Gender-Specific Effects on Tympanic Temperature of a Cohort Sample of 15 to 16 Year Old High School Students

Written and presented by Rebecca Choi, Jessica Chung, and Justin Jinwon Lee of Fairmont Preparatory  Academy in Anaheim, California — awarded Best High-School Student Paper at the 2013 Measurement Science Conference in Anaheim.

Our experiment consisted of two studies. First we compared two different (based on prices) tympanic thermometers found at local pharmacies, to find the most precise one.  The second part applied that finding to question if there is a difference in tympanic temperatures between fifteen-or-sixteen year old boys and girls. The first study aims to educate the public about which ear thermometer is most precise. The second part of the experiment is designed to recognize a difference in body temperature between 15 to16 year old boys and girls, if there is a distinction.

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