The Environment and the Individual

Question 5 • Environmental Science A

Which of the following is a valid explanation as to why children are at a higher risk to health effects relating to environmental hazards?

Answer

Children’s smaller lungs make them more likely to fill up with harmful chemicals.

Children’s immune systems are not fully developed causing them to be at a higher risk.

Children have less outdoor exposure, making them less adapted to outside conditions.

Children take more shallow breaths than adults, causing them to inhale contaminants more frequently.

Explanation

Children’s immune systems are still developing, so they may be less able to defend against harmful substances and the health effects those substances can cause. This makes “Children’s immune systems are not fully developed” a valid explanation. The other choices describe breathing or exposure patterns that do not correctly explain children’s increased vulnerability.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

More from this Course

The Tundra

Population Size

Human Health