Doodles as personality indicators, pond pollution and how music affects driving are some of the issues under scrutiny at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition this week. Claire O'Connell reports.
Conor Bredin (16) and Conor Molloy (15) from St Clare's Comprehensive in Leitrim looked into the science of graphology. Inspired by an article in a popular science magazine, they surveyed the copy and text books of their schoolmates for telling doodles, and they asked fellow transition-year students to provide writing samples that they compared against personality profiles.
Bredin insists that nine out of 10 times they could spot a lie in a piece of writing: "The person loses spontaneity, they would have to stop and think about the lie and you see bigger spaces between words and sloppier writing," he says. Molloy says the project has changed his view on graphology, which he now sees as a valid approach.
Ruth Fitzpatrick (17) and Amy Murphy (17) from Muckross Park College in Donnybrook looked at a problem close to school - water pollution in Herbert Park. They found that water-fowl and the bread thrown to them raise phosphate and ammonium levels in the park's pond. "One waterfowl can produce a third of a pound of phosphates a year," says Amy.
The two fifth-year students built an experimental filter system that reduced levels of suspended solids in the pondwater, but say it would be impractical to filter the pond and recommend better water circulation as well as with control of the wildfowl population.
Blaring music is the usual driving accompaniment for many, but a group from Loreto College in Dublin showed that choice of genre could have a profound effect on the journey's outcome. Transition-year students Jennifer Moloney (13), Clarissa Galligan (14) and Mary Moyles (14) set up a driving simulation experiment that tested the ability of older teens to drive with various types of music in the background. "We had seen media reports of teenage crashes in the media and that prompted us to ask whether this could be having an effect," said Jennifer.
The students used a PlayStation-based steering-wheel and pedals to gauge driving competence, said Mary. When they compared the effects of background music on driving scores, classical music had the least impact while rock tended to distract the most. They found boys scored better on tests overall but girls were more careful drivers over longer time periods, says Clarissa. Jennifer said: "You wouldn't think your choice of music could end you up in a car crash."