Deck 10: Physical Development in Middle Childhood

Question 1

The average 7-year-old is about

A) 3 feet tall.
B) 4 feet tall.
C) 4 1/2 feet tall.
D) 5 feet tall.

Answer 1

4 feet tall.

Question 2

If Sulan is an average 7-year-old, she weighs around

A) 35 pounds.
B) 45 pounds.
C) 55 pounds.
D) 65 pounds.

Answer 2

55 pounds.

Question 3

By the age of 11, the average child is almost

A) 4 feet tall.
B) 4 1/4 feet tall.
C) 4 1/2 feet tall.
D) 4 3/4 feet tall.

Answer 3

4 3/4 feet tall.

Question 4

Which of the following statements is true?

A) Girls begin their adolescent growth spurt a little earlier than boys.
B) At the age of 9, boys are bigger than girls.
C) After age 14, there is a sex difference in the rate of physical growth.
D) By the age of 14, girls are taller and heavier on average than boys.

Question 5

The most common nutritional problem in the United States is

A) malnutrition.
B) being overweight.
C) protein deficiency.
D) carbohydrate deficiency.

Question 6

A child with a body mass index (BMI) above what percentile is considered overweight?

A) 50th
B) 60th
C) 75th
D) between 85th and 95th

Question 7

From the 1960s to 2002, the percentage of American children who were overweight

A) doubled.
B) tripled.
C) quadrupled.
D) declined.

Question 8

During childhood, obesity is especially serious among

A) girls.
B) boys.
C) Caucasians.
D) minorities.

Question 9

Which of the following is a cause of increasing obesity in American children?

A) genetics alone
B) environmental factors alone
C) obese role models
D) a mix of genetics and environmental factors

Question 10

The National Center for Health Statistics (2011) reported that between 2007 and 2010, 69% of adults over age 20 were overweight. This means that

A) obesity rates among adults are declining.
B) adults have healthier eating habits than in earlier decades.
C) children today have fewer positive role models for health and fitness.
D) adults are exercising more than in earlier decades.

Question 11

While obesity has been increasing worldwide, experts estimate that ___________ has the highest prevalence of obesity of any developed nation.

A) Canada
B) the United States
C) Great Britain
D) Japan

Question 12

A child with a body mass index (BMI) above what percentile is considered obese?

A) 50th
B) 60th
C) 75th
D) 95th

Question 13

Children are more likely to be overweight when

A) they have a high birth weight.
B) their mother has diabetes.
C) they have family members who are overweight.
D) all of the above

Question 14

When both of a child's parents are obese, the child's chance of being overweight is increased

A) by 10%.
B) by 50%.
C) 10 times.
D) 100%.

Question 15

Children in which type of families tend to eat fewer fruits and vegetables and have fewer opportunities for physical activity?

A) poor families
B) wealthy families
C) educated families
D) East Coast families

Question 16

Which of the following is not a recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics?

A) Set appropriate limits on children's food choices.
B) Encourage more physical activity in children's play.
C) Be a good role model.
D) Put children on a diet at age 4.

Question 17

Which of the following is true about brain growth during middle childhood?

A) There is brain growth.
B) There is a reduction in size or "shrinkage."
C) There is no change in brain size or growth.
D) both A and B

Question 18

Until what age are most areas of the cerebral cortex still growing?

A) 5 years
B) 10 years
C) 14 years
D) 18 years

Question 19

Most of the growth in the brain during middle childhood is from

A) growth in the blood vessels that spread through the brain.
B) increases in glial cells.
C) continued myelination of neurons.
D) all of the above

Question 20

Which of the following neural changes involves the growth of fatty tissues that cover the axons that carry nerve impulses from one neuron to other neurons?

A) growth of glial cells
B) myelination
C) synaptic pruning
D) synaptogenesis

Question 21

What causes brain circuits to become much more efficient in middle childhood?

A) synaptogenesis
B) growth in the temporal lobe
C) increased numbers of neurons
D) myelination

Question 22

The first area to prune and become mature in middle childhood is the

A) occipital lobe.
B) parietal lobe.
C) hypothalamus.
D) amygdala.

Question 23

_______________ reduces the "noise" in the brain so that the loss of connections between neurons is actually an important part of the maturation of the brain.

A) Synaptogenesis
B) Myelination
C) Growth of glial cells
D) Synaptic pruning

Question 24

Between the ages of 7 and 11, pruning results in a 50% loss in the circuits in the brain that control

A) vision.
B) fine-motor movements.
C) language comprehension.
D) memory.

Question 25

The ______________, responsible for abstract reasoning and complex problem solving, is one of the last areas to mature and does not finish its prune-and-mature process until the end of adolescence.

A) prefrontal cortex
B) temporal cortex
C) parietal cortex
D) occipital cortex

Question 26

While brain maturity helps us perform our important mental processes, _____________ provide the stimulation needed to prune the less efficient circuits.

A) dominant genes
B) learning disorders
C) glial cells
D) mental and physical exercises

Question 27

From the age of 2 until adolescence, plasticity

A) gradually declines.
B) remains stable.
C) gradually increases.
D) initially increases and then declines.

