Blog 1-Reaction time

I was stuck at home the whole weekend since I was sick, SOOOO I ended up playing with my dogs quite often.  When I got really bored I tossed each of them a kibble.  My dogs are pretty old (10 and 13 years old), so they aren't very well coordinated.  

However, I got to see the difference in their reaction times.  I think I kinda proved that dogs take after their owners, because I have a pretty slow reaction time, and so do my dogs.  I accidentally hit my smaller dog in the head a couple of times because her reaction time was so slow! XD

There were several physics concepts at work in this example.  The velocity and distance that the kibble traveled differed.  Often times, when my dogs were farther away, they would catch the kibble.  However, when they were closer, they had less time to react, and they either missed the kibble or got hit by it.  Also, the speed at which I tossed the kibble affected their reaction time.  If I threw it quickly when they weren't looking, they usually missed the kibble.  However, if I threw it lightly and they were looking at me, they caught it (most of the ti

me).

The image at the top shows the speed of one of my dog's reaction.  She sees the kibble coming at her, yet she did not open her mouth quickly enough to catch it.  (This one hit her in the head.)

The picture at the bottom is my smarter yet older dog.  He knew that it would be easier for him to catch the kibble if he sat farther away.

No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.