Question 1

Beyond learning of potential disorders that may be passed on to children, __________ may also be used to identify future disorders for an individual. An example would be identification of the flawed gene for Huntington's disease.

Accepted Answer

Genetic counseling is used to help people deal with issues related to inherited disorders. This may entail predicting potential disorders that may affect offspring, but it may also identify future potential disorders for an individual.

Question 2

Genetic and environmental factors work in tandem, but their degree of influence differs for different traits. For which of the following traits do a person's genes have a greater influence as opposed to his or her environment?

Accepted Answer

Certain genotypes are relatively unaffected by environmental factors. In those cases, development follows a preordained pattern, relatively independent of the specific environment in which a person is raised. Of the choices above, height is the trait for which a person's genes have the greatest influence and environment has the least influence.

Question 3

As developmental research accumulates, it is becoming increasingly clear that when thinking about the interaction between heredity and environment, behavior is most likely the result of __________.

Accepted Answer

Increasing research demonstrates that the interaction between inherited factors and environmental factors is responsible for behavior.

Question 4

Dr. Driscoll conducts a test to determine whether empathy is best explained by nature or nurture. She compares empathic responding by monozygotic twins, dizygotic twins, and twins of both types reared apart and their siblings (adoptive and biological). Her findings demonstrate that children who are raised in the same home are more similar in empathic expression than children who share genetic material. What might she conclude?

Accepted Answer

Given the findings here, it is reasonable to indicate that this trait/behavior is largely due (though perhaps not entirely) to experiences in the environment rather than genetics.

Question 5

Henry believes that because he and his wife are quite intelligent that their offspring will also be intelligent. Rather than starting to save for his future child's education immediately, he believes that enriched educational experiences do not matter and that his child will not need extensive education to develop high levels of intelligence. What cause of intelligence does Henry seem to endorse?

Accepted Answer

Intelligence has been explained by a range of differencing sources spanning the nature-nurture continuum. Henry's beliefs are most congruent with an entirely genetic causal model such that even a highly enriched environment and excellent education make no difference.

Question 6

Psychological disorders have been linked in part to genetic factors. If one monozygotic twin is schizophrenic, the other twin __________.

Accepted Answer

The role of genetics for schizophrenia is to produce a tendency not a certainty. However, the genetic link means that monozygotic twins have a higher lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia.

Question 7

Researchers have identified ways in which genes impact the environment. Which of the following examples best illustrates this point?

Accepted Answer

Children focus on aspects of the environment that are connected with their genetically determined abilities.

Question 8

When the sperm and an ovum are joined, a single new cell is formed. This process is known as conception, or __________.

Accepted Answer

Fertilization is the process by which a sperm and an ovum, the male and female gametes, respectively, join to form a single new cell.

Question 9

The order of prenatal development is as follows:

Accepted Answer

The prenatal period consists of three phases: the germinal, embryonic, and fetal stages.

Question 10

A conduit between the mother and fetus, the __________ provides nourishment and oxygen via the umbilical cord.

Accepted Answer

The placenta is a conduit between the mother and fetus, providing nourishment and oxygen via the umbilical cord.

Question 11

At the beginning of the __________ stage, the developing child has three distinct layers: the ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm.

Accepted Answer

During the embryonic stage, there are three layers of the embryo. The ectoderm will form skin, hair, teeth, sense organs, and the brain. The endoderm will form the digestive system, liver, pancreas, and respiratory system. The mesoderm will form the muscles, bones, blood, and circulatory system.

Question 12

Which of the following layers of the embryo will form skin, hair, and teeth?

Accepted Answer

During the embryonic stage, there are three layers of the embryo. The ectoderm will form skin, hair, teeth, sense organs, and the brain. The endoderm will form the digestive system, liver, pancreas, and respiratory system. The mesoderm will form the muscles, bones, blood, and circulatory system.

Question 13

The period that begins at about 8 weeks after conception and continues until birth is known as the __________ stage.

Accepted Answer

The fetal stage begins about 8 weeks after conception and continues until birth.

Question 14

The average child weighs a little over ________ pounds at birth.

Accepted Answer

At birth, the average child weights just over 7 pounds.

Question 15

In a classic experiment, DeCasper and Spence asked a group of pregnant women to read aloud The Cat in the Hat two times a day late in pregnancy. After the babies were born, they recognized the story. This reveals that the fetus can __________.

Accepted Answer

The fetus is able to hear sounds to which it is exposed. The DeCasper and Spence study reveals that fetuses can remember what they hear during pregnancy.

Question 16

The inability to conceive after 12 to 18 months of trying to become pregnant is known as __________.

Accepted Answer

The inability to conceive after 12 to 18 months of trying to become pregnant is referred to as infertility. Some 15 percent of couples suffer from infertility.

Question 17

Illicit drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, and stress may increase __________.

Accepted Answer

There are a variety of potential causes of infertility. Illicit drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, and stress may increase infertility.

Question 18

A physician places a man's sperm directly into a woman's vagina. This method of fertilization is known as __________.

Accepted Answer

Artificial insemination is the process of fertilization in which a man's sperm is placed directly into a woman's vagina by a physician.

Question 19

Juan and Maria Salinas want to have a baby. However, Juan Salinas is paralyzed from the waist down. They decide to have their doctor place Juan's sperm directly into Maria's vagina. This method of fertilization is known as __________.

Accepted Answer

Artificial insemination is the process of fertilization in which a man's sperm is placed directly into a woman's vagina by a physician. In this example, Juan's sperm will be placed directly into Maria's vagina.

Question 20

Tina and Linda want to start a family. Linda has a genetic condition that she would prefer not to pass on to their child. Therefore, Tina will be the biological mother, but she had her fallopian tubes tied and now is unable to get pregnant. They have opted for a procedure in which Tina's ova are removed from her ovaries and a man's sperm are used to fertilize the ova in a laboratory. This method of fertilization is known as __________.

Accepted Answer

In vitro fertilization is a procedure in which a woman's ova are removed from her ovaries and a man's sperm are used to fertilize the ova in a laboratory.

Quiz 3: The Start of Life: Genetics and Prenatal Development