Question 28

An adult who experiences head trauma and brain damage to the left hemisphere may lose a significant amount of language function. Is it likely that he or she will fully recover?

A) Yes, because recovery should occur spontaneously as the brain repairs itself.
B) Yes, but only after a strong rehabilitation regimen.
C) Yes, because the adult brain maintains a high degree of neural plasticity.
D) No, because a full recovery is unlikely.

Question 29

A child who experiences head trauma and brain damage to the left hemisphere may not experience lifelong language deficits because

A) the brain remains flexible or malleable through childhood.
B) neural plasticity allows lost functions to be recovered.
C) the right hemisphere may take over the work of language specialization.
D) all of the above

Question 30

Which neural systems need sensory input in the first months after birth because otherwise their neural circuits will quickly degenerate?

A) the language centers of the brain
B) the eyes and visual centers of the brain
C) the areas that control movement
D) the auditory pathways in the brain

Question 31

Due to loss of plasticity, which aspect of language becomes difficult for a child older than 12 to learn?

A) intonations and subtle speech sounds
B) syntax
C) vocabulary
D) none of the above

Question 32

Declining plasticity is associated with the ending of _________________, or windows of opportunity, that begin to close.

A) middle childhood
B) language development
C) sensitive periods
D) motor development

Question 33

What kind of skills become more controlled and coordinated during middle childhood?

A) fine-motor
B) gross-motor
C) BMI
D) both A and B

Question 34

Improvements in writing, artwork, and playing musical instruments are affected by the development of what kind of skills?

A) motor
B) rough-and-tumble
C) sociodramatic
D) prefrontal

Question 35

Which of the following statements is false?

A) Overall strength improves during middle childhood.
B) Few differences between boys and girls are found in balance in middle childhood.
C) Girls tend to be stronger than boys during the middle childhood years.
D) Girls tend to be more flexible than boys during middle childhood.

Question 36

With continued practice of physical skills, neural pathways

A) prune more synapses.
B) grow more synapses.
C) lose myelination.
D) become less efficient.

Question 37

Bobby is a 10-year-old who enjoys playing handheld electronic games. In particular, his _________________ skills are developing as he learns to push the small buttons quickly and accurately.

A) gross-motor
B) language
C) socioemotional
D) fine-motor

Question 38

Examples of fine-motor control include

A) kicking a ball far.
B) learning new strokes in swimming.
C) reading fluently.
D) controlling a paintbrush.

Question 39

Hobbies such as beading and similar craft materials improve

A) gross motor skills.
B) fine-motor skills.
C) social skills.
D) patience.

Question 40

One of the most striking developments in both gross- and fine-motor skills during middle childhood is increasing ________________ (e.g., using both arms and legs while swinging a bat).

A) strength
B) coordination of skill
C) speed
D) plasticity

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT a benefit of regular exercise for children?

A) weight control
B) more positive moods
C) improved IQ scores
D) higher self-esteem

Question 42

A nationally representative survey of 9- to 13-year-olds found that more than 60% had not _________________ in the week before the survey.

A) taken a bath or shower
B) spoken to their parents
C) participated in any organized physical activity
D) attended school

Question 43

According to the Centers for Disease Control (2003), which of the following ethnic groups participates the most in free-time physical activity?

A) African Americans
B) Hispanics
C) whites
D) There are no differences across ethnic groups in free-time physical activity.

Question 44

Transportation problems are obstacles for physical activity for which group?

A) middle-class families
B) rural families
C) Southern families
D) low-income families

Question 45

Which of the following factors makes it difficult for children to get physical activity?

A) sedentary activities (e.g., television, video games, and so forth)
B) the cost of participating in physical activities
C) unsafe neighborhoods
D) all of the above

Question 46

In a national survey, girls reported significantly _______ free-time physical activity than boys.

A) less
B) more
C) the same amount of
D) reduced

Question 47

Juanita takes karate lessons once a week. This is an example of

A) rough-and-tumble play.
B) organized sports.
C) sociodramatic play.
D) gender-stereotyped play.

Question 48

Which of the following is NOT a benefit of children's participation in organized sports?

A) improved coordination
B) increased strength and endurance
C) good sportsmanship
D) better diet

Question 49

Studies have found that participation in organized sports is associated with

A) higher achievement test scores.
B) lower rates of delinquency.
C) decreased likelihood of using tobacco.
D) all of the above

Question 50

Bianca is a member of her school's field hockey and soccer teams. Which of the following would be a typical benefit for her as a middle childhood girl?

A) higher self-esteem
B) more positive body image
C) lower level of depression
D) all of the above

Question 51

While some studies have investigated the positive effects of organized sports using correlational designs, others have used experimental designs. Which type of study provides evidence that sports participation itself accounts for the positive relationship?

A) correlational designs
B) experimental designs
C) both correlational an experimental designs
D) neither type of study

Question 52

There are approximately ___________ sports-related injuries per year.

A) 100,000
B) 1 million
C) 3 million
D) 100 million

Question 53

Most of children's injuries in organized sports are

A) serious.
B) minor.
C) life threatening.
D) due to exercising in cold weather.

