Phase 0 Exam
Learning How to Learn Quant Material - Phase Exam
15 interleaved questions drawn from every lesson in this phase. Interleaving mixes topics on purpose - that difficulty is what builds durable, transferable understanding. Aim for 70%+ before advancing; below that, revisit the flagged lessons.
How this exam teachesQuestions are shuffled across lessons (not blocked by topic) so you practice choosing the right idea. Missed questions are added to your review queue automatically.
Q1 EasyYou have been staring at a proof for 15 minutes with no progress. The evidence-based next move is to:
Push harder in focused mode until it yields
Reread the chapter from the start
Deliberately disengage and let diffuse mode work, then return
Look up the full solution immediately
Q2 EasyTwo groups spend equal time on the same material. Group A rereads; Group B self-tests. On a delayed exam:
Group A wins - more exposure
Group B wins - retrieval strengthens memory
They tie
Depends only on IQ
Q3 EasyThe key feature that separates deliberate practice from merely accumulating experience is:
Total number of hours
Targeting specific sub-skills at the edge of ability with immediate feedback
Natural talent
Studying in groups
Q4 MediumThe Swets & Bjork (1988) Army-commissioned review examined parapsychology (‘psi’) and concluded:
It reliably works and should be trained
There was no scientific justification / evidence was unpersuasive
It works only for officers
The topic was too classified to assess
Q5 EasyThe main mechanical benefit of notation fluency is that it:
Makes proofs shorter
Frees working-memory slots for reasoning instead of decoding
Eliminates the need for definitions
Guarantees correct answers
Q6 MediumChunking primarily improves problem-solving because it:
Increases the raw size of working memory
Compresses many steps into one retrievable unit, freeing working-memory slots
Removes the need to understand why steps work
Replaces the need for practice
Q7 MediumInterleaving typically LOWERS in-session accuracy but RAISES delayed-test accuracy because it:
Reduces total practice
Trains you to select the right method, not just execute a known one
Removes desirable difficulty
Works only for motor skills
Q8 MediumMental representations help experts primarily by:
Enlarging raw working memory
Letting them perceive a problem’s structure and plan, holding meaning instead of raw symbols
Eliminating the need for feedback
Making talent unnecessary to define
Q9 EasyIn the six-level rubric, a technique that has been TESTED and FAILED belongs at:
Level 1 (strong support)
Level 3 (context-dependent)
Level 6 (unsupported/contradicted)
Level 4 (historically interesting)
Q10 MediumA bidirectional flashcard set for a formula includes, at minimum:
Only symbol→meaning
Only meaning→symbol
Both concept→equation and equation→concept
A copy of the textbook page
Q11 MediumWhich study habit most reliably produces the illusion of competence?
Closed-book retrieval practice
Interleaving problem types
Rereading and highlighting until material feels familiar
Spacing reviews over days
Q12 MediumIn an SM-2 style scheduler, a FAILED recall causes the interval to:
Grow by the ease factor
Stay the same
Reset to ~1 day
Double
Q13 MediumThe most valuable field in an error log entry is usually:
The date
The cause of the error (concept vs method vs algebra vs misread)
The problem number
How long it took
Q14 Medium‘This appears in an official U.S. Army report, so it must be effective.’ The flaw is:
The report is fake
Official review is evaluation, not endorsement - and several reviewed techniques were judged ineffective
The Army never studies performance
Reports are always correct
Q15 MediumStudying \(\subset\) and \(\in\) together on one card is an example of:
Blocking
A minimal pair to sharpen a confusable distinction
Massed practice
Visual association