How Do Ears and Eyes Help Us Balance?
This project studies the effects of spinning on the body that can cause dizziness. Students are particularly focused on researching the inner ear and the vestibular system. Students need four people, an office chair that spins, a large room, a stopwatch, soft ear plugs for each volunteer, paper and a pen. One person is spun in the chair, one person is the observer and in charge of the stopwatch, and two people are responsible for spinning the chair. For each test, the volunteer keeps his eyes closed and wears his earplugs. The volunteer must use his thumbs to indicate the direction he feels he is moving, continuing to move his thumbs when the chair stops. Once the chair has stopped, ask the volunteer to open his eyes and record the eye movements, how long they last and in what direction they are moving. Each volunteer should experience three tests: spin with a gradual stop; spin with a quick stop; and spin with a quick stop, with eyes open and ears unplugged. Create a chart for each vo
