Hours spent per week by seventh and eleventh grader boys playing video games

Aim:
Does the grade of the male students affect the hours they spend every week playing video games?

Hypothesis:
It is believed that seventh graders will spend more hours per week playing video games since eleventh graders have higher academic standards and responsibilities, therefore less leisure time for this type of activities.

Variables:
Independent:
Grade the student is pursuing

Dependent:
Hours spent every week playing video games

Controlled:
Gender Examined period of time Amount of students asked

Materials:
1) Paper 2) Pencil

Method:
1) Draw the table below on a piece of paper. 2) Ask 20 male students from seventh grade how many hours they spend playing video games in a week and record it on the table. It is important that all students are male because girls dont tend to play videogames as much as boys, so this variation can lead to a lower amount of hours, which will eventually affect the results of the experiment. 3) Ask 20 male students from eleventh grade how many hours they spend playing video games in a week and record it on the table. It is obligatory to ask the same amount of students in each grade, otherwise when doing the 1

calculations the results will be altered and the outcome of the practical will not be precise (A bigger amount of students ask, means more reliable data). Finally the examined period of time (example weeks) should also be the same for both grades, since a modification could mean a bigger or smaller answer causing an error in the results. 4) Calculate the mean for each grade by adding up all the results and then dividing them by the amount students asked (in this case 20). Each grade should have a different calculation. 5) Calculate the standard deviation for each grade by entering all the results in a standard deviation calculator, which can be found online. Once again each grade should have a different calculation.

Results:
Table #1: Hours spent per week by seventh and eleventh grader boys playing video games
Seventh Graders 6.0 3.0 0.0 10.0 4.0 2.0 5.0 0.0 4.0 5.0 7.0 10.0 7.0 8.0 7.0 9.0 9.0 8.0 4.0 6.0 5.7 3.0 Eleventh Graders 2.0 3.0 2.0 2.0 5.0 6.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 2.0 2.0 3.0 3.0 2.0 6.0 0.0 2.0 2.3 1.7

Number of hours played

Mean1 Standard deviation2

1"HowtoFindthe 2"Gettingthe

Mean." HowtoCalculatethe Mean Value. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013. Standard DeviationfromYourCalculator:." Gettingthe Standard DeviationfromYourCalculator:. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Sept. 2013.

Graph #1 Hours spent per week by seventh grader boys playing video games
25 Hours spent per week playing video games

20

15

10

0 Seventh grade students

Graph #2 Hours spent per week by eleventh grader boys playing video games
18 Hours spent per week playing video games 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Eleventh grade students

Graph #3 Mean value of the hours spent per week by seventh and eleventh grader boys playing video games
Mean value for the hours spent per week playing video games 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Seven Grade Eleven

Calculations:
Table #2: T-test calculations
Step 1: Calculate the mean value for each sample Step 2: Calculate the difference in means Step 3: Calculate standard deviation for each sample Step 4: Calculate s*s/n 6+3+0+10+4+2+5+0+4+5+7+10 +7+8+7+9+9+8+4+6=114 114/40=5.7 5.7-2.25 = 3.45 2+3+2+2+5+6+2+1+0+1+0+1 +2+2+3+3+2+6+0+2=45 45/20=2.25

3.0

1.7

3*3/20 = 0.45

1.7*1.7/20 = 0.14

Step 5: Calculate ((s1)(s1)/n+ (s2)(s2)/n) Step 6: Calculate t (Step 2 divided by Step 5) Step 7: Work out the number of degrees of freedom d.f=(n1+n2)-2 Step 8: Look up the critical value of t for number of d.f

(0.45+0.14) = 0.8

3.35/0.8 = 4.2

d.f = 20+20-2 = 38

1.7

Conclusion:
This experiment confirmed our hypothesis, since we were able to demonstrate how seventh grader boys spent more hours per week playing video games than eleventh graders. The pattern in the data shows a clear difference between the two grades, starting with the year seven, in which the majority of the students spend between 6 and 8 hours per week. In the other hand, most of eleventh graders only invest between 0 and 2 hours in this activity. In general, most of the data for seventh graders is above 4, contrary to eleventh grade which the majority of the results are located below 3, meaning there is a significant difference between the two samples. The significant difference between the samples can be sustained with the T-test. This happens because the value of t (4.2) is greater than the critical value, the relevant number of degrees of freedom (1.7). The disparity between this two is considerable. Seventh graders spend more time playing video games because eleventh grade has more academic responsibilities, after all the academic year in which they are enrolled requires a higher intellectual performance therefore longer studying periods, whether it is for homework, projects, or exams. In the end it leads to less leisure time. Another important factor is the difference in the level of maturity between seventh and eleventh grade students. Older boys have other kind of priorities that the youngest are just starting to consider. This includes having a girlfriend and going to the gym. Therefore some eleventh graders spend their free time accomplishing these activities instead of playing video games. 5

Evaluation:
The practical was very successful since I was able to obtain the data required for approving my hypothesis in an optimist way. The method was clear and easy to follow. The time managing was perfect because I was able to complete it all in a very short period of time. Considering the fact that this practical was very simple, the list of materials was very condensed, so all the equipment selected was suitable for the experiment. The only error I was able to detect was related with the data, mainly because its quality was not the finest. The problem had more to do with the kind of answer we received, because it was estimation. When students got asked how many hours they spend playing video games per week they answered what they thought, an approximation to the actual number but not the real one. This may have lead to increase or decrease the quantity of the answers, creating a margin of error. The data was not accurate. Not all of the data followed the pattern; we had anomalous results which could have been a result of the issue stated above. When analyzing the seventh grade results I noticed that there were some low numbers like 0, 2 or 3, even though the majority were very high, thats why in the conclusion I used the word most of. The same happened when I was interpreting the data for eleventh grade, only that in this case the pattern were small numbers and we I found some high values like 6. For this practical is very complicated to record the time in order to have more exact results, but at the same time is not a good thing to have the margin of error. The truth is, time is a very difficult system to control when you dont keep track of it, so it would be appropriate to change the question when a further investigation is being done. Instead of asking how many hours we can say how many times, this way the data will contain an exact value and the focus of the investigation will remain the same.