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The Distracted Teenage Brain

Total questions: 20

Worksheet time: 17mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Allure

a)

attraction, appeal

b)

sincere or passionate in their convictions

c)

vertical or horizontal

d)

person who is in the transitional stage from a child into an adult.

2.

In Earnest

a)

person who is in the transitional stage from a child into an adult.

b)

vertical or horizontal

c)

someone is sincere or passionate in their convictions.

d)

attraction, appeal

3.

Direction

a)

attraction, appeal

b)

that someone is sincere or passionate in their convictions.

c)

vertical or horizontal

d)

person who is in the transitional stage from a child into an adult

4.

Adolescent

a)

A young person who is in the transitional stage from a child into an adult

b)

vertical or horizontal

c)

attraction, appeal

d)

in earnest

5.

Prefrontal Cortex

a)

in earnest

b)

the part of the brain involved in making plans and decisions.

c)

the part of the brain involved in making art.

d)

the part of the brain that makes you breathe.

6.

Rewards entice teens _____ than they do adults.

a)

more

b)

less

c)

about the same

d)

even small ones

7.

Teens tend to _____ doing things they once found rewarding, even after the actual payoff is long gone

a)

stop

b)

pause

c)

continue

d)

quit

8.

Match the following

a)

Vertical

1.

up/down

b)

Horizontal

2.

side to side

c)

Orientation

3.

direction of a thing

d)

Entice

4.

attract

9.

Which of the following statements best expresses the central idea of the article?

a)

Teenagers' brains are more easily distracted because they use social media and text while driving more often than adults

b)

Teenagers are more likely than adults to take risks for money based on a study in Iowa City.

c)

Teenagers are more prone to distraction because they are more attracted to or focused on potential rewards.

d)

Teenagers often do not realize why they want rewards because their brains are still developing.

10.

Which of the following quotes best supports the idea that teenagers are more prone to distraction because they are more attracted to or focused on potential rewards?

a)

"For some volunteers, green circles provided a large (10-cent) reward and red circles provided a small (2-cent) reward." (Paragraph 4)

b)

"'The study demonstrates that the attention of adolescents is especially drawn to rewarding information'" (Paragraph 12)

c)

"These data may help explain why teens engage in risky behavior, he says." (Paragraph 12)

d)

"When distractions are not readily available, it will be easier to focus attention on the things that matter most." (Paragraph 14)

11.

Are you surprised by the findings of this study? Why or why not?

4 lines
12.

The teenage volunteers were _____.

a)

13-16 years old

b)

10-12 years old

c)

17-19 years old

d)

99-999 years old

13.

The adult volunteers were ________

a)

66-666 years old

b)

7-11 years old

c)

45-95 years old

d)

20-35 years old

14.

Teens have a reputation for making some not-so-smart decisions. Researchers have blamed those poor decisions on the immaturity of a teen’s ____.

a)

prefrontal cortex

b)

corpus callosum

c)

occipital lobe

d)

Broca area

15.

After red and green circles no longer brought any reward, adults sped up but teens were still distracted by them.

a)

True

b)

False

16.

The attention of adolescents is especially drawn to ____.

a)

pizza

b)

tacos

c)

useless information

d)

rewarding information

17.

Some behaviors, like ___ or ____, trigger the brain's reward system.

a)

texting

b)

social media

c)

farting in class

d)

crying at night

18.

Once the teenage brain has linked a behavior to that reward, it continues to ____

a)

do nothing.

b)

think about tacos.

c)

seek the reward again and again.

d)

daydream about Aang from ATLA

19.

How can someone overcome their brain’s attempts to distract?

a)

physically removing distractions whenever possible

b)

Shut down the phone when driving

c)

disconnect from Wi-Fi while doing homework.

d)

It's impossible.

20.

What is one thing you can do to help yourself be less distracted?

4 lines