Class 10 - Adolescence: Puberty

Question 1

What is puberty?

Answer 1

• collective term that encompasses all the changes, both seen and unseen, that are needed for reproductive maturity

Question 2

What does the pituitary gland do?

Answer 2

gland that triggers other glands to release hormones

Question 3

When does adrenarche begin? (2)

Answer 3

begins when the pituitary gland signals a child’s adrenal gland to step up its production of androgen
- occurs around age 7 or 8

Question 4

What occurs in adrenarche?

Answer 4

The growth of the ovaries in girls and testes in boys is stimulated, which then secrete estrogen (girls) and testosterone (boys), causing the sex organs to develop

Question 5

What does the thyroid gland do for development in adolescence?

Answer 5

• normal brain development and overall rate of growth (regulates metabolism)

Question 6

Which hormone is associated with the thyroid gland?

Answer 6

Thyroxine
lower level = tired, gain weight easily

Question 7

What does the adrenal gland do for development in adolescence?

Answer 7

Some changes at puberty, particularly the development of secondary sex characteristics in girls

Question 8

Which hormone is associated with the adrenal gland?

Answer 8

adrenal androgen

Question 9

What do the ovaries do for development in females? (2)

Answer 9

• development of the menstrual cycle and breasts in girls
• has less to do with other secondary sex characteristics than testosterone does for boys

Question 10

Which hormone is associated with the ovaries?

Answer 10

• estrogen (estradiol)

Question 11

What does the pituitary gland do for development in adolescence? (2)

Answer 11

• rate of physical maturation
• signals other glands to secrete hormones

Question 12

Which hormones are secreted from the pituitary? (3)

Answer 12

• General growth hormone
• TSH
• other activating hormones

Question 13

What do testes do for development in boys? (2)

Answer 13

• crucial in the formation of male genitals prenatally
• also triggers the sequence of changes in primary and secondary sex characteristics in the male

Question 14

Which hormone is associated with the testes?

Answer 14

testosterone

Question 15

What is important to note for the timing of puberty? (2)

Answer 15

1. 12-13 year olds will show a range of sexual maturation from stage 1 through 5
2. Discrepancies between an adolescent’s expectation and what actually happens determine the psychological effect of puberty (ie. compares themselves to others)

Question 16

What is menarche?

Answer 16

• The beginning of menstrual cycles

Question 17

What is the critical value for body fat percentage that must be reached before menarche can occur? (2)

Answer 17

17% (need enough to sustain pregnancy)
- the decline in the average age of menarche

Question 18

When does a boy’s growth spurt occur? What happens? (3)

Answer 18

• the peak typically occurs fairly late in the sequence of physical development
• Boys likely begin to produce viable sperm some time between ages 12 and 14, usually before they have reached the peak of the growth spurt
• The development of facial hair and the lowering of the voice occur near the end of the sequence