Can listening to Mozart help a hamster solve a maze faster? You split six hamsters into two groups. One group listens to Mozart for 12 weeks. The other hears no music at all.
After the listening period, each hamster runs a cardboard maze to find a sunflower seed. You time each run once a day for 10 days. The Mozart group hears music for the first five days. During the last five, the music stops.
The Mozart hamsters finish the maze faster than the silent group on every day of testing.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that hamsters exposed to Mozart's music are able to complete a maze more quickly.
Outside factors can change how quickly a maze path is learned. Six hamsters were split into two groups — one listened to Mozart for 12 weeks, the other heard no music. After the listening period, each hamster ran a cardboard maze to find a sunflower seed, once a day for 10 days. The Mozart group finished faster than the silent group on every day of testing.
Outside factors can change how quickly an animal learns new things. You split six hamsters into two groups: one listens to Mozart for 12 weeks, while the other hears no music at all. After the listening period, each hamster runs a cardboard maze to find a sunflower seed, timed once a day for 10 days. The Mozart group hears music for the first five days; during the last five, the music stops. As a result, the Mozart hamsters finish the maze faster than the silent group on every day of testing.
When an animal learns to repeat an action that leads to a reward, outside factors can speed up or slow down that learning. Six hamsters were split into two groups: one listened to Mozart for 12 weeks, the other heard no music. After the listening period, each hamster ran a cardboard maze once a day for 10 days, with a sunflower seed as the reward at the finish. The Mozart hamsters finished faster than the silent group on every day of testing.
Method & Materials
You will make a maze using cardboard, glue, and masking tape, and then divide the hamsters into two groups. One group will listen to Mozart for 12 weeks, and the other group will not. Then, you will time how long it takes each hamster to complete the maze.
You will need 6 hamsters, sunflower seeds, cardboard or old carton boxes, scissors, duct tape, glue, a stopwatch, and a meter-long ruler.
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The results showed that the hamsters that listened to Mozart were able to solve the maze more quickly than the hamsters that were not made to listen to any music.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it tests the power of music to enhance brain power.
Also Consider
Experiment variations could include testing different kinds of music like pop, rock or heavy metal, or other classical composers like Bach, Chopin or Mendelssohn. You could also substitute the hamsters with white mice.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.
