Study Guide

Field 213: Physical Education 
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Each multiple-choice question has four answer choices. Read each question and its answer choices carefully and choose the ONE best answer.

During the test you should try to answer all questions. Even if you are unsure of an answer, it is better to guess than not to answer a question at all. You will NOT be penalized for choosing an incorrect response.

Objective 0001
Understand principles and critical elements of motor development and motor learning.

1. Evidence-based educational research suggests that children who may be reluctant to display underdeveloped motor skills may repeatedly opt out of group physical activities requiring motor competence, which creates a proficiency barrier to their participation in complex movement activities. According to research, when this type of behavior persists in childhood, it tends to result in:

  1. a progression of learned helplessness affecting all academic areas.
  2. an increased risk of becoming overweight or obese.
  3. a reduced receptiveness to social and emotional learning approaches.
  4. a limited ability to learn tactical strategies for games.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
A growing body of research addresses the existence of a "proficiency barrier" between the fundamental and transitional levels of childhood motor skill development. When students attain a level of motor competence beyond this transitional level, they are more likely to continue to engage in physical activity. Students who have fewer motor skill opportunities or who are less skilled than peers due to other factors may have difficulty overcoming this proficiency barrier. As students become more aware of their skill level, they may perceive physical activity requiring motor competence as difficult, and not wish to participate in motor skill activities in front of others. As a result, these students tend to avoid complex motor activities and engage in less physical activity than their peers, and thus have a greater risk of becoming overweight or obese.
Objective 0002
Understand movement concepts, movement patterns, and biomechanical principles.

2. Unlike the biomechanics involved in swinging a baseball bat, the biomechanics involved in swinging a golf club or a field hockey stick include:

  1. a sidearm striking motion in a horizontal plane.
  2. little or no rotation of the hips and shoulders.
  3. an underhand striking motion in a vertical plane.
  4. a side-to-target orientation with striking elbow up to start.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
The vertical or underarm striking pattern is at the advanced level of striking and is a key movement pattern for sports such as golf and field hockey. Unlike the sidearm horizontal swing pattern used when batting a ball, the vertical underhand swing pattern is used when striking with a hockey stick or golf club. Because striking skills are some of the most difficult object control skills to learn due to their interrelated movement components, students should be offered many different opportunities to practice a variety of striking patterns.
Objective 0003
Understand principles and activities for developing students' locomotor, nonlocomotor, object control, rhythmic, creative movement, and dance skills.

3. Which of the following techniques would be most effective in helping a student increase the height of a vertical jump?

  1. kicking the legs while in the air
  2. swinging the arms overhead while in the air
  3. tucking the legs quickly after takeoff
  4. extending the legs more quickly during takeoff
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
The height of a vertical jump is largely determined by the vertical velocity of the center of gravity at take-off. By bending the knees, forcefully using the legs to thrust the body upward as quickly as possible, and swinging the arms forward and up to help raise the body, a student can effectively increase the height of the body's center of gravity, and hence the overall height of the jump.
Objective 0003
Understand principles and activities for developing students' locomotor, nonlocomotor, object control, rhythmic, creative movement, and dance skills.

4. Use the photographlink to footnote number 1 below to answer the question that follows.

young girl posing

In this photograph, a young female elementary school-age student poses in a static position on the floor of a dance or exercise room. The student is dressed in shorts, T-shirt, socks, and sneakers. The student is in a pose similar to the "crab" position, with the body lifted up, stomach facing up, knees flexed at about a 90-degree angle, and both feet are flat on the floor supporting the raised body. The student's right arm is extended down with the hand (closest to the camera) palm-down on the floor. In contrast to a crab position in which both hands are on the floor, the student's left arm is extended up and behind the student's head, and the fingers of the hand are extended. In this crab-with-one-arm-extended pose, the student's upper torso and head are angled toward the camera, and the student is looking at the camera.

