Which term describes physical skills that involve the small muscles and eye-hand coordination?

• A. Fine motor skills
• B. Gross motor skills
• C. Fine motor control
• D. Motor planning

Answer: (A)

Small-muscle control and eye–hand coordination fall under fine motor skills. These skills involve using the small muscles of the hands, fingers, and wrists to perform precise tasks, and they require coordinating what you see with how your hands move. Think about activities like writing, buttoning a shirt, threading a needle, or using utensils—each relies on the eyes guiding fine finger movements with accuracy.

This is different from gross motor skills, which use larger muscle groups for big movements such as walking, running, or jumping. It’s not about planning the movement itself—the planning happens earlier and is called motor planning. Nor is it about the precision of movement alone, which is more about fine motor control; that term emphasizes how well the movements are executed, rather than naming the skill category as a whole.

So, the term that best describes physical skills involving small muscles and eye–hand coordination is fine motor skills.