Growth and Development (adolescence focus) — Mastery

Q1. The phrase 'functional maturity' marks development. In which of these class 7 observations is the teacher seeing functional maturity rather than growth?

• A. Manish has gained 4 kg over the year and his shoe size has gone up
• B. Reena now organises group work, divides tasks fairly and resolves small disputes among classmates herself
• C. Sahil's height has crossed 5 feet on the school chart
• D. Pooja's head circumference has increased slightly since last year

Q2. Consider four statements to be marked G (growth) or D (development). Which of the following statements is to be marked D?

• A. A girl is 8 inches taller than the previous year
• B. The height of one-year-old child is two and a half feet
• C. A three months old baby is able to turn over
• D. Both 'a' and 'b'

Q3. A new teacher in a Bihar primary school is told that 'a child gains control over the head before s/he starts walking'. She wants to identify the broader principle this fits for a class on development. The correct principle is

• A. Principle of sequentiality — cephalocaudal direction (head to foot, i.e., longitudinal)
• B. Principle of sequentiality — proximodistal direction (centre to extremities)
• C. Principle of integration — all dimensions balance into one personality
• D. Principle of continuity — development never stops

Q4. An upper-primary teacher complains that her class 6 students 'still cannot write neatly in cursive though they can run, jump and play volleyball perfectly'. This gap is explained by saying that motor development

• A. Proceeds from fine motor skills to large muscles
• B. Proceeds from fundamental (large) muscles first and only later to smaller muscles and fine motor skills — so fine handwriting comes after gross-motor mastery
• C. Is the same in every child at every age — there is no sequence
• D. Depends only on the school's writing register

Q5. There is a specific term for an infant in the first two weeks after birth. The term is

• A. Adolescent
• B. Toddler
• C. Neonate
• D. Pre-schooler

Q6. A class 5 teacher notices that her 10-year-old students now insist 'no, that is against the rule' during kho-kho and form small groups of their own. In which stage does this rule-orientation belong and why?

• A. Adolescence — because of hormonal changes only
• B. Early childhood — because of semiotic function
• C. Later childhood — because the period from 7–12 brings intellectual, moral and social development; children start understanding and accepting rules and form groups
• D. Prenatal — because rules are determined before birth

Q7. Consider the adulthood stage (18 years and above). Which of the following best summarises old age within adulthood?

• A. It is marked by retirement, more concern about health, social acceptance and a feeling of dependency on others
• B. It is marked by stress and storm and peer-driven dress choice
• C. It is the same as adolescence in every feature
• D. It begins immediately after toddlerhood

Q8. Vikram, a class 8 boy, refuses to come to school for two days because a small pimple has appeared on his forehead. He says 'everyone will laugh at me'. For an upper-primary teacher, his reaction is best explained as

• A. A sign of cognitive delay — he should be assessed for an intellectual disability
• B. Self-consciousness and inferiority complex driven by hormonal changes during adolescence, which can be expected and addressed empathetically
• C. A clear case of malnutrition that needs immediate medical referral
• D. Pure laziness and an excuse to skip school which should be punished

Q9. A class 8 student in Rampur asks her teacher 'should I become a doctor or an engineer?' and seems genuinely confused. Career thinking begins in adolescence. The most developmentally appropriate teacher response is to

• A. Tell her the question is too early for her age and to ask after class 12
• B. Acknowledge that thinking about career is a normal adolescent task, discuss her interests, aptitudes and the realities of both professions, and link it to Havighurst's task of 'preparing for career'
• C. Tell her career has nothing to do with school — only marks matter
• D. Decide for her based on her current marks alone

Q10. Raj, a class XII student, is found behaving differently — silent in school, with signs of suspected drug use — and his parents are called. Read these conclusions a teacher might draw: I. The teacher and parents should treat this as a normal adolescent transition needing dialogue, not only as misbehaviour to be punished. II. Adolescent behaviour can be influenced by the peer group and the emotional turmoil of the stage, so understanding the cause is essential before reacting. Which is correct?

