
Text Color and Reading Comprehension
Medium
Does the color of printed text change how well you understand what you read? You give 20 participants the same essays printed in four ink colors. The colors are:
- Black
- Red
- Blue
- Green
Each person reads one essay per color and answers 10 questions. Black text produces the highest scores. Green text produces the lowest. The gap between black and green is more than 20 points out of 100.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that participants’ comprehension of essays printed in black text on white paper is at its highest.
Science Concepts Learned
Reading Comprehension
How well you grasp printed text can shift based on something as simple as ink color. Twenty participants read the same essays printed in four colors: black, red, blue, and green. Each person reads one essay per color and answers 10 questions afterward. Black text produces the highest scores. Green text produces the lowest. The gap between the two is more than 20 points out of 100.
Method & Materials
You will give 10 boys and 10 girls the same essay to read, but in different colors. Then you will see if the color of the text affects how well they understand it.
You will need a personal computer, a color printer, white paper, 10 male students age 12, 10 female students age 12, a stopwatch, a quiet examination room, and an assistant to help coordinate the tests.
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See what’s includedResults
The results showed that the students were able to best comprehend the essay printed in black. The most difficult colored text to read and understand was green.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it shows how the color of text can affect how well someone understands it.
Also Consider
To improve the reliability and accuracy of our results, a larger sample of participants should be used. This science fair project may be repeated, this time, with participants of a different age group.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.Related videos
These videos explain the science behind this project and demonstrate key concepts used in the experiment.
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