Learning Rewires the Brain

According to "Learning Rewires the Brain," what increases as a person's brain becomes more familiar with a task?

• a. focus

• b. interest

• c. frustration

• d. daydreaming

According to "Learning Rewires the Brain," doing which of these actions can result in dramatically improved learning?

• a. talking

• b. smiling

• c. sleeping

• d. relaxing

What did scientists discover about cells in the memory region of a sleeping rat's brain, according to "Learning Rewires the Brain"?

• a. that cells fire once and lose their connections

• b. that cells fire in sync and diversify their connections

• c. that cells fire more slowly and shorten their connections

• d. that cells fire in reverse and strengthen their connections

According to "Learning Rewires the Brain," what is one reason teens sometimes make poor decisions?

• a. Their myelin sheaths are too thick.

• b. They have stopped producing myelin.

• c. They have not begun producing myelin.

• d. Their myelin sheaths are not thick enough.

According to "Learning Rewires the Brain," what is the most likely result of cramming?

• a. Main ideas will be recalled, but not details.

• b. Information learned will be forgotten quickly.

• c. The brain will become wired to learn more quickly.

• d. Information will be stored more efficiently in the brain.

Which of the following words is a synonym for transmit?

• a. send

• b. grow

• c. receive

• d. replace

Which of the following could best be used to relay information? Base your answer on the meaning of relay.

• a. a test

• b. an eraser

• c. a thermometer

• d. a text message

Which of the following situations could best be used to illustrate the meaning of signals?

• a. Wendy closes the book and turns off the light so her sister can get some sleep.

• b. Maria saw the director's nod and gave the thumbs-up to Ben to raise the curtain.

• c. Alan praises the team for their strong performance in the second half of the game.

• d. Sara goes through her vocabulary words one more time as she prepares for the test.

The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B.

Part A According to "Learning Rewires the Brain," which of the following is true after we have learned something?

• a. The flow of blood in the affected part of the brain is greater.

• b. Some nerve cells that transmit signals are merged into one cell.

• c. Nerve cells no longer need to "talk" to each other to send signals

• d. The amount of energy used to transmit signals between nerve cells is reduced.

Part B: Which sentence from the text best supports the answer to Part A?

• That boost in blood flow highlights which cells are busy working.

• Areas that allow people to pay attention become most active as someone began a new task.

• When the signal reaches the end of the axon, it triggers the release of those chemical messengers.

• It takes less effort for them to signal the next cell about what's going on.