Which of the following is an example of a serial motor task?

• A. Sit to stand maneuver
• B. Zipping up jacket
• C. Walking
• D. Squats

Answer: (A)

A serial motor task is a sequence of distinct movements performed in a specific order to achieve a single goal. Sit-to-stand fits this because getting from sitting to standing involves several clear, ordered phases: shift weight and lean the trunk forward, engage and extend the hips and knees to rise, and then stabilize in an upright position. Each phase depends on the one before, and you can’t reach the end goal without completing the preceding steps in the proper sequence.

Walking, by contrast, is a continuous, cyclic activity with ongoing movement rather than a finite, ordered chain of separate stages to a single endpoint. Squats are repetitive and form a cycle within a single movement pattern, not a series of distinct transitional steps from one posture to another. Zipping up a jacket is a short, goal-directed action with a few steps, but it doesn’t involve a longer, multi-phase sequence leading to a substantially different final posture in the way sit-to-stand does.