Inventions

What were the first steam engines used for?

• Pumping water out of mines

• Powering early computers

• Driving trains

• Powering tractors

Answer explanation

Steam engines were used to drain mines and fill canals in the 17th century.

What is the name of this counting machine that uses rods of beads in a box?

• Addis Abada

• Abracadabra

• Abacus

• Anubis

Answer explanation

The abacus was invented about 2500 years ago.

Which of these is an instrument that makes distant objects appear bigger?

• Battery

• Compass

• Telescope

• Microscope

Answer explanation

Telescopes are used to study distant objects such as stars.

Which of these scientists discovered how to make electricity?

• Charles Darwin

• Nikola Tesla

• Michael Faraday

• Nicholas Fahrenheit

Answer explanation

Faraday invented the electric motor in 1821.

In which century was the bicycle invented?

• 1600s

• 1800s

• 1200s

• 1900s

Answer explanation

German nobleman Baron von Drais developed the bicycle in 1817.

Which of these scientists invented the telephone?

• Benjamin Franklin

• Michael Faraday

• Alessandro Volta

• Alexander Graham Bell

Answer explanation

Bell invented the telephone in the 19th century.

What were the world’s first wheels used for?

• In toys

• To help potters shape clay

• To pull carts

• To pull war chariots

Answer explanation

The first use of the wheel was in pottery

Which of these instruments is used to find direction?

• Ship's sails

• Crossbar wheel

• Plough

• Compass

Answer explanation

A compass needle always points north

Hieroglyphs are an early form of writing invented in which country?

• China

• Norway

• Mesopotamia

• Egypt

Answer explanation

The records of ancient Egypt are written in signs called hieroglyphs.

The very oldest surviving written records come from which region?

• Mesopotamia

• South America

• India

• China

Answer explanation

Written records found here date back over 5000 years.