Pediatric Development: Exam 3 - Questions with Correct
Answers
100 questions
1. Growth in height during the preschool and school-age years averages about:
A. 25 cm per year
B. 1 cm per year
C. 5 to 7.5 cm (2 to 3 inches) per year
D. 15 cm per month
Correct Answer: C. 5 to 7.5 cm (2 to 3 inches) per year
Rationale: After the rapid infant years, children grow steadily about 5 to 7.5 cm yearly until the
pubertal spurt. Twenty-five cm reflects the first year, and the other rates are inaccurate.
2. Brain growth in early childhood is so rapid that by about age 2 the brain reaches roughly:
A. 10 percent of adult size
B. 75 to 80 percent of adult size
C. 25 percent of adult size
D. Its full adult size
Correct Answer: B. 75 to 80 percent of adult size
Rationale: The brain grows rapidly after birth, reaching most of its adult size in the early years,
which is why early experiences and nutrition matter. It is not full size by age 2.
3. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning and impulse control, matures:
A. Into the mid-20s
B. By age 2
C. By age 6
D. Before birth
Correct Answer: A. Into the mid-20s
Rationale: Late maturation of executive function areas helps explain adolescent risk-taking. It is
not mature in early childhood.
,4. For a baby born at 32 weeks' gestation, development is assessed during the first 2 years using:
A. Chronological age only
B. Gestational age at birth only
C. Corrected (adjusted) age, subtracting the weeks born early from chronological age
D. The age of older siblings
Correct Answer: C. Corrected (adjusted) age, subtracting the weeks born early from
chronological age
Rationale: A baby born 8 weeks early who is 6 months old is assessed as a 4-month-old. Using
chronological age would falsely suggest delay. Gestational age at birth and siblings' ages are not
used.
5. For children from birth to 2 years in the United States, growth is plotted on:
A. WHO growth charts
B. CDC growth charts for all ages starting at birth
C. Adult BMI charts
D. No charts
Correct Answer: A. WHO growth charts
Rationale: WHO charts describe growth of healthy breastfed infants and are recommended
from birth to 2 years, while CDC charts are used from 2 years onward. Adult BMI charts are not
appropriate for children.
,6. A critical or sensitive period in development is:
A. A time when no learning can occur
B. A time when a child is especially responsive to certain experiences, which strongly shape later
abilities
C. The period after adolescence only
D. A period of illness
Correct Answer: B. A time when a child is especially responsive to certain experiences, which
strongly shape later abilities
Rationale: Experiences during sensitive periods, such as language exposure in early childhood
or visual input in infancy, have lasting effects. Learning occurs throughout, but these windows
are especially important.
7. A child who drops from the 75th to below the 10th percentile for weight over several months
should be:
A. Considered normal because all children vary
B. Placed on a weight-loss diet
C. Evaluated for possible failure to thrive or underlying illness
D. Ignored if happy
Correct Answer: C. Evaluated for possible failure to thrive or underlying illness
Rationale: Crossing two or more major percentile lines downward is concerning and needs
evaluation of intake, absorption and psychosocial factors. It should not be dismissed or treated
with dieting.
8. To obtain an accurate infant weight, the nurse should:
A. Weigh the infant fully dressed
B. Weigh the infant without clothing or diaper on a calibrated infant scale
C. Have the parent hold the infant on an adult scale and guess
D. Weigh once a year only
Correct Answer: B. Weigh the infant without clothing or diaper on a calibrated infant scale
Rationale: Clothing and diapers add weight and distort small changes that matter in infancy.
Estimation and infrequent weighing miss problems.
, 9. Centration in the preoperational stage means the child:
A. Focuses on one feature of a situation and ignores others
B. Considers all aspects of a problem
C. Thinks abstractly
D. Reverses mental operations
Correct Answer: A. Focuses on one feature of a situation and ignores others
Rationale: Preschoolers focus on one dimension, such as the height of a glass, and miss others
such as width. Considering multiple aspects and reversibility develop in concrete operations,
and abstract thinking later.
10. A 9-year-old says, "I follow the rules because good kids do what teachers say." This reflects
Kohlberg's:
A. Preconventional level
B. Conventional level, seeking approval as a good person
C. Postconventional level
D. Sensorimotor stage
Correct Answer: B. Conventional level, seeking approval as a good person
Rationale: At the conventional level, children want to be seen as good and follow rules to gain
approval and maintain order. Preconventional reasoning focuses on punishment, and
postconventional on personal principles.
11. Piaget's concrete operational stage spans about:
A. 2 to 7 years
B. 7 to 11 years
C. Birth to 2 years
D. 11 years and older
Correct Answer: B. 7 to 11 years
Rationale: School-age children think logically about concrete objects and events. Abstract and
hypothetical reasoning come in the formal operational stage.
