We think that either age 10, 11, or 13 will have the fastest reaction, as the brain is pretty similar during this time, and the brain is young and is generating and processing things rapidly. The brain at the age of 2 years is just starting to develop, and it is at the initial point of learning, whereas the brain at the age of 35 has been fully developed, and it is becoming more and more old, and the reaction time would be slow as it would take time for the brain to process what is going on in the person’s surroundings, and the brain at the age of 43 is becoming way too slow to have a faster average reaction time.

Research about 2 year old’s

• Your brain is like a sponge when you are 2 years old
• You remember faces, toys, and rhymes
• Your brain is 80% of its adult size at 2 years old
• A 2 year old’s brain is in the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development and learns by exploring the environment and using their senses and motor skills.
• Reaction time is the time it takes to respond to a stimulus, such as a sound, a light, or a touch, and depends on several factors, such as attention, perception, memory, and decision making.
• A 2 year old’s brain is still developing these cognitive abilities, so their reaction time may be slower than an adult’s, especially if they are distracted, tired, or bored.
• A 2 year old’s brain is very flexible and adaptable, and it can improve its reaction time with practice and feedback.
• A 2 year old’s brain has about 1 quadrillion synapses, which are the connections between neurons, and these synapses are constantly changing and strengthening as the child learns and experiences new things.
• By playing games that challenge their reaction time, such as catching a ball, clapping hands, and following instructions, a 2 year old can stimulate their brain and enhance their cognitive skills.

Research about 10 year old’s

• Your brain is fully developed between mid to the late 20’s
• Your brain has approximately 100 billion neurons
• At the age of 10, the brain begins to express creative skills through writing, acting, inventing and designing.
• The cells of the brain at the age of 10 begin to develop an outer cover on them, like a tree’s bark growing on the tree trunk.
• At the age of 10, the brain develops critical and abstract thinking
• Children of this age group can carry out detailed directions, make step-by-step plans to carry out complex plans, and begin to use logic and reason in problem-solving.
• In this age, kids tend to develop competitiveness.
• They also start to care about what is right and what is wrong
• Children in this age group might start to form stronger, more complex friendships and peer relationships. It becomes more emotionally important to have friends, especially of the same gender.
• Children in this age group might experience more peer pressure

Research about 11 year old’s

• The brain of an 11 year old is still developing and needs support from adults and peers
• It is about 95% of its adult size, has more synapses than an adult brain, and is in the preoperational stage of cognitive development
• It is undergoing rapid changes in the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive functions and is not fully mature until the mid-20s
• It is influenced by hormones, which affect the brain’s mood, motivation, reward system, and social and emotional sensitivity
• By providing a nurturing environment, encouraging curiosity, and fostering resilience, you can help your child’s brain grow and thrive
• Brain has 1 quadrillion synapses, the most it will ever have
• Thinking becomes more sophisticated and abstract
• Experiences, environment, and nutrition shape brain growth
• Brain development continues until age 25
• Thinking becomes more sophisticated and abstract after age 11
• Adult and teen brains work differently: adults use prefrontal cortex, teens use amygdala

Research about 13 year old’s

• The prefrontal cortex is still developing and not fully connected
• Teens may have difficulty controlling their impulses, weighing the consequences, and thinking ahead
• The amygdala (a part of your brain)is more active and sensitive in teens than in adults
• Teens may not experience more intense and frequent mood swings, and may not react more strongly to positive and negative stimuli
• The ventral striatum is also more active and responsive in teens than in adults
• Teens may seek more novelty, excitement, and social approval, and may be more influenced by their peers
• The brain is undergoing a process of synaptic pruning
• Unused or weak connections between neurons are eliminated, while stronger and more efficient connections are strengthened
• This process helps the brain optimize its performance and adapt to the environment
•  A 13 year olds brain development time is from around 10 to 11 am in the morning
• For a 13 year old their reaction time on their right hand should be 0.42 seconds
• And for the left hand their reaction time should be 0.45 seconds

Research about 35 year old’s

• The brain’s over all volume begins to shrink in between the age 35-40
• You tend to hit your cognitive maximum at around age 35.
• Chess, as an example, is a game played mostly around the age of 35, and researchers have found that the best performance abilities reach the peak at the age of 35
• Your short-term memory begins to weaken
• Starting in your 35 your brain starts becoming smaller, reducing its blood flow and pulling back on the size of its nerve network. 
• In this age, the brain is using all of it’s backed-up, or stored up intelligence in between the age of 34-42
• Scientists have found out that the “Chess skill” rapidly starts to move through childhood and adolescence, and minor changes are detectable until the age 35, where “The peak” starts, and it lasts until the age of 46.

