Chapter 2: Biological Aging, Health, and Longevity

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. The Hayflick Limit refers to ______.

A. the immortality of our cells

B. normal human cell division and replication

C. the explanation for cell division

D. why we age

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a good theory?

A. parsimonious

B. generalizable

C. has heuristic value

D. accounts for error

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Generalizability means that something can ______.

A. not be applied to other groups

B. be used to explain a wide range of findings

C. offer a vague explanation for a phenomenon

D. contains a universal process

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging
Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Theories of biological aging can be divided into two main groups, genetic programming theories and ______ theories.

A. variable-rate

B. variable success

C. error success

D. programming error

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging
Difficulty Level: Easy

5. What are the protective ends on chromosomes that prevent loss of genetic information?

A. master clocks

B. free radicals

C. Senescence

D. telomeres

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging
Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Which of the following is not impacted by sensory aging?

A. memory

B. audition

C. olfaction

D. vision

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Generational Cohorts

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. A(n) ______ is considered to be an age-normative visual change.

A. increase in the pupil’s resting diameter

B. thinning of the aqueous humor

C. strengthening of the ciliary muscles

D. thickening, yellowing, and increased opacity of the lens

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Vison

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Which of the following relates to the eye’s adjustment to focus and/or refocus?

A. presbyopia

B. glaucoma

C. absolute threshold

D. static visual acuity

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Vison

Difficulty Level: Hard

9. As one ages, there is a reduced ability to discriminate among ______.

A. blues and reds

B. blues and yellows

C. yellows and orange

D. blues and violets

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Vison

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Three-quarters of older adults experience ______ or more chronic health conditions.

A. one

B. two

C. three

D. four

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Specific Chronic Health Conditions

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. The buildup of fatty plaques in the walls of the coronary arteries is known as ______.

A. cancer

B. laterosclerosis

C. angina

D. atherosclerosis

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Specific Chronic Health Conditions

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. When the brain experiences a sudden lack of blood, it is referred to as ______.

A. a stroke

B. diabetes

C. anxiety

D. a heart attack

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Specific Chronic Health Conditions

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Who created a life expectancy calculator based on environmental characteristics, lifestyle and behavioral choices, and genetic factors?

A. Serle

B. Andersen

C. Feldman

D. Perls

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Life Expectancy and Life Span

Difficulty Level: Easy

14. Intermittent fasting has shown all of the following benefits EXCEPT ______.

A. improved tissue repair and reduced damage from oxidative stress (free radical damage)

B. improved function due to decreased inflammation

C. decreased metabolic homeostasis via improved protein synthesis

D. healthier mitochondria

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: From Theory to Application: Life Extension and Health Span

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. Studies of calorie restriction in humans have suggested that it ______.

A. does not reduce life span or reduce disease

B. increases life span but does not reduce disease

C. may reduce disease but might not increase life span

D. reduces disease and increases life span

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: From Theory to Application: Life Extension and Health Span

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. Cumulative models suggest that exposure to specific risks at each stage of development may ______.

A. result in a cascading of effects

B. strengthen reserve capacity

C. leave social trajectories unaltered

D. improve coping with future illnesses

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Integrating Across Topics

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. Some studies have suggested that additional factors can contribute to the length of one’s life, including restricting the number of hours per day or days per week in which one eats. This practice is best referred to as ______.

A. intermittent fasting

B. caloric restriction

C. dieting

D. intake restriction

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: From Theory to Application: Life Extension and Health Span

Difficulty Level: Easy

18. Gender-based differences in life expectancy result partly from interactions with ______.

A. education and profession

B. education and race

C. marital status and race

D. profession and marital status

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Life Expectancy and Life Span

Difficulty Level: Easy

19. Some areas in the United States, such as rural Appalachia, have lower life expectancies. This is referred to as ______.

A. differential life span

B. discriminatory health

C. place-based health disparities

D. factor-based impact

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Life Expectancy and Life Span

Difficulty Level: Hard

20. The maximum life expectancy of a human is ______ years.

A. 75

B. 100

C. 125

D. unknown

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Life Expectancy and Life Span

Difficulty Level: Easy

True/False

1. Biological aging refers to the decline in functioning in mid to late adulthood.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Biological Aging, Health, and Longevity

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. The free radical theory suggests that damaged is caused to DNA by the buildup of waste materials.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Women experience more frequent and severe losses in hearing, taste, and smell.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sensory Aging

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Individuals experience peak visual functioning around late adolescence or emerging adulthood.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Vison

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. In middle-aged and older adults, the experience of glare can result in car accidents.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Vison

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Approximately 30% of individuals older than 80 have significant hearing loss.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Audition

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Decreased sense of taste is the most common sensory loss among adults.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Gustation

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Evidence suggests that rate of decline in olfaction does not different by race or gender.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Olfaction

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Older adults have a reduced ability to regulate their body temperature.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Somesthesis

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Car accidents are the leading cause of traumatic brain injuries among older adults.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Somesthesis

Difficulty Level: Easy

Short Answer

1. Explain what it means when we say that a good theory has heuristic value.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. What are three genetic programming theories of aging?

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Pick one error/variable rate theory and describe it.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Describe two age-related changes in vision.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Vison

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Describe presbycusis and explain how it impacts individuals as they age.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Audition

Difficulty Level: Easy

Essay

1. Compare and contrast the characteristics of genetic programming theories and variable rate or error theories of aging.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Describe two common disorders that may increase with advanced age and their treatments.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Age-Related Changes in Vison

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Explain two different models of how socioeconomic position factors might influence heath across the lifespan.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Multidimensional Nature of Age

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Compare and contrast the neuroendocrine theory and the immunological theory of biological aging.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. What are the three primary qualities of a good theory? Explain each.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Why Do We Age? Theories of Biological Aging

Difficulty Level: Easy