In this activity, the student is performing:

  1. a two-part balance that promotes knee and shoulder flexibility.
  2. an agility exercise that promotes awareness of pathways.
  3. a three-part balance that promotes upper body and core strength.
  4. a ballistic stretching exercise that promotes awareness of direction.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
In the photograph, the student is in a pose similar to the "crab" position, but with one arm extended up and behind the student's head. The student's pose is a three body-part (two feet, one hand) static balance designed to strengthen the torso and upper body. To maintain balance and stability, the student must tighten the abdominals and other core muscles, as well as use arm and shoulder strength to hold the upper body in a raised position.
Objective 0004
Understand techniques, skill progressions, activities, organizational strategies, basic rules, etiquette, equipment, and safety practices for individual, dual, and team sports.

5. Which of the following sequences of instructional cues is most appropriate for teaching the underhand throw to kindergarten physical education students?

  1. Eyes forward
    Face target
    Point and throw
    Step through
  2. Face target
    Make a T
    Wrist back
    Snap and step through
  3. Ready position
    Arm back
    Step and throw
    Follow through
  4. Side to target
    Rock back
    Step/throw/point
    Follow through
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
In the underhand throw pattern, critical elements include assuming the ready position (knees bent, feet shoulder-width apart, eyes on target, object held in front of body), bringing the dominant arm back to at least waist-level to begin the throw, stepping forward in opposition, swinging the throwing arm forward, releasing the ball at or below the waist, and following through or continuing the arc of the throw after releasing the object. The forward step with the leg opposite the throwing arm counterbalances the arm movement and provides stability as the underhand throw is executed.
Objective 0005
Understand techniques, skill progressions, organizational strategies, basic rules, etiquette, equipment, and safety practices for lifelong sports, recreational activities, outdoor pursuits, and cooperative and group activities.

6. The primary rationale for including activities such as kayaking, indoor rock wall traversing, and ropes challenge courses in a physical education curriculum is that the activities are particularly effective for helping students:

  1. become aware of the importance of the proper use of safety equipment.
  2. experience authentic physically demanding activities.
  3. show respect for Leave No Trace principles as they enjoy spending time outdoors.
  4. develop self-confidence as they challenge their own perceptions of competency.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
One important goal of a secondary physical education program is to help promote students' self-confidence and willingness to try out different physical activities. Kayaking, indoor rock wall traversing, and ropes challenge courses involve a process of working toward and reaching a destination or goal, which can provide an immediate sense of accomplishment and achievement to students. In turn, this builds self-confidence and self-esteem. By including challenging, unfamiliar activities, physical education teachers prompt students to work outside their comfort zones, which helps students develop feelings of self-worth, perceptions of physical competence, and habits related to persevering and contributing one's best effort individually or as part of a team.
Objective 0006
Understand physiology concepts related to physical activity and health, and principles and components of health-related fitness.

7. An elementary school physical education teacher asks students to pair up and walk around the school athletic field. The teacher challenges the students to increase their speed just until it is difficult for them to talk to their partner without becoming breathless. This kind of activity would be most effective in developing student awareness of which of the following fitness principles?

  1. frequency
  2. intensity
  3. time
  4. type
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
In this activity, the teacher asks students to use a modified version of the "talk test," a common technique used to estimate intensity or effort during aerobic activity as low, moderate, or vigorous. The teacher challenges students to increase their speed to a brisk walk, which is generally considered a moderately intense aerobic activity. At this level, a student's respiration would generally quicken to the point at which the student could talk, but not sing. With more effort and hence more vigorous activity, a student's respiration would become deep and rapid, making it difficult to say more than a few words at a time. Through this movement activity, students gain first-hand experience in monitoring and evaluating individual levels of exercise intensity, one of the four FITT principles.
Objective 0006
Understand physiology concepts related to physical activity and health, and principles and components of health-related fitness.

8. In comparison to an individual who is sedentary, an individual who is physically active is likely to experience which of the following muscular system adaptations?

