Question 1

Compared to the first two years of life, growth during middle childhood is:

Accepted Answer

During middle childhood, growth slows down compared to the first two years of life. This period is characterized by a steadier and more predictable growth pattern, with an average of about 2-3 inches of height increase per year and a 5-7 pound weight gain per year. This growth is also influenced by nutrition and physical activity.

Question 2

6 Based on information presented in the text, which of the following individuals would you expect to have the largest brain, as measured by brain size (or volume)?

Accepted Answer

Brain mass peaks at age 10 ½ for girls and at age 14 ½ for boys, and brain size continues to diminish after those ages. Although male brains are about 10% larger, all of the people in this example are women.

Question 3

At what age do children typically begin to lose their primary teeth?

Accepted Answer

Children typically begin to lose their primary teeth around age 6.

Question 4

According to the text, in Western nations, middle childhood extends from about age:

Accepted Answer

According to the text, in Western nations, middle childhood extends from about age 6 to 12 years.

Question 5

If you were babysitting for a 9-year-old child who complained of "growing pains" in his legs, what would be the appropriate thing to do:

Accepted Answer

Growing pains are normal for children and adolescents and can best be addressed by applying massage and gentle heat.

Question 6

If you were to look at a boy and a girl of average size in two different age groups, age 8 and age 10, who would you expect to be taller in each age group?

Accepted Answer

Boys are slightly taller and heavier than girls until about age 9, when girls typically experience an adolescent growth spurt and grow faster than boys. Boys catch up and go on to exceed girl's size when they hit their adolescent growth spurt at about age 11.

Question 7

Suppose you learn that two children, a 10-year boy and a 10-year old girl, have brains of quite different sizes, with the boy's brain being about 40% larger than that girl's brain. Which of the following conclusions would be the best to draw from this data?

Accepted Answer

Although male brains are on average about 10% larger than female brains throughout childhood and adulthood, brain volumes vary considerably among healthy individuals. A volume difference of 50%, while it seems large and significant, is not generally accompanied by different levels of cognitive abilities. Therefore, a size difference of 30% is within the normal range of brain size differentials.

Question 8

Higher level cognitive functions, such as attention, emotion, language, and memory, are thought to be associated most closely to activity in:

Accepted Answer

Gray matter of the brain, which is composed of cell bodies, is responsible for higher cognitive functions such as attention, emotion, language, and memory. White matter, which is composed of myelinated axons, is responsible for transmitting signals between different areas of gray matter. Therefore, while white matter is important for overall brain function, it is not directly responsible for higher level cognitive processes.

Question 9

3 Which of the following children would you expect to grow the least during a 6-month period of time?

Accepted Answer

Growth is slower during middle childhood than earlier in life, so Babette would be expected to grow the least. The distinction between Renee and Rex is not important, since 8 months of age is a fast growth period compared with middle childhood.

Question 10

During adolescence and adulthood, cognitive functions such as memory and judgment generally become more complex. According to the text, the neurological event most closely associated with such changes is:

Accepted Answer

The decline in gray matter that occurs after childhood is associated with increased cognitive complexity and maturation in areas such as memory and judgment during adolescence and adulthood. This is because gray matter contains neuronal cell bodies and synapses, which are important for cognitive processing. As gray matter density decreases, it reflects a process of synaptic pruning and refinement that allows for more specialized neural networks and increased cognitive efficiency.

Question 11

If you were to observe a sample of brain tissue that was mostly composed of myelin and contained relatively few cell bodies, you would refer to this type of brain tissue as:

Accepted Answer

Gray matter differs from white matter in that white matter is comprised mostly of fatty myelin that surrounds axons whereas gray matter has little white myelin and instead is mostly cell bodies. "Cell body mass extract" and "pruned excess" are meaningless terms that are not mentioned in the text, but that do vaguely refer to neural concepts and may seem like correct answers to students who do not know the basic definitions of gray and white matter.

Question 12

Mr. Martinez teaches third-grade physical education. To meet national health objectives, he should try to engage students in active physical exercise for at least what percent of their time in his physical education class?

Accepted Answer

The text states that national health objectives call for physical education classes to meet every day and for 50% of that time to be spent in active physical exercise.

Question 13

5 At what age does the human brain reach 95% of its adult size?

Accepted Answer

The answer of 5 At what age does the human...

Question 14

According to the text, most of the fine motor skills required for writing develop between the ages of:

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the text, most of the...

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT one of the four aspects of physical fitness conditioning?

Accepted Answer

The four aspects of physical fitness conditioning are flexibility, muscle strength, cardiovascular efficiency, and body composition. While having a BMI of less than 28 can contribute to overall health, it is not considered one of the aspects of physical fitness conditioning.

Question 16

Currently about what percent of school-age children in the United States are obese?

Accepted Answer

Approximately 19 percent of school-age children in the United States are considered obese, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Question 17

The process in which specific functions, such as speech, develop in specific regions of the brain is called:

Accepted Answer

The process in which specific functions, such as speech, develop in specific regions of the brain is called lateralization. This refers to the specialization of certain functions in specific regions of the brain, such as language processing in the left hemisphere of the brain.

Question 18

Suppose you are playing with a 6-year-old child and you ask the child to draw three different shapes: a triangle, a circle, and a square. Which shape would you expect the child to have the most difficulty drawing?

Accepted Answer

The text notes that complex fine motor skills develop sequentially in middle childhood and that the circle is the easiest, and first, shape a child can draw, followed by a square, and then a triangle.

Question 19

Suppose you walk into a typical 6th grade classroom in a predominantly White, middle-class, suburban school in the United States. If the children there are typical, about what percent would you expect to be wearing glasses or contact lenses to improve their vision?

Accepted Answer

The text notes that about 25% of White middle-class 6th graders have been fitted with glasses or contact lenses; generalizing from that figure, 25% is the best of the answer choices presented.

Question 20

According to the text, many studies find that boys are more athletic than girls during middle childhood. Research suggests that the major reason for this difference is:

Accepted Answer

The text states that the sex difference is largely the result of greater expectations placed on boys. Furthermore, girls do not have less muscle mass before puberty, the male growth spurt occurs later than the female, and brain development is earlier for girls than boys; thus making the other answer choices all incorrect.

Quiz 8: Middle Childhood: Physical and Cognitive Development