• A. Only I is correct
• B. Only II is correct
• C. Both I and II are correct
• D. Neither I nor II is correct

Q11. Two teachers debate a case. Teacher X says: 'A child's growth and development is a smooth and gradual change across the life-span.' Teacher Y says: 'No — change is abrupt and each stage is unique with distinct features.' Which theory does each teacher represent?

• A. X = discontinuity theory; Y = continuity theory
• B. X = continuity theory; Y = discontinuity theory
• C. Both X and Y represent the same theory
• D. Neither X nor Y represents a recognised theory in

Q12. Consider children in a tribal community (who greet elders by touching the feet) contrasted with children in an urban metropolis (who say 'Hi' and shake hands). This contrast argues that

• A. Greeting behaviour is fully universal across all cultures
• B. Greeting behaviour shows context specificity — the cultural context shapes how a developmental behaviour is expressed, even when the underlying respect for elders is universal
• C. Tribal children do not develop social behaviour at all
• D. Urban children skip the social stage of development

Q13. Among Havighurst's developmental tasks of adolescence, one task addresses the bodily and gender-role changes of puberty. That task is

• A. Memorising the periodic table
• B. Accepting one's physical make-up and acquiring a masculine/feminine sex role
• C. Completing toilet training
• D. Learning to read with phonics

Q14. A class 8 teacher in a Bihar school organises a student-led campaign on cleanliness in the village. This activity most directly supports which of Havighurst's developmental tasks for adolescence?

• A. Becoming emotionally independent of parents
• B. Desiring and achieving socially responsible behaviour
• C. Preparing for marriage and family life
• D. Acquiring fundamental motor skills like walking

Q15. An upper-primary teacher justifies spending two periods a week on student debates about social superstitions, environmental ethics and citizenship. A colleague calls it 'a waste of teaching time'. Evaluate the teacher's justification

• A. The colleague is correct — debates have no developmental value at this stage
• B. The teacher is justified — Havighurst lists 'acquiring a set of values and an ethical and scientific worldview as a guide to behaviour' as a developmental task of adolescence, so such debates directly serve a recognised task
• C. Both are wrong — only memorisation tasks count as developmental
• D. The teacher should replace debates with rote learning to be safe

Q16. A paediatric file records a newborn's length, weight, head circumference and chest circumference at birth and again at six months. An upper-primary teacher is asked what such a record primarily documents. The best answer is that it documents

• A. Development — because numbers improve in functioning
• B. Growth — because these are quantitative changes in body proportions (height, weight, head, chest)
• C. Neither growth nor development — it is only medical data
• D. Development — because the baby is now older

Q17. The statement 'A one-year-old child is able to pronounce maa' has to be marked G or D. Which justification is correct?

• A. D — because pronouncing 'maa' is a qualitative improvement in language functioning, an acquired ability, not a measurable size increase
• B. G — because the child's vocal cords have grown larger in size
• C. G — because age has increased by one year
• D. Neither — speaking is purely hereditary and not part of development

Q18. Two class 7 records are compared: (P) 'A girl is eight inches taller than she was last year' and (Q) 'A girl can now translate a Hindi paragraph into English on her own'. Using the growth-development distinction, which classification is correct?

• A. P = development, Q = growth
• B. P = growth, Q = development
• C. Both P and Q are growth
• D. Both P and Q are development

Q19. An infant first controls the shoulder and arm, then the hand, and only later the fingers for grasping. Under which sub-principle should a teacher classify this, and why?

• A. Cephalocaudal — because control moves from head to foot
• B. Generality to specificity — because the child first responds generally
• C. Principle of predictability — because behaviour can be foreseen
• D. Proximodistal — because development proceeds from parts near the centre of the body outward to the extremities, so shoulder and arm precede finger control

Q20. A teacher lists features of a 4-year-old: deals with symbols, plays make-believe, but insists a tall narrow glass holds 'more' water than a wide one. Which stage and age-band do these features jointly point to?

• A. Later childhood, 6 to 10 years
• B. Early childhood, 2 to 6 years — semiotic function present but reversibility still absent
• C. Adolescence, 11 to 18 years
• D. Infancy and toddlerhood, birth to 2 years

Q21. Two statements about the later childhood stage: I: Later childhood is placed at about 6 to 10 years. II: This period is slow in physical growth but rich in intellectual, moral and social development. Which is correct?

