Research on bones

Sunna Austmann Bjarnadóttir

and

Þórhildur Grímsdóttir

Research on bones

Sometimes we speak of a certain proportion between the body parts e.g. The ulna in the forearm of a person equals the

length of the persons feet. The distance between somebody’s neck and

the tip of his nose equals the length of his foot. The golden section can be found in the ratio

between the forearm and the hand.

Ulna and foot

First we started to measure the ulna and wrote down the results.

Then the foot was measured and compared with the measure of the ulna.

Ulna and foot

Ulna and foot

Age / gender Ulna Foot Difference

90 year old female 26 cm 25 cm 1.0

52 year old male27.5

cm 27. 5 cm 0.0

49 year old female

26.5 cm 26. 5 cm 0.0

26 year old male 28 cm 27. 5 cm 0.520 year old female 25 cm 25 cm 0.019 year old female 25 cm 24. 5 cm 0.515 year old female 26 cm 25 cm 1.014 year old female 25 cm 24 cm 1.0

Average26.1

cm 25.4 cm 0.5

Ulna and foot

The results from our research project shows that the average difference between the length of the ulna and the length the foot is 0.5 cm.

Our conclusion is that the length of the ulna and the foot is almost the same, so the saying is true.

Nose-neck and foot

We started to measure the head, that is from the tip of the nose to the neck, and wrote it down.

Then we measured the foot and compared the measures.

Nose-neck and foot

Nose - neck and foot

Age / gender Nose - neck cm

Foot cm Difference

90 year old female 26 cm 25 cm 1

52 year old male 27. 5 cm 27. 5 cm 0

49 year old female 26 cm 26. 5 cm 0.5

26 year old male 27 cm 27. 5 cm 0.520 year old female 26 cm 25 cm 119 year old female 25.5 cm 24. 5 cm 115 year old female 26 cm 25 cm 114 year old female 24 cm 24 cm 0

Average 26 cm 25.6 cm 0.6

The results from our research project shows that the average difference between the mesuraments of the head (tip of nose to neck) and the length of the foot is 0.6 cm.

The conclusion is that the distance between the mesuraments are almost the same, so the saying also seems to be true.

Golden section in the forearm and hand

Golden section is the ratio 1,618. It can be f.ex. Found in nature, buildings and the human body.

The ratio between the Fibonacci numbers 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21… is the golden section.

Here we were looking for the golden section by comparing the measures between the forearm and the hand.

Golden section in the forearm and hand

1,618 :1

Golden section in the forearm and hand

Age / gender

Hand cm Forearm cm

Golden section ?(1.618; Forearm/Hand)

90 year old female 18 cm 26 cm 1.4452 year old male 20 cm 27.5 cm 1.3849 year old female 19 cm 26.5 cm 1.3926 year old male 20 cm 28 cm 1.4020 year old female 17. 5 cm 25 cm 1.4319 year old female 18.5 cm 25.5 cm 1.3215 year old female 17 cm 26 cm 1.5314 year old female 17. 5 cm 25 cm 1.43

Average 18.5 cm 26.1 cm 1.39

Golden section in the forearm and hand

The results from our research project shows that the average difference between the length of the forearm and the hand is 1.39.

Measurements can be inaccurate and it is easy to make the wrong measurement. If the average length of the ulna is 26.1 cm the forehand needs to be 16.15 cm for the Golden section to be true

The Golden section was not to be found in the ratio between forearm and hand in our research so our conclution is that we might have done something inaccurate in our measures. To say that the saying is not true we would have to do this part of the research again.

Thank you!

Maths is everywhere

Comenius project

October 2012