Finding out whether indivi
duals who prefer morning perform better on a chosen dexterity test and vice versa in the evening took PLC student Madeline Hine on an interesting journey.
It was one that led Madeline to win the title of “Senior Scientist of the Year” at the PISCE Science Investigation Awards held recently at UNE.
Madeline’s study involved participants completing a morning/evening questionnaire to group them into morning and evening categories. Participants in the study completed three trials of the dexterity test in the morning and three trials in the afternoon. The results of Madeline’s study indicated that participants grouped as morning people exhibited higher levels of dexterity in the morning and the evening people exhibited higher levels of dexterity later in the day.
“I enjoyed the atmosphere of the competition,” said Madeline.
“It was so interesting to see the topics and quality of the other posters.
“It was great discussing and explaining your experiment to other competitors and seeing what they had to say about it.
“The variety of experiments was extensive and it was engaging listening to other students speaking so passionately about their projects.”
PLC students Eliza Scott and Hannah-Lee Hourigan also received ‘High Achiever Awards’. Hannah’s research project was based on the idea of which drink was the best heart stimulant. She tested Red Bull, Powerade, coffee, lemonade and water.
“I was amazed at just how much the heart rates varied,” said Hannah
“There was a significant difference in results for each drink, especially coffee.”
Eliza’s project involved investigating whether a specific genre of music affects how quickly a task is completed and how accurate it is.
“I discovered that rock music was the music to listen to if you want to work quickly. However, all the testers got 100 per cent accuracy for no music, even if it took longer to complete,” Eliza said.
The Science investigation awards are just one element of PISCE national program to build relationships between school students, local scientists and employers in Primary Industries. The science students presented their projects and were interviewed as part or the experience.
