6.1 Conception and Prenatal Development

Question 1

development

Answer 1

• the physiological, behavioral, cognitive, and social changes that occur throughout human life, which are guided by both genetic predispositions (nature) and by environmental influences (nurture)

Question 2

infancy

Answer 2

• the developmental stage that begins at birth and continues to one year of age

Question 3

childhood

Answer 3

• the period between infancy and the onset of puberty

Question 4

adolesence

Answer 4

• the years between the onset of puberty and the beginning of adulthood

Question 5

adulthood

Answer 5

• emerging, early, middle, and older adulthood

Question 6

conception

Answer 6

• when an egg from the mother is fertilized by a sperm from the father

Question 7

ovulation

Answer 7

• when an ovum, or egg (the largest cell in the human body), which has been stored in one of the mother’s two ovaries, matures and is released into the fallopian tube

Question 8

zygote

Answer 8

• a fertilized ovum

Question 9

embryo

Answer 9

• once the zygote attaches to the wall of the uterus

Question 10

amniotic sac

Answer 10

• the fluid-filled reservoir in which the embryo (soon to be known as a fetus) will live until birth, and which acts as both a cushion against outside pressure and as a temperature regulato

Question 11

placenta

Answer 11

• an organ that allows the exchange of nutrients between the embryo and the mother, while at the same time filtering out harmful material

Question 12

umbilical cord

Answer 12

• links the embryo directly to the placenta and transfers all material to the fetus

Question 13

fetus

Answer 13

• beginning in the 9th week after conception

Question 14

teratogens

Answer 14

• substances that can harm the fetus

Question 15

fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS)

Answer 15

• a condition caused by maternal alcohol drinking that can lead to numerous detrimental developmental effects, including limb and facial abnormalities, genital anomalies, and mental retardation