Research about 43 year old’s

• Education: Higher education levels are associated with faster reaction time
• Smoking: Smoking can impair reaction time and cognitive function
• Dizziness: Dizziness can affect reaction time and balance
• Number of daily medications: Taking more medications can slow down reaction time
• Family history of Alzheimer’s disease: Having a family history of Alzheimer’s disease can increase the risk of cognitive decline and slower reaction time
• Hand preference: Right-handed people tend to have faster reaction times than left-handed people
• The brain shrinks from 30s or 40s, faster after 60. Frontal lobe and hippocampus shrink more, affecting memory and learning.
• Brain cells change, not die, with age. Some cell connections get stronger, others weaker. This impacts information access speed and consistency.
• Some 40-70 year olds have younger or older gene patterns. This shows brain aging is not uniform, but varies by person.
• Some cognitive skills improve, others decline with age. The brain uses both sides more for tasks that used one side before.

Our manipulated variables are the age groups

Our controlled variables are the experiments

Our respoding variable is the average reacrion time for each age group

Procedure For The Ruler Drop Test

• Find a ruler (preferably wooden).
• The person testing you has to hold your hand with a gap between your thumb and index finger near the edge of a table.
• The person testing you has to hold the ruler vertically above your hand, with the zero mark aligned with your fingers.
• Tell the person holding the ruler that  you are ready, and wait for them to drop the ruler without any warning.
• Catch the ruler as quickly as possible with your thumb and index finger.
• Record the timing with the stopwatch
• Repeat this 3 times and take the average timing

Procedure For The Online Test  

• To start the test, you need to click on the “Start Test” button on the website
• You will see a red box that will turn green at a random time. You have to click on it as quickly as you can when it turns green
• You will see your reaction time for each trial in milliseconds. The test will have different levels with different numbers of boxes and trials
• The test will measure your average reaction time
• You can do it multiple times

Procedure For The Balloon Pop Test

• Inflate the balloon and tie and a  knot at the end.
• Hold the balloon in one hand and the pin in the other.
• Ask your partner to start the stopwatch when you say “go”.
• Say “go” and pop the balloon with the pin as fast as you can.
• Ask your partner to stop the stopwatch when they hear the balloon pop.
• Record the time on the stopwatch. That’s  your reaction time.
• Then repeat the test three times and then calculate the average reaction time.

Procedure For The Dollar Bill Test

• You will need a dollar bill and a calibrated stick.
• Ask someone to hold the dollar bill vertically between their thumb and forefinger. You should position your thumb and forefinger near the bottom of the bill but do not touch it.
• Tell the person to drop the dollar bill without you knowing when. Try to catch the bill as soon as you see it falling.
• Record the timing with the stopwatch
• Repeat this 3 times to find the average reaction time

Procedure For The Naming Objects Test  

• With slideshow of pictures of common objects like animals, tools, etc.
• Put it on slideshow and let the person click next on the slides
• Ask somebody to time you with a stopwatch or a device that can record the time between each slide.
• Look at  the pictures and name the object’s as fast as you can. The person with the stopwatch should start the stopwatch when you turn over the card and stop it when you say the name of the object.
• Do this for all of the slides. Your partner should record the time for each slide and the total time for the whole slideshow.
• Calculate your average reaction 
• Repeat with different slideshows 3 times in total

What we had observed while doing the experiments, was that as we wre doing them, the average reaction time was decreasing as we were keep on doing the experiment. This resuted in the 1st average reaction time being more than the 2nd and 3rd time.

Analyzing For The 2 and 10 year old

The research that I did above talks about how the brain of a 2 year old develops, how 2 year olds learn and grow. The research contains information such as the size of a 2 year old’s brain, the number of synapses a 2 year old has, and how their reaction time may be slower than older kids, especially if they’re tired, distracted, sleepy, or bored. The text also mentions some helpful activities that can improve the child’s reaction time and cognitive skills, such as playing games like catching a ball, clapping hands, and following instructions. These activities are a great practice mostly because the child’s brain is very flexible and adaptable at this type of age.

The research that I did above talks about how the brain of a 10 year old develops, how the brain grows, and also how at that time, the brain is starting to also grow emotionally, which is why the children in that age group need friends for moral and emotional support. In the research above, I have also told how the 10 year old’s brain has developed the sense of right and wrong, has developed creative skills, has developed the perception of detailed directions, and much more

Analyzing For The 11 and 13 year old

The research that I did above talks about the brain development of an 11 year old child. It explains that the brain is still growing and changing, and that it needs support from adults and peers. It also describes some of the factors that affect the brain, such as hormones, environment, and nutrition. It suggests some ways to help the child’s brain grow and thrive, such as providing a nurturing environment, encouraging curiosity, and fostering resilience. The text also compares the brain of an 11 year old with that of an adult and a teenager, and highlights some of the differences in thinking and behavior. 

