4. Experiment:
● WHY DOES NASA MAKE SPACESUITS LONGER THAN
NECESSARY FOR THE BODYLENGTH ON EARTH?
● In order to answer this question we made an
experiment with our bodies: we measured ourselves
both standing up and lying down. We used a scale to
measure our mass, and a yardstick to „measure“ our
length.
5. • Put one measuring tape on the wall and one on the table.Work very accurately.
Measure all the pupils of your group, both standing up and lying down. Make sure
you measure to the millimeter!
• Read the mass of every pupil on a scale.
• Put the mass and length in the table.
• Compare the results by calculating the percentage difference. (Keep in mind the
bodylength and the mass of the pupil.)
Description of the experiment
6. Results and
conclusions Belgium
Name Bodymass
(kg)
Bodylength-
standing up
(m)
Bodylength-
lying down
(m)
Percentage
difference
Lore 65 1,67 1,69 0,02
Eline 58 1,70 1,74 0,04
Caressa 54 1,73 1,74 0,01
Frie 58 1,61 1,63 0,02
In space your bodylenght is longer:
- the muscle mass supporting the astronaut's spine increases
- the discs between the vertebrae are thinner because they aren't
compressed by the vertebrae, this is called "spinal unloading".
7. Italian results and conclusions:
NAME BODYMASS (Kg) BODYLENGTH
STANDING UP (m)
BODYLENGTH
LYING DOWN (m)
PERCENTAGE
DIFFERENCE
A 49,3 1,63 1,64 0,61%
B 49,8 1,69 1,70 0,59%
C 65,5 1,72 1,73 0,58%
D 71,8 1,76 1,77 0,57%
● If you lie down, your bodylength is longer than when we stand up.
● If your bodylength is longer, the percentage difference in bodylength is lower.
● If the mass is bigger, the percentage difference is lower.
● In the universe the gravity force is lower than on Earth, so the discs of the spine are
less compressed and become thicker so that the length of the spinal column is bigger
and the astronauts are taller.
8. Reflection of the
experiment (Belgium)
• We didn't know the answer of the
experiment before we did it.
• As we compare the conclusion with
Agnese and Caterina than we can
conclude the same.
● Comparison
(Itay)
● Comparing the results, we
can notice that in both
cases the percentage
difference is bigger when
the mass is lower, and we
are „taller“ when we lie
down, because of the
gravity. Sometimes the
difference between the
bodylengths is evident, but
sometimes, when the mass
of a body is bigger, it is not.
●
