Marks on the wall
Measure a boy and a girl every year and see when the gaps grow.
Height on the wall
"You have become so tall, Devyani!" says Venkatesh. Imagine a pencil mark on the wall for your height, made once every year.
In which years do you think the marks will be furthest apart?
What this lesson covers
The idea
Height increases throughout growth but more prominently during adolescence, along with weight gain; boys' shoulders and chests may broaden, and girls develop breasts.
Height on the wall
"You have become so tall, Devyani!" says Venkatesh. Imagine a pencil mark on the wall for your height, made once every year.
In which years do you think the marks will be furthest apart?
- In the childhood years
- In the adolescent years
- All the gaps will be equal
Year by year
Press Add one year again and again. A pencil mark is made for the boy and for the girl each year. Compare the gaps.
Taller and heavier
Height increases throughout growth, but more prominently during adolescence, along with weight gain. In boys the shoulders and chest may broaden, and girls develop breasts.
The timing and size of these changes are different for each person. That is normal.
- In adolescence | Changes
- Boys | taller and heavier; shoulders and chest may broaden
- Girls | taller and heavier; other body changes, like development of breasts
Notes
Height increases throughout growth but more prominently during adolescence, along with weight gain. Boys' shoulders and chests may broaden, and girls develop breasts.
Check yourself
Look at the boy and his dashed outline from the start. What has changed?
Which statement about height is true?
Which pair of changes can be seen in both boys and girls in adolescence?
The increase in height becomes more prominent during which stage?
- Taller, heavier, broader shoulders — correct. Yes! These are changes of adolescence in a boy.
- He is taller, but his shoulders became narrower. In boys the shoulders may become broader, not narrower.
- Only his clothes changed; his size is the same. He is clearly taller and heavier than the outline.
- Height increases only during adolescence and never before it. Height increases throughout growth, from birth onwards.
- It increases all along, but more prominently in adolescence — correct. Yes! The increase becomes more prominent in adolescence.
- Height stops increasing as soon as adolescence begins. It is during adolescence that the increase is most prominent.
- Moustache and beard. The book mentions facial hair for boys.
- Broader shoulders and wider chest. The book mentions this for boys, not for both.
- Taller and heavier — correct. Yes! Both boys and girls change in height and weight.
- Adolescence — correct. Yes! That is when the gaps between the marks grew.
- Adulthood, the grown-up years. By adulthood the body has finished its rapid growth.
- Old age, the last stage. Old age is the last stage; it is not a stage of rapid growth.