  1. a reduced need to maintain the oxidative capacity of muscles
  2. a cessation in the need to store glycogen in muscle fibers for later energy needs
  3. an increase in the formation of lactic acid surrounding muscle tissues
  4. an enhanced ability to use fat as energy for muscle actions
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
When carbohydrate-fueled energy is depleted during exercise, the body oxidizes fat, stored as triglycerides in fat cells, for energy. In skeletal muscle, the fats stored as triglycerides break down into free fatty acids ( F F Ayes ) that are used to produce adenosine triphosphate ( A T P ) and fuel working muscles. Trained muscles are more metabolically active than untrained muscles and burn more calories, and with regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, the body becomes more efficient in utilizing stored fats. Hence, individuals who are physically active are more efficient than individuals who are sedentary at using fat as an energy source for skeletal muscular actions in particular and at physical activity in general.
Objective 0007
Understand principles and activities for developing and maintaining healthy levels of cardiorespiratory endurance.

9. Which of the following statements accurately explains why an individual's resting heart rate decreases in response to a program of regular aerobic activity?

  1. Stroke volume increases because the heart contracts more strongly.
  2. Oxygen demand decreases because body weight decreases.
  3. Cardiac output increases because cardiac neural conduction improves.
  4. Oxygen debt is cleared more rapidly because of increased vascularity.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
In response to participation in regular aerobic activity, an individual's heart becomes stronger and more efficient and does not need to beat as frequently as a sedentary individual's heart to meet circulatory needs. While there is generally no increase in maximum heart beats per minute as a result of regular exercise, there is an increase in the volume of blood pumped per heart stroke, because the heart muscle is able to contract more strongly after being conditioned by physical activity.
Objective 0008
Understand principles and activities for developing and maintaining muscular strength and endurance and joint flexibility.

10. Use the photographlink to footnote number 2 below to answer the question that follows.

elementary school children stretching

In this photograph, a group of six elementary school-age students stand in a spread-out formation in a physical education setting, facing the camera. The students, dressed in T-shirts and shorts, are performing the same static stretch: an overhead-arms side stretch, or standing overhead-reach side bend. The students stand with their weight evenly distributed between both feet. Their arms are extended overhead, and their heads are between their arms. The students' hands are clasped above their heads; two of the six students' clasped hands are palms-up with intertwined fingers. In this position, all of the students are bending laterally from the waist, thereby stretching their upper bodies to their right (camera left).

The students in this physical education class are demonstrating an exercise designed to improve the flexibility of the triceps and which other muscle groups in particular?

  1. pectoralis major and minor
  2. deltoid, latissimus dorsi, and trapezius
  3. psoas minor (iliacus) and psoas major
  4. rhomboid, erector spinae, and rectus abdominis
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
In this exercise, students are performing the same static stretch: an overhead-arms side stretch, or standing overhead-reach side bend. The students stand with their arms extended overhead and heads between their arms. The students' hands are clasped above their heads. In this position, the students bend laterally from the waist, thereby stretching their upper bodies. In addition to the triceps muscles, this exercise targets the deltoid muscles, located in the upper arms and tops of the shoulders, the latissimus dorsi muscles, located along either side of the spine, and the trapezius muscles, located in the back of the neck, shoulders, and middle and upper back.
Objective 0009
Understand principles of nutrition and activities for developing and maintaining healthy levels of body composition.

11. In a middle school physical education class, students will be analyzing their eating and physical activity patterns, evaluating their fitness needs, and developing an individualized wellness plan. Which of the following introductory activities would be most useful to carry out with students prior to the project?

