Final answer:
During puberty, girls tend to grow taller than boys as they hit their growth peak earlier. They usually start puberty between ages 9 and 10, and their growth spurt might lead to a 3 inches per year increase in height. By adulthood, however, they generally end up shorter than boys by about 10 centimeters (4 inches).
Step-by-step explanation:
The main answer to the question "As they approach puberty, girls tend to ______ than boys as they hit their growth peak ______." is a) Grow taller; earlier. Girls typically begin their growth spurt, a period of rapid growth in height and weight, about a year or two earlier than boys. While boys and girls are close in height during childhood, girls usually start the adolescent growth spurt (AGS) earlier and therefore may initially outpace boys in height.Explanation in more than 100 words: Girls generally begin puberty between the ages of 9 and 10, with visible changes such as breast development and axillary and pubic hair growth. Their growth spurt can start from around age 9 to 11 and often lasts for two years or more, with possible height increases of up to 3 inches a year. However, girls tend to reach their full adult height by about age 15, earlier than boys, because they have a shorter growth spurt. Despite a sharp increase in height during this time, girls generally do not grow as fast as boys and thus, by the end of puberty, are on average about 10 centimeters (or 4 inches) shorter than boys.Conclusion: Understanding these differences in growth patterns is important for recognizing the normal progression of puberty and the resulting physical diversities between genders by adulthood.