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Essay on Biology Ia

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IB Internal Assessment
Investigation of arm span-height ratio in relation to proportionality of measurements
Introduction
This study was designed in order to determine the accuracy of the proportion of man as outlined in The Vitruvian Man (1940) by Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci’s renowned drawing was based on the Roman architect Vitruvius’ description of man. Vitruvius stated that, “For if we measure the distance from the soles of the feet to the top of the head, and then apply that measure to the outstretched arms, the breadth will be found to be the same as the height.” The ratio in question is the arm span to height ratio, specifically for Asian-descent males. The accepted unit of measurement for this study is the centimeter (SI …show more content…

Although the gender remains constant, the geographical and cultural origin of the subject has changed, which becomes another factor. Furthermore, the technology being used by modern scientists with that of da Vinci’s time are erratically contrasting, hence the error of measurement could have been greater for him.
Materials
* 10 Asian-descent male subjects * Pencil * Paper * Measuring tape/ meter stick * Calculator/Laptop

Method 1. Ask each subject to remove shoes and socks and stand straight. 2. Using a measuring tape or meter stick, measure from the base of the foot to the highest part of the body, excluding hair. 3. Note down the height. 4. Ask the subject to extend their arms horizontally as widely as possible. 5. Measure from the tip of the left middle finger to the tip of the right middle finger, excluding nails. 6. Note down the arm span. 7. Repeat for all subjects until ten heights and ten arm spans are measured.
Results
Subject | Height(cm) | Arm span(cm) | 1 | 177.8 | 177.5 | 2 | 176.53 | 176.5 | 3 | 172.72 | 172.6 | 4 | 175.26 | 175 | 5 | 152.4 | 152.5 | 6 | 161.29 | 161.3 | 7 | 162.56 | 162.5 | 8 | 168.91 | 169.1 | 9 | 165.1 | 165 | 10 | 173.35 | 173.2 | 11 | 156.21 | 156 |

The values, as stated above, are in centimeters. As seen in the table, the values of height range from 152.4 to 177.8 cm. The values of arm span range

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