Biology 111
Laboratory: #1 Name:
Title: The Scientific Research Method: The Dominant Thumb Experiment with Regard to Individual’s Handedness

1. Abstract

The experiment was to determine if there is a relationship between thumb dominance and hand dominance. The experiment involved people to clasp their hands together and then seeing if the thumb of the dominant hand would overlap the thumb of the non-dominant hand. The research showed that there is no correlation between being one-handedness and having the same thumb dominance. There could be other factors that may influence the thumb dominance based on which portion of the brain an individual use more (whether they are right or left-brain), possessing particular alleles genes, or by having dominant or recessive traits.

2. Introduction
A Background Information

About 90% of the world’s population is people who are right-handed, and the remaining 10% is filled with left-handers (Price, 2009). Particular genes known as “alleles” can influence the handedness of a person either through inheriting dominant or recessive allele (Port, 2007). There has also been research of how “brain lateralization”, which is the hemispheres of the brain, is utilized more by either left or right-handers (Holder, 2005).

B Purpose

This experiment will verify when hands are clasped together, if there is a relationship between the dominant hand and which thumb will be on top of the other thumb. The main issue of concern is to test and find out whether the inherited trait of being either handedness will influence another trait or behavior.

C Hypothesis

Based on my own experience that I am right-handed and my left thumb is on top when my hands are clasped together, it is hypothesized that there is no correlation between which thumb is on top and the hand dominance when the hands are clasped together.

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