Module: Cardiovascular

Shazam!

Grades: 3-5

By: Margaret Young and Kelly Greene

NASA Ames Research Center-Principal Investigator: Dr. Pat Cowings

Overview

Shazam! is one of three related Stellar activities in which students imagine they are astronaut trainees and do "astronaut" performance tests that would help them function if they became dizzy or got motion sickness during space flight:

Shazam!-reaction time; test of how quickly they can react to a given stimulus. They react as quickly they can to catch a falling stick.

Smart and Snappy-dexterity; test of dexterity with non dominant hand. Students pluck a rubber band as fast as they can.

Mannequin Madness-spatial recognition; test of their ability to distinguish left from right.

Students first conduct the test under optimal conditions: healthy and rested. They conduct the test again after simulating stressful conditions of an astronaut during a "space mission." This is similar to how astronauts train themselves to be aware of their body's natural response to stress and to stay calm, alert, and focused under extreme conditions that exist on a real space mission.

Key Questions

• How do NASA scientists prepare astronauts to react quickly under stressful conditions?
• What basics skills do astronauts use?
• How is your reaction time affected when you are asked to operate under stressful conditions?
• Can you train yourself to react as quickly under stress as under optimal conditions?

Time frame

Preparation: 15 minutes.

Conducting the experiments: Two 50 minute periods preferably on consecutive days.

Discussing the results of the experiment: 15 minutes

Materials

For the whole class:

• set of large number cards marked 1, 2, and 3 (the cards should be large enough to read from the back of the classroom)

For each group of 6 students:

• 3 rulers, meter sticks or yardsticks (alternatively use paint sticks with number lines attached)
• 1 Shazam! data sheet
• 1 pencil

Getting Ready

Review the section "Background for Teachers" at the end of this document.

Gather the materials before beginning the activity.

Classroom Activity

1. The purpose of the study. Tell the students they will be doing some astronaut training exercises. In this study, students try to minimize their reaction time to an auditory and visual stimulus. Define stimulus as something which causes a response. Ask, "Why would astronauts need to respond quickly and accurately when asked to do so? Can you imagine a scenario where an astronaut receives a stimulus and has to respond as quickly as possible?"

2. Demonstrate a response time test. Ask a student to come up and hold the top of a meter stick (or paint stick with numbers). Hold your hand as if you were about to grasp the bottom edge (near the "0" mark) of the meter stick. Ask the student to let go of the meter stick whenever they are ready. Tell the class that you will try to catch the meter stick as quickly as you can as soon as you see it start to fall. Conduct the test as a demonstration. Read the number on the meter stick that is just below the bottom edge of your hand. Explain that this number gives you an indication of how quickly you respond to the fact that the meter stick is falling. Ask, "What is the stimulus and response in this experiment?" The stimulus is the dropping of the meter stick while the response is your grabbing of the meter stick. Explain that you want to respond as quickly as possible by grabbing the stick as soon after it starts to fall as possible.

3. Demonstrate using the number cards. Ask three students to stand in front of the class, and assign them a number, 1, 2 and 3. Three more students come up and face the first three, so they cannot see the class. The three students facing the class hold meter sticks. The others get ready with their hand ready to grab at the bottom edge of the meter stick. When all are ready, flash one of the three number cards for 3 to 5 seconds so the students holding the meter sticks can see the card. After the card has been held up for five seconds, give the auditory cue by shouting, "Shazam!" The student with the number corresponding to the number on the card releases their meter stick. The test subject must grab the meter stick as quickly as possible. Ask the student who released the stick to note and record the last number on the stick that has passed the bottom of the test subject's hand to indicate the subject's response time. Explain that this number will be recorded after each number card is flashed. Explain that you will flash the number cards in random order, so the test subject has to be ready in case theirs is the meter stick that is dropped.

4. Explain how astronauts train. Explain that astronauts train with constant feedback of their physical response (breath rate, heart rate, perspiration, etc.) to the stress they are experiencing while being tested for reaction time. This awareness of their body's response to stress helps them minimize the negative effects these responses have on their performance. While you will not have the constant biofeedback that astronauts do, you may still be able to improve your reaction time by focusing on staying relaxed, breathing at a normal rate, and staying alert while your reaction time is being tested.

5. Students conduct the tests. Divide the class into teams of six. Each team will have three test subjects and three stick droppers/recorders numbered 1, 2, and 3. Distribute data sheets, pencils, meter sticks to each group. Arrange the teams so stick droppers can see the number cards and test subjects cannot. Encourage the students to stay focused and in control, so they can maintain a high performance level under the most stressful conditions. Flash the number cards one by one in random order allowing students time to respond and record the response time. (Optional: To eliminate anticipated responses by test subjects whose letter card was not flashed, and to make the test more challenging, use a silent hand signal instead of calling, "Shazam!" when it is time to drop the sticks.)

6. Trade roles. After each number card has been flashed at least three times, ask each team to trade roles with their partner so that each student has a chance test their reaction time.

7. What did the tests show? Ask, "Did your response time decrease as you tried the test several times? What factors do you think influenced your response time? What do you think is the best way to reduce your response time?"