• A. Only Statement I is correct
• B. Only Statement II is correct
• C. Both Statement I and Statement II are correct
• D. Neither Statement I nor Statement II is correct

Q22. While teaching the six stages, a teacher is asked: 'After which stage does adulthood come, and from what age does it begin?' The correct answer is

• A. After early childhood, beginning at 6 years
• B. After adolescence, beginning at 18 years of age and above
• C. After infancy, beginning at 2 years
• D. After later childhood, beginning at 10 years

Q23. A class 9 boy begins showing strong attraction towards a girl in his class and is constantly preoccupied with her. His worried teacher seeks an explanation. This is best described as

• A. An abnormal disorder requiring counselling referral
• B. A sign that the boy has regressed to early childhood
• C. Purely a result of poor school discipline
• D. Infatuation towards the opposite sex, a normal feature of adolescence linked to the physical and emotional changes of the stage

Q24. A class 8 student copies the hairstyle, slang and clothing of a film star and quotes him constantly. For an upper-primary teacher, the most developmentally sound interpretation is that the adolescent is

• A. Treating heroes as role models, a normal adolescent tendency that the teacher can channel by discussing values behind admired figures
• B. Wasting time and should be strictly stopped from all such imitation
• C. Showing the semiotic function of early childhood
• D. Displaying the rule-acceptance of later childhood

Q25. A class 9 teacher observes that several students often sit lost in their own thoughts, imagining future success and romantic scenarios during free periods. This 'day-dreaming' is best classified as

• A. A symptom of a learning disability that must be tested immediately
• B. Evidence that these students are in the prenatal stage
• C. A normal feature of adolescence, linked to heightened emotionality and the stage's preoccupation with self, future and relationships
• D. Proof of cognitive regression to infancy

Q26. A teacher claims: 'A 19-year-old boy is unlikely to gain much further height because, in the majority of cases, boys reach their maximum height by about eighteen.' Evaluate this claim.

• A. The claim is wrong — boys keep growing taller indefinitely
• B. The claim is wrong — the page says boys reach maximum height by thirteen
• C. The claim cannot be judged because the unit gives no ages for boys
• D. The claim is correct — in majority cases boys reach their maximum height by about eighteen, so further large height gain at 19 is unlikely

Q27. Aparajita has high cognitive ability but takes classes lightly, makes no effort, and her achievement does not improve. Aparajita illustrates which side of which debate?

• A. The 'passivity' side of the activity vs passivity debate — the individual passively accepts what comes naturally and does not actively shape her own developmental pathway
• B. The 'activity' side of the activity vs passivity debate
• C. The 'nurture' side of the nature vs nurture debate
• D. The 'discontinuity' side of the continuity vs discontinuity debate

Q28. Consider the contrast between universality and context specificity. Which statement correctly captures the 'universality' position?

• A. Every developmental behaviour is shaped entirely by the child's local culture
• B. Development never follows any common pattern across children
• C. Some sequences of development follow a common, universal path across all cultures, so certain milestones appear in roughly the same order everywhere
• D. Universality means development stops at the same fixed age in all children

Q29. A school introduces career-awareness sessions and aptitude exposure for class 8 students. A parent objects that 'career talk is meaningless before college'. Using Havighurst's list, evaluate the school's decision.

• A. The parent is right — career preparation is not a developmental task of adolescence
• B. Both are wrong — Havighurst lists no career-related task at all
• C. The school should drop the sessions and wait until class 12
• D. The school is justified — 'selecting and preparing for an occupation/career' is one of Havighurst's nine developmental tasks of adolescence, so career-awareness directly serves a recognised task

Q30. A class 9 teacher deliberately organises mixed-gender group projects so boys and girls learn to work and relate respectfully with one another. This practice most directly supports which of Havighurst's developmental tasks?

• A. Achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes
• B. Acquiring fundamental motor skills like walking
• C. Completing toilet training
• D. Memorising the school timetable