Young Scientist to be crowned today after another year of inventive projects
The BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition will announce the winning project at the RDS this evening.
The winner will receive a cheque for €7, 500, as well as a chance to represent Ireland in the EU Contest for Young Scientists.
Among the 550 projects was one which looks at the impact of 'sledging' on a GAA player's performance.
It was carried out by Joe Sweeney from Salesian College in Pallaskenry in Limerick, and he got the opinions of some high profile GAA players.
"It was really interesting to talk to these sportspeople, they would be role models to some, and it was really nice to get their opinions on it, it was really nice just to talk to them and to get their support," he said.
It was really interesting to talk to the referee; I really did enjoy that conversation.
"I enjoyed doing the experiment and it's nice to be up here and it's a nice experience," he said.
Eoin Matthews and two classmates from Cistercian College Roscrea in Tipperary looked at the impact of different music genres on athletic performance.
One of those tested was classical music, which Eoin says did not fare as well as the rest.
"There's a big dip in results when it came to classical music because with the EDM music and the rap music, it's all words and upbeat and high tempo, whereas with classical it was all slow...and it was a complete dip," he said.
Another project found that people who watch an episode of a TV show every week will recall more about its content than those who binge-watch.
Roisin Gleeson from Le Cheile Secondary School in Blanchardstown in Dublin carried out the study with two classmates, and said studying for exams is a similar concept.
"It's the same concept as studying," she said, "so if you study in parts over a long period of time you're able to recall it more times and that makes your brain retain it for longer than if you were to study it over an hour and cram everything in".
