Correct Response: D. The earth's gravitational pull concentrates on a person's center of gravity (COG), or the point around which the person's body mass is balanced. In general, from adolescence on, females have more mass in the hips and lower body while males have more mass in the torso and upper body. Therefore, females generally have a lower COG. The lower the center of gravity, the more stable an object is and the easier it is to balance. Females tend to have narrow shoulders relative to hip width, but having narrow hips relative to shoulder width (A) would create a higher COG and less stability. Longer legs relative to height (B) would shift the mass of the torso and hips upwards, raising COG and decreasing stability. Greater body density creates higher mass within the same space, but only affects balance and stability if the density is greater in one part of the body than another (C).
