sense the time of response in different situations to determine whether a reflex is really faster than a reaction. This experiment will measure the effects of a tactile reflex and an auditory reaction on the response time using an accelerator to sense the time of stimulus and an EKG sensor to …show more content…
Figure two, referring to the same test subject this time for the reflex experiment, shows that the average time of stimulus was 4.92, while the average time of muscle contraction was 5.06. This totals to an average of .18 seconds for a reflex action to occur. This data shows that test subject one’s difference between reaction and reflex time was .16 seconds, with the reaction time being faster than the reflex. In a new test subject, reaction time was tested and the average time of stimulus was ____ seconds while the average time of muscle contraction was ____ seconds, making an average of ____ seconds reaction time (Figure ____). Figure _____, referring to the same test subject this time for the reflex experiment, shows that the average time of stimulus was ___, while the average time of muscle contraction was ____. This totals to an average of _____ seconds for a reflex action to occur. This data shows that test subject two’s difference between reaction and reflex time was ____ seconds, with the ____ time being faster than the ____. Test subject one’s results contradict the hypothesis and general knowledge of response times because it shows that the reaction time was faster than reflex. It is possible that the test results were skewed by swinging wires, malfunctioning