GAC013 AE1 Draft: Scientific Investigation and Report
Do Males and Females Have
Different Abilities When
Estimating Size?
Student’s Name: Wonsuk Kim
Student ID#:
Teacher :
Elmer Kang
Due Date:
12 July 2012
Word Count:
1081
Table of Contents
Abstract ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 1
1. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................. 1
2. Methodology ............................................................................................................................................................................ 1
3. Results ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
4. Discussion .................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Appendix ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Reference List ................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
GAC013 AE1
Wonsuk Kim
(No Student ID#)
Abstract
This scientific report investigates whether there is gender difference in estimating measurements
between genders. The hypothesis is that females are better at estimating measurements. The
experiment was done on 10 males and 10 females. There were 3 different kinds of experiments
covering the ability to estimate length, area, and weight. The results showed that females did better on
all three experiments. However, because these experiments were done on a very small number of
subjects, the validity of the results is questioned.
1. Introduction
Men and women are psychologically different in many aspects because of difference in certain
features of their brains. Among the many differences is the difference of estimating measurements.
The purpose of this experiment is to know whether there is difference at estimating among genders.
The hypothesis is, females are better at accurately estimating length, weight, and area than males.
2. Methodology
Three methods were used to test the estimating abilities of twenty subjects. The subjects were
comprised of 10 are males and 10 females. The three methods shown tell the difference in estimating
among genders in a variety of areas. Those three methods each cover experiments on length, area, and
weight. The experiment on length was done by showing the subjects two sticks, one being small and
the other longer one being 6 times longer than the small one. Then, the subject was to guess how
many small sticks can add up to make the length of the long stick. The number difference of sticks
from the answer was then recorded. If the subject chose 6 sticks as the answer, then he or she gets
zero for the difference from the answer. The same was done with area, which asked subjects to guess
the amount of small rectangles that can fit into the big square. Then, the number difference of
rectangles from the answer was recorded. If the subject chose 50 rectangles as the answer, he or she
got it correct. For the last experiment on weight, each subject was to hold one of the five bottles in a
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GAC013 AE1
Wonsuk Kim
(No Student ID#)
bag. Those five bottles contain different amount of water. With their eyes closed they were asked to
remember what they held. After that, the five bottles were taken out of the bag. Finally, the subjects
were told to select from the five bottles what they thought they held before. The difference of weight
between the bottle that was chosen in the bag and then the bottle chosen outside of the bag was then
recorded. If the same bottle was chosen, the weight difference was recorded as zero.
3. Results
According to the results, it was generally identified that females were better at estimating
measurements than males on all three methods. For the experiment on length, the average of length
difference with the answer for females was 3mm, whereas, the average for males was 5.4mm. Then,
for the experiment on area, the average difference of rectangles from the answer for females was 8.7
rectangles, whereas, the result for males was 9.1 rectangles. For the last experiment about weight, the
average difference from the answer for females was 4mg, whereas, it was 5mg for males. Another
notable fact about the experiment was that there were more correct answers for females than males. 13
out of 30 results for females were correct, however, 10 out of 30 results for males were correct.
Difference from answer
Weight(mg) Length(mm) Area(rectangles)
Female1
20
6
0
Female2
0
3
18
Female3
10
0
10
Female4
0
3
16
Female5
0
0
18
Female6
0
6
10
Female7
10
0
5
Female8
0
3
10
Female9
0
6
0
Female10
0
3
0
Average
4
3
8.7
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GAC013 AE1
Wonsuk Kim
(No Student ID#)
Difference from answer
Weight(mg) Length(mm) Area(rectangles)
Male1
10
6
41
Male2
20
12
10
Male3
10
3
9
Male4
10
0
12
Male5
0
9
4
Male6
0
3
10
Male7
0
6
5
Male8
0
6
0
Male9
0
6
0
Male10
0
3
0
Average
5
5.4
9.1
4. Discussion
The experiment confirms the hypothesis that females are better at accurately estimating length, area
and weight than males. The hypothesis was made due to an assumption that females are better at
connecting information inside their brains. According to Zaidi from King Saud University, females
have more white matter in their brain than males. The white matter is in charge of communication
between different parts of the brain. If the communication between different parts of the brain were to
be better, analyzing data was thought to be done in a more efficient way. The results of the experiment
did have females as being better at estimating the three categories that were presented.
However, according to Leeson from the Southern Cross University, he indicated that no significant
results were found that determined the difference of estimating measurements between males and
females by testing on young students. According to all the research done in the experiment, he noticed
that girls only did poorly than boys when they had a competition like atmosphere. This is when the
students were given multiple choice questions or when they were pressured by time. However,
excluding those situations, no difference was found. Even the strategies that were used by both
genders were similar.
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GAC013 AE1
Wonsuk Kim
(No Student ID#)
The result that Leeson got was very different from the result that was drawn from this experiment.
Leeson did an experiment on 84 to 244 students which is a significant difference from the number of
subjects that the experiment done by this report had. Meanwhile, this report had only 20 subjects,
which is very small. Moreover, the experiment done on areas with rectangles had one male subject
who did very poorly on estimating compared to other subjects. Excluding the result by this one male
subject, the males did much better on estimating area than females, having only 5 errors as the
difference between the answer while women had an average of 8.7. So, no actual significance between
the genders in estimating could be found. That is because female subjects did better in length and
weight, but male subjects excluding one person did better on area, making it hard to determine a
notable result.
The effectiveness of this research is far from beign notable. The main reason is because of its lack of
subjects. It really didn’t have much effect on earning any other special information. To emphasize,
even though the experiment confirmed the hypothesis of this experiment, it is not reliable due to the
number of subjects.
5. Conclusion
To summarize, the experiment turned out to be supporting the hypothesis. The result showed that
females are better at estimating than males. If there really were a difference in estimating skills
between males and females, it could have been used for further studies on the difference of brains
among genders. If the result that is attributed by this report is valid, there can be some part of the
female brain that is bigger or more efficient than that of a male. However, according to Leeson’s
research, it seems that there might not be much further studies that can be derived from trying to
figure out the difference in estimating skills between females and males.
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GAC013 AE1
Wonsuk Kim
(No Student ID#)
Appendix
Average Difference From
Answer in Each Category
Females
Males
8.7
4
5.4
5
Weight(mg)
9.1
3
Length(mm)
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Area(rectangles)
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GAC013 AE1
Wonsuk Kim
(No Student ID#)
Reference List
Leeson, Neville. “Investigation of Gender Differences Among Year 6 Students when Estimating
Measurements.” Southern Cross University. Southern Cross University, (n.d.). Web. 4 July 2012
Zaidi, Zeenat F. “Gender Differences in Human Brain: A Review.” The Open Anatomy Journal.
Volume 2. (2010): p.37-55. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, King Saud University,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Web. 4 July 2012.
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