Mental age is a concept that relates to intelligence. It refers to an individual’s mental ability expressed in term of age at which an average person can reach the same level of mental ability.
Mental age was first defined by a French psychologist known as Alfred Binet, he introduced the intelligent test in the year 1905. There is a formula that shows a relationship between mental age (MA), IQ and the chronological age (CA) of an individual. The formula is: IQ = MA/CA * 100.
An adult will surely know more than a child but it’s possible that the IQ of a child can be higher than that of that adult.
Mental age is a concept associated with intelligence. It looks at how different age groups perform intellectually compared to their physical age. It is a measure used in psychological testing that indicates an individual's mental achievement regarding the number of years it takes the average child to reach the same level. It is a concept concerning intelligence, expressed as the age at which a child is performing intellectually.
The mental age of the child that is tested is the same as the average age at which normal children achieve a particular score. Studies indicate that IQ increases gradually from childhood until they reach early adulthood. A college student, for example, will know more than a ten-year-old, but the ten-year-old could have a higher IQ score.