Brain DeCoded with CodeX - Mission 3, Objective 6: Reaction Time!
Mission 3 · Objective 6 Lesson Plan
Reaction Time!
The mission finale. Students build a memory and reaction test, take it themselves, then run it through five brain states to see what sleep, stress, and sedation do to their own scores.
⏱ 45-70 min
🎯 Grades 8-12+
💻 CodeSpace
🎮 CodeX
⚡ Reaction Test
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Overview
This is the payoff for the whole mission. Every objective so far has simulated what something does to brain chemistry. Here students build reaction_time, take a real memory and reaction test themselves, and then see how their own score would shift under five different brain states.
The five objectives before this one add up to the answer. Sleep, a dopamine boost, and stress can all sharpen response time. Too little sleep, sedation, and stress can all blunt it, and stress landing on both lists is worth pausing on.
Most of the program lives in a custom module, so the code students write is short. The new Python here is Boolean logic: defining a Boolean variable, looping while it is true, and assigning one from a function's return value.
🎯 Project Goal: Students add code to a program that tests their reaction time and memory.
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Learning Targets
- I can explain how different brain states affect how quickly we respond.
- I can code and run a program that includes a memory test and reaction test.
- I can observe and record the results of the test with different scenarios.
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Key Concepts
- Some factors that can positively affect brain function and response time are getting enough sleep, a dopamine boost, and sometimes stress.
- Some factors that inhibit brain function and response time are not getting enough sleep, sedation, and sometimes stress.
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Assessment Opportunities
- Turn in the Activity Guide.
- Complete the program reaction_time.
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Success Criteria
- Complete the CodeTrek steps
- Program runs correctly without errors
- Activity Guide is completed
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Digital Resources
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Classroom Materials
- ▸CodeX device and USB cable, one per student
- ▸Laptop/computer with Chrome browser
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Extensions & Cross-Curricular
ExtensionTest the sleep connection directly. People who do not get enough sleep have a lot of trouble remembering things. Run the memory and reaction test, then ask the person to recall the order of the buttons from the memory test after the reaction test is over. See how much they remember, and record the results.
MathGraph the data from the simulations. Make predictions. Develop equations that explain the patterns.
Lang ArtsSelect one of the scenarios. Write a story about a student in that scenario and how their memory and reaction times are affected.
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New Python Code
▾
cont = TrueDefine a Boolean variable
while cont:Loop that continues while a Boolean variable is
True
cont = ask_again()Assign a Boolean value to a variable from the return of a function
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Standards
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Computer Science
9-12.AP.16
Physical Education
PE-HS1.1.3
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Preparing for the Lesson- Read the Hints before class. They describe the brain states used in the program and give a short summary of each scenario, and you will want that in hand while students are running tests.
- Take the test yourself. Run reaction_time through a couple of scenarios so you know what a normal score looks like before students start comparing theirs.
- Decide how students get the Activity Guide. You can print a copy for each student or assign it digitally. Students record the results of each scenario on it.
- Plan for noise. Students testing their own reaction times get competitive, and this objective is louder than the rest of the mission.
- Decide in advance whether scores get shared. Comparing scenario effects works fine as a class. Comparing whose reflexes are fastest can go sideways, so it is worth setting the frame yourself.
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Teacher Notes- The Hints include a lot of additional information about the different brain states used in the program, and a short description of each scenario. Review this information with students.
- The program for this objective uses a custom module, which contains most of the code.
- Students should follow the instructions on the Activity Guide to conduct the memory and reaction tests. After running a test, students select the five different scenarios and see how their score and time could be affected by different brain states. Scenarios can be selected in any order, and students write the results of each one in their Activity Guide.
- This objective closes out the mission. Students have simulated activities, sunshine, sleep and drugs, and this is where all of it lands on a score they generated themselves.
- Extensions and cross-curricular projects are included to enhance the concepts in the objective. You can use the extensions to extend students' learning.
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Lesson Outline
🗣️Warm-up / Hook
Make it personal before any code runs.
- Ask: "After everything this mission, would you guess your reaction time is better right now or worse than it was yesterday? Why?"
- Ask: "Stress shows up on both lists, the helpful one and the harmful one. How does that work?"
Teaching tip: The stress question is the most interesting one in the objective. A little sharpens focus, too much wrecks it, and students usually have a personal example ready if you give them a second.
💻Build the Test
Students add code to reaction_time.
- Review the Hints on the brain states and the five scenarios before students start.
- Students work through the CodeTrek steps, adding code to reaction_time.
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Point out the Boolean pieces:
cont = True, thewhile cont:loop, and assigning a Boolean from a function's return. - Most of the program is in the custom module, so the code students write is short. Confirm it runs without errors.
Teaching tip: Ask what happens if cont never becomes false. Students who can answer that understand the loop, and it is a cleaner check than reading their code line by line.
⚡Test & Record
Students take the tests and run the scenarios.
- Students run the memory and reaction tests on themselves, following the Activity Guide.
- Students then select the five scenarios, in any order, and see how each brain state would change their score and time.
- Students record the results of each scenario in the Activity Guide.
- If you are running the sleep extension, have students recall the button order from the memory test after the reaction test is finished, and record how much they remembered.
Teaching tip: Have students take the baseline test more than once before moving to scenarios. First attempts are usually bad for reasons that have nothing to do with brain chemistry.
✏️Wrap-up & Mission Review
Close out Synaptic Sparks.
- Compare scenarios across the room. Which brain state changed scores the most?
- Ask: "Across the whole mission, which factor would you say has the biggest effect on how your brain works day to day?"
- Look back at Objective 1. Students wrote about the adjustments they would make to their symphony of the brain. Would they answer differently now?
- Collect the Activity Guides.
Teaching tip: That callback to Objective 1 is the cleanest way to end the mission. Students who kept their written response can compare it to what they think now, which makes five objectives feel like one arc instead of six separate lessons.