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Year 8 Science — Adolescence: growth and change

Place adolescence among the stages of life, name the changes it brings and what drives them, and say what looks after health at this age.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

Slide along this line of ages and see where the chapter puts adolescence.

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Adolescence generally begins around 10 and usually runs to 19. Before about 10 to 12, most of what changes in a body is height and weight; the rest begins after that. These are the chapter's general ages, not a timetable anyone has to keep to.

  1. 1.The bump that may appear at the front of the throat as the voice box grows has a name in this chapter. What is it?

  2. 2.What does the chapter give as the cause of acne?

    • a) Dust settling on skin that is not washed often enough
    • b) More oily secretions from the skin, which clog its pores and let infection in
    • c) Eating foods that are rich in fat
    • d) The skin stretching as a person grows taller

  3. 3.The chapter gives an age around which adolescence generally begins. Which age is it?

    Mark the line with an X.

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  4. 4.Why does an adolescent boy's voice often sound hoarse for a while?

    • a) He is speaking more loudly than he used to
    • b) His lungs have grown faster than his throat
    • c) His throat is short of water
    • d) His voice box is growing

  5. 5.What is the name for the stage in which a child's body changes, inside and out, into an adult body capable of reproduction?

  6. 6.Match each nutrient to what the chapter says it does for a growing body.

    • Calcium
    • Proteins
    • Iron
    • helps bones grow well
    • help growth, strength and energy
    • helps blood to form

  7. 7.Chemicals made in the body drive most of the changes of adolescence and are released on signals from the brain. What are they called?

  8. 8.What makes a change a secondary sexual characteristic?

    • a) It happens after the age of 19
    • b) It can be seen from outside the body
    • c) It helps tell males from females but takes no direct part in reproduction
    • d) It happens to boys and not to girls

Answer key — Year 8 Science — Adolescence: growth and change

  1. 1.
    • adam's apple
    • the adam's apple
    • adams apple
  2. 2. b) More oily secretions from the skin, which clog its pores and let infection in
  3. 3. 10
  4. 4. d) His voice box is growing
  5. 5. puberty
  6. 6. Calcium → helps bones grow well; Proteins → help growth, strength and energy; Iron → helps blood to form
  7. 7.
    • hormones
    • hormone
  8. 8. c) It helps tell males from females but takes no direct part in reproduction