It is easy to distinguish children from adults. For one thing, children are usually much smaller. But how are we able to tell them apart from a drawing alone? Have a look at the two outline drawings. Which one do you think represents the child and which the adult?
Figure 4 Two outline drawings
Long descriptionAlthough the drawings are the same height, the proportions are different. The left-hand drawing, which represents the child, has a larger head in relation to the size of the body. The differences between adults and children in this respect are quite dramatic, as the particular examples in Table 25 show. It is not just to do with skin texture, dress or body posture. Children are actually a different shape from adults.
| Name | Age | Height (cm) | Head circumference (cm) | H/C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David | 1 day | 51 | 35.5 | |
| Shelley | 2 years | 82 | 49 | |
| Lydia | 5 years | 114 | 52.5 | |
| Ruth | 10 years | 127.5 | 54.5 | |
| Bal | 12 years | 144 | 54.5 | |
| Marti | 33 years | 157.5 | 55.5 | |
| Sunil | 37 years | 172 | 55 |
(a) For each of the seven people in Table 25, calculate (with the help of your calculator) the ratio of their height (H) divided by their head circumference (C). Write your ratios in the empty column of the table headed H/C.
What do these results suggest?
(b) If you can, take the same measurements from members of your own or a friend's household, and check that the same pattern is true for them.
(a) The ratios in the table below are given to two decimal places.
| Name | Age | H/C |
|---|---|---|
| David | 1 day | 1.44 |
| Shelley | 2 years | 1.67 |
| Lydia | 5 years | 2.17 |
| Ruth | 10 years | 2.34 |
| Bal | 12 years | 2.64 |
| Marti | 33 years | 2.84 |
| Sunil | 37 years | 3.13 |
For most adults, their height is about three times their head circumference. However, with very young children, their height is only about one and a half times their head circumference.
You may not have been consciously aware that adults and children differ so dramatically in terms of their body proportions.
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