Lexi Grubbs, Amanda Bucklew, and Isabella Haberstock

Walk the Line Report

Intro

An ability that causes great debate is whether or not humans can walk in a straight line

without using visual aid(s) as point of reference. In this experiment, the main objective was to

determine how feasible this task is. There was quite a bit of information that we had to take into

account while preparing our experiment, including the test subjects' states of mind. The width of

the course was designed to ensure that the person walking would not feel crammed by the looming

onlookers. The length was to keep walkers from feeling under-accomplished in their walking if

they were to score low. It was also recommended that participants walk in his or her own casual,

comfortable position, such as how they would walk if they were going to class, and center himself

or herself at the starting point. Additionally, each subject participated twice so that he or she could

truly get a feel for what the experiment entails, and each person's distances were averaged to get a

final distance value for each person. They were stopped once their foot came into contact with the

line as this signifies that they were no longer walking in a relatively straight line. We also had to

have the rest of the group members closely watch to see when someone touched the line to get the

most accurate distance that we could.

Procedure

1. Measure a three-foot width for the path and mark the starting line with tape

2. Put a piece of tape to mark the center point of the starting line at one and a half feet

3. Place tape down the length of the hallway to make the walking path for about 60 feet

4. Do not put a finish line in case the person who is walking goes farther

5. Label every one foot on the tape to make data collection easier
 6. To prepare for having a person walk:

 Let them align themselves in the center of the starting line before blindfolding

them

 One person should be walking on either side of the person walking to see where

they walk outside the path

7. When the person's foot first touches the tape line, stop them and measure the distance that

they walked from the top of the foot that touched the line

8. Have each person repeat the walking process twice and record each distance

9. Average the two distance values for each person and use these values for all of the

following calculations

Data

Distances (in inches)

362 487 482.75 563 145.5

293 819.5 385.75 230 270
Calculations

Sample size: n = 10

Degrees of freedom: df = n – 1 = 9

Mean of the sample: x̄ = 403.85

Standard deviation of the sample: s = 194.5033276

Critical value: tc = invT(.975,9) = 2.262157158

Margin of error: E = = 139.1392983

Confidence interval: (x̄ - E, x̄ + E) = (264.7107, 542.9893)

Conclusion

Through the carrying out of this experiment, it can be concluded that taking away sight

reduces a person's ability to walk in a relatively straight line. If the experiment was to be conducted

again, faults in the procedure could be avoided by placing noise-cancelling headphones on

participants. This way, they would not be able to hear any sounds in the area, and as a result, could

not use them as a point of reference. It was also difficult to get accurate distances because for

many of the trials, the person walking moved their foot after they touched the border line. Both

sound and measurement methods could have slightly skewed any results. To increase the success

of the experiment, we also could have performed more than two trials per person or increased the

sample size to produce more accurate results.