  1. demonstrating and describing how to use various methods of calculating body composition, including the use of body mass index tables
  2. suggesting that students use commercial computerized dietary analysis software to help identify average daily caloric intakes, expenditures, and general eating patterns
  3. guiding students through a review of Web sites associated with popular fitness plans to compare and contrast nutritional and physical activity strategies for improving fitness and weight management
  4. familiarizing students with widely accepted recommendations related to nutrition and physical activity for their age group and tools and resources they can use to estimate and track caloric intake and expenditure
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
By familiarizing students with nutrition and physical activity recommendations and guidelines tailored to their age group, teachers can help promote student skills in self-evaluating strengths and needs, tracking eating and activity patterns, and designing individualized fitness plans. Several resources offer guidelines specifically for children and adolescents, such as the USDA's ChooseMyPlate.gov Web site. Students can use online tools to plan, track, and evaluate daily nutrition and physical activity based on age and activity levels.
Objective 0010
Understand how students learn and develop physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally.

12. Which of the following statements accurately describes how children's progress in motor skill development is influenced by growth and developmental factors?

  1. Progress in motor skill development and performance is most closely related to greater mechanical efficiency in respiration and circulation as the lungs and heart mature.
  2. Motor skill development follows predictable patterns, but individual variations in motor skills occur and are influenced by heredity, living environments, and physical activity opportunities.
  3. Like physical growth, progress in motor skill development is largely related to chronological age; children of the same age tend to perform most motor skills with the same level of competence.
  4. Progress in motor skill development proceeds on pace with physical development; as children grow and physically mature, their motor skill performance improves regardless of environments, opportunities, and other influences.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Due to the general pattern of human skeletal, muscular, and brain growth, the physical and motor development of children proceeds in a relatively uniform way. But motor development is also influenced by the interaction of physical, cognitive, psychosocial, environmental, and genetic factors, as well as motor learning opportunities and experiences (e.g., practice, instruction, appropriate equipment). While active and inactive children progress through the same stages of development, active children have more opportunities for motor skill development during those stages. For example, by the age of five or six, children have the gross-motor skill capacity to participate in increasingly demanding motor activities, such as running, jumping, turning, and kicking. At this stage, it is essential to provide children with movement experiences that promote such motor skills to help prepare children for the next developmental stage.
Objective 0011
Understand the role of physical activity in the development of positive personal and social attitudes and behaviors.

13. During an outdoor activity, elementary school students use a parachute to make "tidal waves." Students stand in a circle and grip the parachute with both hands, then manipulate it to make a dome. The physical education teacher pushes the parachute clockwise. The student to the teacher's left pushes the parachute clockwise, then the next student pushes it clockwise, and so on, until a wave or bubble under the parachute begins to circulate. Which of the following outcomes is likely to be the most significant benefit of involving students in this type of activity?

  1. promoting rhythmic movement and teamwork skills such as cooperation and mutual support
  2. fostering leadership abilities such as goal setting and negotiating
  3. providing students with initial practice in using a variety of complex gross-motor skills in a group setting
  4. encouraging students to explore self-space and general space and distinguish between the two
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Physical education parachute activities help develop students' rhythmic skills by requiring students to work in unison to manipulate a parachute in a particular pattern or to achieve a particular objective. In this scenario, as the students work to establish and maintain the movement sequence needed to keep the wave or bubble circulating in the parachute, they develop an awareness of the role of rhythm in movement, by using perceptual motor skills such as visual, auditory, and tactile discrimination. Working together as a group to manipulate the parachute also encourages students to practice and use skills important to teamwork, such as cooperation, self-control, civil communication, and mutual support.
Objective 0012
Understand the role of physical education in the development of critical-thinking, goal-setting, problem-solving, decision-making, and conflict-resolution skills.

