Human Factors and Ergonomics: Why Nobody Is Average
How bodies, minds and environments shape safe, comfortable work: body sizes, lifting, fatigue, attention, error, displays, noise, heat and risk.
Human Factors and Ergonomics · 50 questions
Try 3 questions
1. A 1950s air force study measured about 4,000 pilots on ten body dimensions. How many were near average on all ten?
- Roughly half of them
- Not a single one
- Roughly one in four
Show the answer
Answer: Not a single one
Even with a generous 'average' band, nobody fell inside it on every dimension, which is why cockpits became adjustable.
2. When setting a doorway's minimum height, which user should designers accommodate?
- A very short user, near the 5th percentile
- The average user of the whole population
- A very tall user, near the 99th percentile
Show the answer
Answer: A very tall user, near the 99th percentile
Clearances are designed for the largest users, because if the tallest fit, everyone shorter fits too.
3. The maximum distance to an emergency stop button should be set for which users?
- Long-armed users, near the 95th percentile
- Short-armed users, near the 5th percentile
- Average-armed users, at the 50th percentile
Show the answer
Answer: Short-armed users, near the 5th percentile
Reach limits are designed for small users: if they can reach it, everyone with longer arms can too.
The whole quiz comes before your apps
BrainTok asks a few questions like these before the apps you choose open, so your screen time turns into learning. For iPhone.
Join the beta