Cherise is babysitting for her 2-year-old nephew for the first time. while her back is turned, he touches his index finger to the pan she just took out of the oven. he pulls his finger away quickly, and a few seconds later begins to scream. why is his screaming delayed in comparison with pulling away his finger?

The hand-withdrawal reflex includes just the spinal cord, so it requires some time before the data about pain registers itself with the brain.  

When we feel pain, for example, when we contact a hot stove, sensory receptors in our skin communicate something specific by means of nerve fibres to the spinal cord and brainstem and after that onto the cerebrum where the vibe of pain is registered, the data is processed and the pain is felt.  

answer; biological;