Answers
100 questions
1. Growth in height during the preschool and school-age years averages about:
A. 25 cm per year
B. 1 cm per year
C. 5 to 7.5 cm (2 to 3 inches) per year
D. 15 cm per month
Correct Answer: C. 5 to 7.5 cm (2 to 3 inches) per year
Rationale: After the rapid infant years, children grow steadily about 5 to 7.5 cm yearly until the
pubertal spurt. Twenty-five cm reflects the first year, and the other rates are inaccurate.
2. Brain growth in early childhood is so rapid that by about age 2 the brain reaches roughly:
A. 10 percent of adult size
B. 75 to 80 percent of adult size
C. 25 percent of adult size
D. Its full adult size
Correct Answer: B. 75 to 80 percent of adult size
Rationale: The brain grows rapidly after birth, reaching most of its adult size in the early years,
which is why early experiences and nutrition matter. It is not full size by age 2.
3. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning and impulse control, matures:
A. Into the mid-20s
B. By age 2
C. By age 6
D. Before birth
Correct Answer: A. Into the mid-20s
Rationale: Late maturation of executive function areas helps explain adolescent risk-taking. It is
not mature in early childhood.
,4. For a baby born at 32 weeks' gestation, development is assessed during the first 2 years using:
A. Chronological age only
B. Gestational age at birth only
C. Corrected (adjusted) age, subtracting the weeks born early from chronological age
D. The age of older siblings
Correct Answer: C. Corrected (adjusted) age, subtracting the weeks born early from
chronological age
Rationale: A baby born 8 weeks early who is 6 months old is assessed as a 4-month-old. Using
chronological age would falsely suggest delay. Gestational age at birth and siblings' ages are not
used.
5. For children from birth to 2 years in the United States, growth is plotted on:
A. WHO growth charts
B. CDC growth charts for all ages starting at birth
C. Adult BMI charts
D. No charts
Correct Answer: A. WHO growth charts
Rationale: WHO charts describe growth of healthy breastfed infants and are recommended
from birth to 2 years, while CDC charts are used from 2 years onward. Adult BMI charts are not
appropriate for children.
,6. A critical or sensitive period in development is:
A. A time when no learning can occur
B. A time when a child is especially responsive to certain experiences, which strongly shape later
abilities
C. The period after adolescence only
D. A period of illness
Correct Answer: B. A time when a child is especially responsive to certain experiences, which
strongly shape later abilities
Rationale: Experiences during sensitive periods, such as language exposure in early childhood
or visual input in infancy, have lasting effects. Learning occurs throughout, but these windows
are especially important.
7. A child who drops from the 75th to below the 10th percentile for weight over several months
should be:
A. Considered normal because all children vary
B. Placed on a weight-loss diet
C. Evaluated for possible failure to thrive or underlying illness
D. Ignored if happy
Correct Answer: C. Evaluated for possible failure to thrive or underlying illness
Rationale: Crossing two or more major percentile lines downward is concerning and needs
evaluation of intake, absorption and psychosocial factors. It should not be dismissed or treated
with dieting.
8. To obtain an accurate infant weight, the nurse should:
A. Weigh the infant fully dressed
B. Weigh the infant without clothing or diaper on a calibrated infant scale
C. Have the parent hold the infant on an adult scale and guess
D. Weigh once a year only
Correct Answer: B. Weigh the infant without clothing or diaper on a calibrated infant scale
Rationale: Clothing and diapers add weight and distort small changes that matter in infancy.
Estimation and infrequent weighing miss problems.
, 9. Centration in the preoperational stage means the child:
A. Focuses on one feature of a situation and ignores others
B. Considers all aspects of a problem
C. Thinks abstractly
D. Reverses mental operations
Correct Answer: A. Focuses on one feature of a situation and ignores others
Rationale: Preschoolers focus on one dimension, such as the height of a glass, and miss others
such as width. Considering multiple aspects and reversibility develop in concrete operations,
and abstract thinking later.
10. A 9-year-old says, "I follow the rules because good kids do what teachers say." This reflects
Kohlberg's:
A. Preconventional level
B. Conventional level, seeking approval as a good person
C. Postconventional level
D. Sensorimotor stage
Correct Answer: B. Conventional level, seeking approval as a good person
Rationale: At the conventional level, children want to be seen as good and follow rules to gain
approval and maintain order. Preconventional reasoning focuses on punishment, and
postconventional on personal principles.
11. Piaget's concrete operational stage spans about:
A. 2 to 7 years
B. 7 to 11 years
C. Birth to 2 years
D. 11 years and older
Correct Answer: B. 7 to 11 years
Rationale: School-age children think logically about concrete objects and events. Abstract and
hypothetical reasoning come in the formal operational stage.
