Physics Project Abstract
THE EFFECT OF PRACTICE ON ELBOW FLEXIONS
Presenters:
Sarah Baker, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506; zaharia@imsa.edu
Natalie Look, Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, 1500 West Sullivan Road, Aurora, IL 60506; abnjl@imsa.edu
Mentors:
Dr. Daniel Corcos, University of Illinois at Chicago, Kinesiology, 1919 W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL 60607
Janey Wilding, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1919 W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL 60607
Abstract:
In this research, we performed two experiments. The first examined the effect of practice on peak movement velocity of elbow flexions performed from different starting elbow angles. The second explored the effect of practicing at one starting angle on movements performed at each of the other starting angles. The hypothesis for experiment one was that the relationship between velocity and starting angle would be retained across practice, and for experiment two, that practice at the slowest angle would not affect the relationship between velocity and starting joint angle. In experiment one, nine subjects practiced three blocks of movements within one session starting from four different elbow angles. In experiment two, one subject practiced 45 blocks of movements over three experimental sessions at the slowest starting joint angle, determined from the results of experiment one. Results from experiment one revealed that movements made from the most extended arm position were significantly slower than movements made from more flexed positions, and that practice at each of the angles did not change this velocity-angle relationship. Results from experiment two are still pending. In conclusion, it appears that short amounts of practice can affect movement speed but cannot overcome the velocity-angle relationship. Results from experiment two will allow us to see if extended practice can affect this relationship.