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Section 4: Sample Selected-Response Questions
TX PACT: Health: Early Childhood–Grade 12 (757)

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This section presents some sample exam questions for you to review as part of your preparation for the exam. To demonstrate how each competency may be assessed, sample questions are accompanied by the competency that they measure. While studying, you may wish to read the competency before and after you consider each sample question. Please note that the competency statements do not appear on the actual exam.

The correct answer is provided for each sample exam question. The sample questions are included to illustrate the formats and types of questions you will see on the exam; however, your performance on the sample questions should not be viewed as a predictor of your performance on the actual exam.

Domain I—Health Throughout the Life Span

Competency 001—Understand principles of human anatomy and physiology and stages of growth and development.

1. Which of the following body systems relays sensory and motor impulses from the brain and spinal cord to internal organs, skeletal muscles, glands, and body surfaces?

  1. the endocrine system
  2. the musculoskeletal system
  3. the cardiovascular system
  4. the peripheral nervous system
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Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to identify basic structures and functions of major body systems. In the peripheral nervous system, cranial nerves connect the brain with sensory organs, the heart, and other internal organs. Spinal nerves carry impulses between the spinal cord and skeletal muscles.

Competency 002—Understand the importance of proper nutrition for maintaining lifelong health.

2. An adequate intake of carbohydrates is essential for nutritional health because the human body:

  1. uses carbohydrates as the raw material for making antibodies, enzymes, and hormones.
  2. converts carbohydrates to glucose, which is the fuel that supplies the energy needed for daily activities.
  3. uses carbohydrates to transport fat-soluble vitamins and convert cholesterol to vitamin D.
  4. relies on carbohydrates to supply the essential amino acids needed for muscle and connective tissue growth.
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Option B is correct. This question requires the examinee to identify functions and effects of nutrients on body systems and energy processes. Carbohydrates are the macronutrients that supply the human body with the energy needed to sustain normal activity. The body metabolizes simple sugars and complex carbohydrates quickly and efficiently, converting them into glucose, the fuel for the body's cells.

Competency 003—Understand principles, components, and benefits of health-related physical fitness.

3. A female high school student includes both cycling and swimming in her summer fitness program. As she participates in these activities, she tries to maintain a target heart rate of 60 percent to 80 percent of her maximum heart rate. This fitness goal is based on which of the following training principles?

  1. specificity of training
  2. intensity of training
  3. frequency of training
  4. progression of training
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Option B is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of training principles that enhance health-related fitness. In this scenario, the student applies the principle of intensity of training in two types of aerobic exercise. Monitoring and maintaining a heart rate of 60 to 80 percent of one's maximum heart rate during sustained aerobic exercise provides health-related benefits such as strengthening the cardiovascular system, improving oxygen utilization and lung capacity, and increasing endurance and stamina.

Domain II—Health Promotion and Risk Reduction

Competency 004—Understand the nature, control, and prevention of illness and disease.

4. Autoimmune disorders can best be described as diseases in which:

  1. the antigen-antibody response attacks healthy cells in the body or fails to function altogether.
  2. weakened pathogens enter the blood before they are destroyed in the environment.
  3. acquired active immunity provided by vaccines fails to destroy disease-causing microorganisms.
  4. the body's early defense system fails to detect disease-causing pathogens.
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Option A is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of characteristics of diseases. Autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, cause the body's immune system, which is designed to attack foreign substances in the body, to attack healthy cells and tissues instead. Since the immune system is unable to differentiate between antigens and normal tissues and cells at body sites, it sends antibodies to form immune complexes, which can circulate and cause tissue inflammation.

Competency 005—Understand principles and strategies for reducing risks to personal health.

5. Which of the following processes is likely to be most effective for managing stress and worry that arise from pressures related to family, school, or work situations?

  1. Define the stress reaction as a problem, think of several concrete strategies to cope with the problem, and try out a few.
  2. Visualize the events that led to stress, then visualize an alternative positive version of events.
  3. Identify types or sources of stress that are even more challenging than those that tend to affect one personally.
  4. Use self-talk to acknowledge that everyone has innate weaknesses that allow stress to affect them.
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Option A is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of strategies for reducing risks to personal health by identifying coping mechanisms for managing stress. Using a systematic problem-solving process to manage stress prompts an individual to identify the source of stress and anxiety, define it as a problem, develop realistic ways of coping with anxious feelings or stressful situations (e.g., exercising, communicating assertively with a person who causes tension), and implement thoughtful and purposeful coping strategies.

Competency 006—Understand factors that influence interpersonal and family relationships and strategies for promoting healthy relationships.

6. Which of the following types of personal attributes is most likely to make a positive contribution to the development of healthy interpersonal communications?