14. Middle school physical education students have completed personal fitness assessments and know which health-related fitness component they should work on improving. The teacher asks each student to write down an individual fitness goal and three possible ways to reach the goal. The primary benefit of this activity, as opposed to setting goals for the entire class, is that it:

  1. allows students the opportunity to focus on an area of personal strength.
  2. minimizes student resistance to participation in efforts to improve fitness.
  3. gives students greater responsibility for their own learning and fitness.
  4. maintains the privacy of each student in developing and pursuing fitness goals.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
The primary benefit of this activity is that it encourages students to consider personal behavior patterns and physical activity, nutrition, and health risks and strengths in relation to the fitness component they have identified; develop a realistic, measurable individualized goal; and think of three possible strategies for attaining the goal. This activity requires students to define their goal, outline steps needed to achieve it, and analyze possible barriers in implementing the strategies. In the process, students are likely to gain a greater sense of responsibility for their learning and fitness, as well as self-reliance and empowerment.
Objective 0013
Understand principles and methods of instructional management and motivation in physical education settings.

15. A student trips over a piece of equipment during physical education class and lacerates a forearm, causing moderate bleeding. After putting on gloves, which of the following steps should the teacher take first in this situation?

  1. treating the student for shock and having someone call  9 1 1 
  2. applying a splint to stabilize the arm and calling for the school nurse
  3. applying a clean bandage and direct pressure to the wound while the student elevates the arm
  4. pressing firmly on the arterial pressure point on the student's upper arm while the student lies flat
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
After putting on gloves, the first step in administering care for a deep cut, such as the laceration to the student's forearm, is to stop the bleeding. This is best accomplished by putting a sterile dressing over the wound and applying direct pressure for at least ten minutes. Elevating the arm will decrease swelling and possibly pain. Once the bleeding stops, an antibiotic ointment and a new sterile bandage should be applied.
Objective 0014
Understand physical education curriculum development and evaluation of physical education programs.

16. Which of the following concepts is central to the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) approach in the fields of health and physical education?

  1. the belief that students can reason and make decisions using health- and fitness-related concepts to make decisions only when they acquire the prerequisite functional health knowledge and life skills
  2. an emphasis on the connections between students' health and well-being and educational achievement, and an integrated ecological system that supports these connections in students' daily lives
  3. the theory that social and emotional learning is the basis for skills-based health education and that health- and fitness-related learning occurs primarily through opportunities to watch and imitate others
  4. the premise that students will achieve optimal health- and fitness-related behavior change only when they successfully overcome perceived barriers to health and fitness within themselves
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
The Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model, developed by the ASCD and CDC, is characterized by an ecological approach in which the child is the focal point, and connected school and community health-related resources support the needs of children to enhance their learning and well-being. The WSCC model calls for greater alignment and integration of health and education outcomes through coordinated policy, process, and practice to ensure that students are ready to learn, emotionally and physically healthy, engaged, and prepared for self-sufficiency in adulthood. Physical education/activity and health education are two of the ten components that encircle the whole child in the WSCC.
Objective 0015
Understand how to plan, develop, and implement developmentally appropriate instructional strategies in the physical education program.

17. A physical education teacher works with a population of students in grades 4–6 whose learning styles vary widely. The teacher would like to incorporate principles of universal design for learning (UDL). Which of the following approaches best illustrates an appropriate use of these principles for teaching elementary students?

  1. planning instructional activities that offer students choices and variety in equipment, flexible grouping strategies, and multiple ways to demonstrate knowledge and skills
  2. using physical education standards that are one grade above the target grade level as the basis for instructional planning to ensure that all the students experience success
  3. involving students in theme-based units that integrate physical education with other subject areas such as art, history, physical science, music, and mathematics
  4. addressing visual and auditory modalities of learning in instruction so that instruction is streamlined as students grow accustomed to the two forms of presentation
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) philosophy is based on designing equitable and inclusive education so that students with varying needs and abilities can succeed. UDL principles include using multiple means of representation to teach content, allowing students to engage in multiple ways, and using a variety of methods to evaluate students' knowledge and skills. In physical education, UDL could include implementing a variety of physical education teaching methods based on students' developmental levels; using demonstrations, peer coaching, visual media, and a variety of grouping strategies as teaching resources; providing students with equipment of different sizes, weights, and textures in a variety of settings; and using authentic assessment, formative assessment, portfolios, rubrics, and observational checklists to evaluate students' skills and progress.
Objective 0016
Understand the use of formative and summative assessment strategies to evaluate students' learning and progress in the physical education program.

