Adolescence

What is adolescence?

Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood, a period within which both boys and girls become sexually mature and are able to reproduce. This period of adolescence is also known as puberty.

The changes that occur during adolescence can be either physical or emotional.

Next are the physical changes that occur in boys and in girls.

 Physical changes in girls

  • The breasts enlarge.
  • Hips broaden.
  • There is fast growth.
  • Hair grows in the groin and armpit region.
  • The oil glands of the skin produce more oil and pimples may be seen on the face.
  • Eggs are formed and released from the ovary in a process called ovulation. The egg may be fertilised leading to birth of a child.
  • If the egg is not fertilised, the uterus sheds blood in what is known as the monthly periods or menstruation.

 Physical changes in boys

  • Shoulders broaden.
  • They have hair (beards) on the chin.
  • The voice breaks.
  • The rate of growth increases.

  • There is growth of hair in the groin, armpits, chest and legs
  • They start to produce sperm in the testis which are able to fertilise eggs leading to pregnancy in girls
  • The oil glands of the skin produce more oil and pimples may be seen on the face.

Play this video to learn more about the physical changes during Adolescence



  • adolesence by British Council used under CC_BY-SA
  • S1.5.5.e_-_Adolescent_Development_1 by Unknown used under CC_BY-SA
  • physical-changes by http://www.personal.psu.edu/afr3/blogs/siowfa12/ used under CC_BY-SA
  • S1.5.5.f.Teenage_pregnancy_1 by Unknown used under CC_BY-SA
  • Female-physical-changes by Aviva used under CC_BY-SA
  • Male-Physical-Change by Aviva used under CC_BY-SA
  • Changes_to_girls_and_boys_during_puberty by Unknowm used under CC_BY-SA

  • Creative Commons License
    All work unless implicitly stated is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.