  1. being able to rationalize and defend one's behavior and personal beliefs in difficult situations
  2. having an aptitude for making people feel that they are important and beyond reproach
  3. being able to express and reveal one's deepest emotions openly and without fear of judgment
  4. having the ability to listen to and demonstrate respect for the viewpoints of others
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Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to identify important factors that contribute to the development of healthy interpersonal relationships. Active listening is a key aspect of healthy interpersonal communication. Effective listeners try to understand the perspectives, thoughts, and feelings of others from what others communicate verbally and nonverbally. Attributes such as demonstrating respect for others' viewpoints and remaining open and willing to listen to and exchange ideas with others are essential for establishing and maintaining positive interpersonal communication and relationships.

Competency 007—Understand principles, methods, and techniques for enhancing safety, preventing and treating injuries, avoiding danger, and responding to emergencies.

7. Which of the following procedures is the first step for dealing with a conscious individual who has swallowed a poison such as a pesticide or a detergent?

  1. Take the person to the emergency room.
  2. Call Poison Control.
  3. Give cold milk to neutralize the poison.
  4. Administer syrup of ipecac to induce vomiting.
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Option B is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of emergency first-aid procedures. When an individual ingests a poison, the first step to take is to contact a Poison Control Center to describe who has swallowed the poison, what and how much was ingested, when the substance was ingested, and any symptoms that are occurring or have occurred (e.g., vomiting). Based on this information, Poison Control Center staff will recommend what to do next and how best to neutralize the poison. For example, an activated charcoal product might be recommended to treat the ingestion of a pesticide or detergent because activated charcoal binds to poisons and prevents their absorption into the bloodstream.

Domain III—Health Advocacy and Literacy

Competency 008—Understand how to use risk-assessment, conflict-resolution, goal-setting, decision-making, and advocacy skills to enhance health.

8. Which of the following introductory messages is likely to be most appropriate for a discussion about violence prevention with elementary students?

  1. "Sometimes it's hard to differentiate good-natured teasing from hurtful teasing or bullying, and this may lead to conflict."
  2. "Imagine that some day you will have a child. What kind of advice about avoiding violence would you give to your child?"
  3. "Conflicts happen, even between friends. It's important to stop little conflicts from turning into big fights, and there are some good rules for doing this."
  4. "People say that there is too much violence on television. They say it makes us less sensitive to real-life violence and encourages us to do violent things."
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Option C is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of how to promote students' use of conflict-resolution and violence-prevention strategies and skills. The introductory message that emphasizes the importance of stopping little conflicts from turning into big fights is developmentally appropriate for elementary students and relevant in students' everyday lives. The message states that conflicts happen even between friends, reinforcing the idea of conflict as a normal part of life, but emphasizing that conflicts need to be managed proactively to prevent them from escalating into violence. The message also notes that there are some good rules for managing conflicts, providing an appropriate transition into class activities designed to promote students' knowledge of conflict-resolution and violence-prevention techniques.

Competency 009—Understand principles and techniques for locating, evaluating, selecting, and accessing information, products, and services to enhance health.

9. An individual recently diagnosed with hypertension wants to learn more about exercise and diet strategies for managing the condition. Which of the following resources is likely to provide the most helpful and accurate information in this situation?

  1. local pharmacists
  2. Web sites sponsored by manufacturers of blood pressure medications
  3. neighbors and friends
  4. government-sponsored Web sites geared toward health consumers
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Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of principles and techniques for evaluating and selecting valid health-related information. Many government and educational Web sites for health consumers (e.g., Healthy People 2010, WebMD) provide comprehensive, objective, and accurate health-related information, as well as links to other reliable resources. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Office of the Surgeon General, and the National Institutes for Health are just a few examples of government organizations whose Web sites address appropriate exercise and nutritional strategies for managing hypertension.

Competency 010—Understand the influence of society, culture, media, technology, and the environment on personal, family, and community health.

10. Which of the following statements best describes how advertisers target adolescents and attract them to products that pose potential health risks?

  1. Television shows, movies, and magazines feature individuals who embody unrealistic standards of physical beauty.
  2. Advertisers pay television and film companies to place brand-name cosmetics prominently in scenes in shows and movies.
  3. Fast-food companies arrange promotions and toy tie-ins to coincide with the release of major motion pictures.
  4. Alcohol manufacturers place advertising in televised and live sporting events and in magazines with young readership.
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Option D is correct. This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of media influences on personal health—in this case, the way in which advertisers try to attract adolescents to products that pose health risks. Even though adolescents cannot legally drink alcohol, manufacturers of alcoholic beverages target young people with much of their marketing, especially at sporting events that young people attend or watch on television and in music, entertainment, and sports magazines popular with young people. Alcohol advertising and marketing has a significant effect on youth attitudes and helps create an environment that promotes underage drinking. National studies have confirmed that adolescents who are exposed to alcohol advertisements and view them favorably are likely to have positive expectations about alcohol use.