8. Effects of stress. Ask the students to imagine that they are astronaut trainees and scientists. Explain that astronauts train to stay calm and to be aware of their body's natural response to stress. This allows them to remain calm, aware, and in control under extreme conditions that exist on a real space mission. Tell the students that they will conduct the tests again, but under some stressful circumstances to be like the stress of space flight.

First, conduct a brainstorm session in which students make up ideas to create more stressful situations for test subjects in the classroom. Some possibilities are to conduct the test: while very hungry or full, at the beginning or end of the day, after spinning around in circles, after strenuous physical exercise, after waking up, while someone is calling your name repeatedly, after taking a difficult test. etc. Then divide the class into groups and have them pick one of the ideas for stress (such as spinning around in circles) and do the tests as described as described in steps 5 and 6, after the test subjects have acted out the chosen form of stress. Have them record the results.

Wrap-up Session

1. As in step 7, have the students think about what the tests showed. Ask, "How did the stress affect "astronaut" performance? What do you think is the best way to improve performance?"

2. Explain that a similar test conducted at NASA uses a computer. There are three boxes on the screen marked 1, 2, and 3. When a light flashes in one of the boxes, the test subject must press the appropriate number key 1, 2, or 3 on the keyboard to match the number of the box that is lit.

The tests that the students conducted were intended to simulate the tests conducted by NASA researchers. Ask the students, "In what ways is our version of the test similar to the one conducted at NASA? In what ways is it different? How do you think the differences between your experiment and the one at NASA affected your results? Could you think of another way to test your reaction time? Can you think of any way to change your test procedure to more closely simulate the test procedure used by NASA researchers?"

3. Explain that since many astronauts get motion sickness during the first few days of space flight, research at NASA is helping astronauts to minimize the decreased mental and physical performance that accompanies motion sickness.

Ask "What other tests might we try to help our classmate astronaut trainees get ready for tip-top performance in space?" If you wish to continue "astronaut training" activities, add to the list of ideas the ones from the companion activities in this module: Smart and Snappy-dexterity; test of dexterity with non dominant hand where students pluck a rubber band as fast as they can; and Mannequin Madness-spatial recognition-test of their ability to distinguish left from right.

More Activity Ideas

1. Graph your progress over numerous trials of the test. What is the shortest reaction time achieved in your class by any student? How many other students were able to match the shortest reaction time?

2. Conduct the test using other classes as test subjects. Does the age of the test subject make a difference in their reaction time? Can your teacher of another adult beat the reaction time of the fastest students in your school?

3. Create a fictional story of an astronaut (or any person) who must respond quickly to a stimulus. Describe the stimulus the astronaut receives and their response to that stimulus. Are there any stressors the character in your story experiences at the time the stimulus is received? Is the character in your story able to respond quickly enough for the situation they are in? What are the consequences of their response (or lack of response)?

4. Brainstorm stimuli that you experience in your everyday life. What are ways you respond to those stimuli? Are there any stimuli that you receive that require a quick response? What are the consequence s if you do not respond quickly enough? How can you shorten your response time in everyday life?

Background for Teachers

Prerequisites:

Students must be able to hold and release a meter stick or ruler.

Students must be able to read a number line and record data collected during the experiment.

Vocabulary:

· stress- a physically or mentally disruptive influence.

· stressor-anything that causes stress.

· response-a reaction made to a specific stimulus

· stimulus -anything which causes you to react. The plural of stimulus is "stimuli"

Skills:

· collecting, recording and analyzing data

· responding quickly to a visual and auditory stimulus

· understanding and using the scientific method.

Concepts:

Many variables affect an individual's response time. Astronauts are expected to respond quickly and accurately under extremely stressful conditions. In order to assess an individual's response time under stress, the researcher must first determine how quickly the test subject is able to respond under optimal circumstances. The researcher may then create a less than optimal condition in which to conduct the test again. An individual may learn to decrease their reaction time by practicing under stressful conditions. Also, by staying calm and being aware of the body's response to the stressful situation, an individual can develop skills that reduce the negative impact of extreme stress on their reaction time.

Additional Background information:

A variety of tests are used by NASA researchers to assess an astronaut's response time. Likewise there are a wide variety of stressors that could potentially decrease an astronaut's response time during a space mission. Because so many astronauts experience motion sickness during space flight, researchers at NASA focus on reducing the negative impacts being dizzy and nauseous has on an individual's performance. The subject might be asked to perform a test after being shaken up or spun around in a special chair, or after taking medicine to counteract the motion sickness but with side effects such as drowsiness.

The test conducted at NASA has three boxes on a computer screen. Each box is numbered with a 1, 2, or 3. With the subject's dominant hand on the 1, 2, and 3 keys of the computer, the subject quickly presses a number that matches the visual cue, a sudden light in one of the boxes. In the original version of the test, there was a visual and auditory cue. The latest version eliminates the auditory cue. In the tests conducted a NASA a .22 second response time was the quickest. That is a response time of less than a fifth of a second. Theoretically this is as fast as a human can possible respond to a given stimulus.

One of the most important aspects of this astronaut training is the use of biofeedback. Researchers find that being aware of physical responses to a stress, such as increased breath or heart rate, sweating, or unnecessary muscle tension, can greatly reduce the negative impacts of stress on the individual's response time.

Editing by: Gregory Steerman, Alan Gould, Lawrence Hall of Science