Head To Hand Ratio Lab Report

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In many species, the offspring are just smaller versions of the adult species. However, in humans drastic growth is observed. Newborn humans, as compared to adults, are helpless when they are born. In other mammals, the offspring are born ready to go off into the world. Humans must go through many changes in size and stature before they can fend for themselves. In this experiment, the group measured the different ratios of human body parts. The results were measured by using yardsticks and comparing the measurements to those of a newborn child. The group hypothesized that if humans are allometric, then the head to hand ratio would be different, and if humans are isometric, then the head to wingspan ratio would be the same.The experiment showed …show more content…

The wingspan ratio for the adults was roughly 1:1. In isometry, it states that the body parts must be proportionate. This shows that in relation to the head to wingspan ratio, humans are nearly isometric.
The height to hand ratio for adults was nearly 1:9. The height to hand ratio for the adults was almost a 1:8 ratio. For a human to be allometric, the body parts must be shown to not be proportionate. Thus, the observations show that the height to hand ratio is definitely allometric.
Discussion
The results support the hypotheses with moderate success. If humans are isometric, then the height to wingspan ratio will remain proportionate as shown in the data. If humans are allometric, then the head to hand ratio will change drastically. In future studies it would be an improvement to include a larger subject size for more accuracy. While this could conclude that humans are mostly isometric, there is a lot of room for error. The test could be expanded to include other mammals or species of animals. The differences between isometry and allometry might be a factor in determining how humans have evolved through

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