Question 54

The rate of injuries in recent years can be due to

A) better safety equipment.
B) rules that restrict aggressive play.
C) better training of coaches.
D) all of the above

Question 55

Concerns in organized sports regarding the behavior and attitude of adults involved are

A) putting increased pressure on children.
B) pushing children to practice too hard.
C) emphasizing the competitive aspect(s) of the sport.
D) all of the above

Question 56

A recent concern associated with organized children's sports is

A) out-of-control parents.
B) increasing injuries.
C) poor safety equipment.
D) longer playing times.

Question 57

David is an excellent basketball player. His family hopes he will be able to get a basketball scholarship to college. This expectation

A) shows that David is not typical of most athletes.
B) leads to David's poor school grades.
C) causes David to have too many injuries.
D) puts pressure on David to practice too hard.

Question 58

How many children under age 14 are treated in hospital emergency rooms each year for injuries?

A) 5 million
B) 8 million
C) 20 million
D) over 25 million

Question 59

Which of the following is NOT one of the most common causes of childhood injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms?

A) falls
B) cuts
C) poisoning
D) bicycle accidents

Question 60

The most common cause of accidental death in middle childhood is

A) genetic abnormalities.
B) illnesses such as the flu.
C) child abuse.
D) automobile accidents.

Question 61

The majority of accident-related injuries for children occur

A) in or around the home.
B) on bicycles.
C) at school.
D) during organized sports.

Question 62

Amanda is 10. Her parents leave her home alone sometimes, and this puts her at risk for

A) smoking marijuana.
B) obesity.
C) accidents in her home.
D) poor motor development.

Question 63

Children should use a booster seat until they are at least

A) 3 feet, 6 inches tall.
B) 4 feet tall.
C) 5 feet tall.
D) 4 feet, 9 inches tall.

Question 64

If Danny is an average-sized boy, he should be in a car booster seat until he is ________.

A) 8
B) 11
C) 13
D) none of the above

Question 65

When should children begin riding in front seats that have air bags?

A) after age 2
B) after age 5
C) after age 8
D) never

Question 66

Half of the children who die in alcohol-related crashes were riding

A) while drinking alcohol.
B) while wearing a seat belt.
C) with a driver who was drinking.
D) while in a booster or car seat.

Question 67

Adults need to supervise children when crossing streets until about age ________.

A) 5
B) 7
C) 10
D) 12

Question 68

Most bicyclists who are killed

A) are not wearing helmets.
B) are wearing helmets.
C) are under age 7.
D) do not understand traffic signs.

Question 69

If Alicia is an average 10-year-old, we can expect that when she rides her bike,

A) she wears a helmet.
B) she does not wear a helmet.
C) she cannot balance well.
D) she rides very slowly.

Question 70

The Centers for Disease Control (2002) report that children believe

A) it is not "cool" to wear a helmet.
B) helmets are hot and uncomfortable.
C) they will not be injured while riding a bike.
D) all of the above

Question 71

Wearing a helmet can reduce the risks of head and brain injuries by as much as _____ percent.

A) 40
B) 55
C) 70
D) 85

Question 72

Even though Jacob, a 10-year-old, is a competitive swimmer, he still needs adult supervision when he swims. In particular, he may

A) lack the cognitive maturity to make sound judgments about how safe it is to swim.
B) be embarrassed to call for help when he needs it.
C) use swimming as a way to avoid doing homework.
D) prefer swimming in safe and shallow water.

Question 73

Which of the following guidelines should be enforced when young children are in or near water?

A) They should always wear proper flotation devices when in boats or participating in water sports.
B) They should be allowed to dive in shallow water.
C) They should be allowed to decide for themselves when they are too tired to swim.
D) They need not be supervised if they have basic swimming skills.

Question 74

Nathan, seven-year-old and a proficient swimmer, is at the beach. Water safety tips recommend that

A) it is safe to leave him by the water.
B) he should be wearing floatation devices.
C) he should be supervised at all times.
D) both B and C

Question 75

In "Career Focus: Meet a Pediatrician," Dr. Gephart says that bad health in children is related to

A) gender.
B) what part of the country the child lives in.
C) socioeconomic status.
D) all of the above

Question 76

According to Dr. Gephart, _____________ is among the biggest health and safety issues for children in the 10- to 14-year age range.

A) suicide
B) homicide
C) chronic illness
D) all of the above

Question 77

To become a pediatrician, an individual must have a college degree and

A) 4 years of medical school.
B) 3 years of residency.
C) a thorough knowledge of child development.
D) all of the above

Question 78

Of all the victims of child maltreatment, what percentage suffers from sexual abuse?

A) 2%
B) 7%
C) 20%
D) 35%

Question 79

Which of the following is NOT one of the acts considered to be child sexual abuse?

A) talking to a minor in a chat room
B) fondling a child's genitals or breasts
C) exposing a child to indecent acts
D) involving a child in pornography

Question 80

In a study of adults who had suffered child sexual abuse, 6% of the female victims reported that their abuser was

A) a male.
B) a family member.
C) their employer.
D) a female.