18. At the end of a secondary volleyball unit, a physical education teacher plans to administer a written quiz to seventh-grade students. The instructions and questions from the quiz are shown below.

This quiz would be most appropriately used to evaluate students':

  1. potential ability to transfer the tactical skills from volleyball to other net/wall sports.
  2. understanding of volleyball at the application and analysis level of cognitive complexity.
  3. intrinsic enjoyment of the volleyball unit and degree of interest in repeating such a unit.
  4. psychomotor readiness to transfer volleyball game skills to interscholastic or extracurricular play.
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
In this assessment, students are asked to apply knowledge from the volleyball unit they are completing, as well as to analyze when and why particular volleyball skills would be used in a game. Asking students to draw or describe a volleyball court and player positions and to describe six volleyball skills evaluates students' knowledge at the application level. Asking students to explain when or why certain skills would be used evaluates students' ability to analyze volleyball situations in the abstract.
Objective 0017
Understand legal, professional, and ethical issues and responsibilities in physical education.

19. Which of the following guidelines would be most appropriately used in a middle school physical education program to help protect teachers against potential charges of negligence or liability that could arise if a student was injured in class?

  1. allowing students to choose physical education activities through a class consensus process 30 percent of the time as long as activities are reasonable to conduct in the available physical space
  2. planning and selecting physical education activities based on teachers' areas of familiarity and individual expertise in order to ensure the safety of students and the efficient functioning of the physical education environment
  3. introducing students to a wide variety of complex motor skills in game-like settings and encouraging students to hone in on one or two dual or team sports in which to specialize
  4. planning, selecting, and implementing physical education activities according to a documented progression of motor skill development and readiness and developmental levels of students
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.
Physical education teachers have a professional responsibility to provide students with developmentally appropriate instruction based on well-established skill progressions that build from simple to complex. Teachers should ensure that students have the prerequisite skills and the "readiness" (the combination of maturation and experience that allows students to learn and acquire new motor skills) for upcoming physical education activities. A well-documented skills progression matched to students' developmental characteristics helps protect a physical education teacher from liability and charges of negligence in the case of a student injury.
Objective 0018
Understand principles and procedures for effective advocacy, communication, and collaboration in the physical education program.

20. As the start of the school year nears, a new physical education teacher notes that a middle school global games unit will include the southeast Asian game sepak takraw and the Canadian game kin-ball. The teacher is unfamiliar with both games. Which of the following strategies is likely to be most appropriate for the teacher to use prior to teaching the global games unit?

  1. researching the objectives, rules, and modified versions of the games, and reaching out to colleagues who may have taught or become familiar with the games
  2. planning to assign researching the games to students at the beginning of the year in order to spark their interest in the games prior to the global games unit
  3. researching information on international competitions involving the two games and incorporating the information into an introductory lecture on global games
  4. planning to use the first class of the global games unit to discuss the games with students and identify students who are familiar with the games or who would make good peer teachers
Answer and Rationale. Enter to expand or collapse. Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Using a research-based approach combined with consultation and collaboration with colleagues is the most appropriate approach for the new teacher to use in this situation. Several physical education teaching and other reliable Web sites offer objectives, rules, and information on modifying and adapting the games of sepak takraw and kin-ball. Seeking out colleagues who have specific experience with the games or with global games in general would provide the new teacher with practical knowledge and a good foundation for introducing and implementing the games.

Acknowledgments

footnote number 1 Africa Studio. Cute African American girl in dance studio. Credit Line: Africa Studio. Shutterstock. Copyright Notice: © Africa Studio.

footnote number 2 Wavebreak Media Ltd. Happy students stretching out together at elementary school. Credit Line: Wavebreak Media Ltd. 123rf.com. Copyright Notice: © Wavebreak Media Ltd.