The research I did above for the 13 year old explains how a teen’s brain changes during adolescence and how this affects cognition, behavior and emotion. Some of the changes teens experience are the development of the prefrontal cortex, which helps with decision making and impulse control, and an increased amount of activity in the amygdala which is an almond shaped piece place in your brain and the ventral striatum, which are brain structures that influence emotional responses and reward seeking. The text also mentions the process of synaptic pruning, which is when the brain optimizes its performance and adaptation.

 Analyzing For The 35 and 43 year old

The research that I did above about the 35 year old talks about what changes happen to the brain after it is completely developed. In this age, the brain is stating to become smaller, and is using all of it’s intelligence in between the ages of 34-42. I have also been talking about chess, and how scientists and researchers have used this game to show how at the age of 35, the brain is at it’s cognitive peak.

The research I did above for the 43 year old explains Some things like how  your brain works faster or slower, and changes as you get older. School, smoking, feeling dizzy, taking pills, and having family with Alzheimer’s can change your brain. Some things are true, some things are not. Left or right hand and brain cells do not change your brain much. Everyone’s brain is different and some skills get better with age.I also talk about Brain shrinkage, or atrophy, is the process of losing brain cells and connections over time. It is a normal part of aging, but it affects different people and brain regions differently. 

Conclusion

To sum up, after running all of the tests, we have concluded that the fastest average reaction time is for the 10 and 11 year old, because in some of the tests we did, the 10 year old’s reaction time was the fastest, and in some it was the 11 year old’s. In addition, our hypothesis was correct, and after researching,  we have learned how the brain functions in each and every stage of the brain. Basically, the brain is pretty similar at  the age of 10 and 11. The reaction time for the 13 year old was extremely close to the 10 and 11 year old’s, with just exceeding about 2.5 to 3 seconds. The 2, 35, and 43 year old’s brain is slower than the 10, 11, and 13 year old’s brain. The reason is because firstly, the 2 year old’s brain is just starting to develop, and cannot keep up with the pace. The 35 and 43 year olds, on the other hand, start to become smaller, and also cannot keep up with the pace and speed of the younger kids. Anyways, I really hope that you have enjoyed this presentation, and that you also liked it. 

Thank you!

Future Applications

We believe that our science fair project would be used in the future to help with enhancing our knowledge about the brain, and about humans. Furthermore, our science fair can help scientists discovering unraveling facts about the bran, and more research.

Source of Errors

I believe that while performing the experiments, we may have stopped the stop watch a few seconds later, which may have resulted in a few seconds extra for the tests. In addition, we may have done some tests in the wrong way, like for the ruler drop test, we may have slightly misunderstood the procedure of the tests, and might have done it in a wrong way.

In the future, to make our science fair project outstanding, we will have more research, have a better slideshow and decorate it well. We would like to have a more better and interesting topic, which would attract the person’s attention once they will look at it, and lastly we will have more experiments and tests to have a better understanding of our topic and question.

Resources

• https://www.cgbabyclub.co.uk/toddler/years/2-3-years/your-toddlers-brain-development-2-3-years.html#:~:text=At%20this%20stage%20their%20brains,with%20the%20words%20and%20actions
• Think Fast! | Science Project (sciencebuddies.org)i
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6523365
• https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/dev.html#:~:text=The%20 brain%20reaches%20about%2080,continues%20to%20divide%20and%20 multiply
• https://www.brianmac.co.uk/rulerdrop.ht
• https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/LA/system/media_files/binaries/344/original/Calculating_the_Speed_of_Sound.pdf?1502466088
• https://homework.study.com/explanation/a-person-s-reaction-time-is-generally-not-quick-enough-to-allow-them-to-catch-a-dollar-bill-dropped-between-the-fingers-a-demonstration-of-reaction-time-is-to-hold-one-end-of-a-dollar-bill-so-that-it.html#:~:text=This%20means%20that%2C%20after%20the,be%20AT%20LEAST%200.306%20m!
• https://www.kidcentraltn.com/development/8-10-years/brain-development-ages-8-10
• https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/middle2.html
• https://www.healthpartners.com/blog/aging-brain-normal-vs-symptoms/
• https://www.verywellfamily.com/11-year-old-developmental-milestones-417192

I acknowledge all the people that have helped us with our experiments, which includes: my brother- muhammad, my friend in my class- abeeha, my dad- Asim, Isna's sister- anabia, and Isna's dad- Sohaib

We also acknowledge our moms for letting us do the experiments, and we acknowledge our ads for buying the trifolds us.