Section B — Coach Brain — Attention and Focus
This section covers Chapter 2, Lessons 2.1 through 2.4.
Part A — Vocabulary (20 points, 2 points each)
Select the best answer for each question.
1. Attention is best defined as:
A) A trait you either have or don't have B) The brain's process of selecting one signal out of many and holding it long enough to use it C) The same as memory D) A type of intelligence
2. Top-down attention is:
A) Attention pulled by a loud noise or flashing screen B) Attention you direct on purpose — choosing what to focus on C) Attention that always fails D) Sleep
3. Bottom-up attention is:
A) Attention you direct on purpose B) Attention captured by something external — a noise, a flash, a notification — without you choosing it C) The same as memory D) Always good for you
4. Dopamine is:
A) A type of food B) A neurotransmitter strongly involved in motivation, reward, and learning what is worth paying attention to C) A type of muscle D) A vitamin
5. Variable reward is:
A) A reward you can predict B) A reward that comes unpredictably — most powerful at capturing attention (the design behind slot machines and many apps) C) A type of bone D) Always a good thing
6. A notification is:
A) Always urgent and important B) A push from an app or device designed to grab your attention — often timed and worded to trigger dopamine release C) The same as a memory D) A type of food
7. Task switching is:
A) Doing two tasks at exactly the same time perfectly B) Switching attention from one task to another — carries a measurable cognitive cost, including time to refocus C) The same as multitasking, which is real D) A way to be more productive
8. Attention residue is:
A) Food left on a plate B) The mental "leftover" from a previous task that continues to take up attention after you switch — slowing the next task C) A vitamin D) Always positive
9. Deep work is:
A) Working underground B) Sustained focused work on a hard task without interruption — produces the best learning and output C) Light multitasking D) The same as napping
10. Self-control in attention is:
A) Punishing yourself for bad attention B) The ability to choose what to focus on, and to return to a chosen focus when distractions pull you away C) Always working perfectly D) The same as being silent
Part B — Concept Comprehension (20 points, 2 points each)
Select the best answer for each question.
11. Attention happens primarily in which brain region?
A) The heart B) The prefrontal cortex (with help from other regions) C) The hippocampus only D) The lungs
12. Dopamine spikes most strongly in response to:
A) Predictable, scheduled events B) Unpredictable rewards that arrive at variable intervals C) Sleep D) Mathematics
13. Apps and social media are designed to capture attention because:
A) Designers like middle schoolers B) Companies make money when you spend more time on the platform, and variable reward + notifications + scrolling feeds are designed to keep you engaged C) Phones have minds of their own D) Apps cannot be designed at all
14. "Multitasking" is mostly not what people think it is. In real brain science, what people call multitasking is usually:
A) Two things happening in parallel with no cost B) Rapid task switching, which carries cognitive cost and attention residue C) Sleep D) The same as concentration
15. A study session is more effective when:
A) Your phone is buzzing on the desk in case anyone messages B) Distractions are reduced and the brain can sustain attention on the task C) Music with loud lyrics plays at top volume D) You constantly switch between five subjects
16. Research has observed that checking a phone during study:
A) Improves recall later B) Reduces both the time spent on study AND the depth of learning, because of switching cost and attention residue C) Has no effect at all D) Helps memory consolidate
17. Coach Brain at Grade 7 says the goal is not to:
A) Understand the science of attention B) Throw your phone away forever C) Recognize how apps capture attention on purpose D) Build attention as a skill
18. Attention training (like deliberately practicing focused study or meditation) is:
A) Useless for middle schoolers B) Possible — attention is a skill that can be strengthened with practice, like learning an instrument C) Only for adults D) Impossible because attention is fixed
19. The phrase "your phone is not your friend during study" is a way of saying:
A) Phones are evil objects B) During focused work, a phone in reach is designed to interrupt you — putting it out of sight or off helps your study work better C) You should never use a phone D) Phones are not real
20. Coach Brain's main message about attention is:
A) You are bad at paying attention and should feel guilty B) Attention is a real process you can understand, train, and protect — and apps are designed to compete for it C) Attention is impossible to control D) Only adults can pay attention
Part C — Application (30 points, 6 points each)
Write 2-4 complete sentences for each question.
21. Explain the difference between top-down and bottom-up attention. Give one example of each from a typical school day.
22. Why does variable reward — like an unpredictable notification — capture attention more strongly than a predictable, scheduled event? Use the word dopamine in your answer.
23. A student is trying to study for a math test while their phone is face-up beside them. Every few minutes a notification arrives. Using the words task switching and attention residue, explain why this approach makes studying take longer and produce less learning.
24. A friend says, "I'm great at multitasking — I can do homework, watch TV, and text at the same time." Based on what Lesson 2.1 taught about multitasking and the brain, what is really happening, and why is the friend's claim probably mistaken?
25. Suggest two specific practices a middle schooler can build to protect their attention during study time. For each, briefly explain why it works in terms of the chapter's science.
Continue to Section C — Coach Sleep.