Social Science - Quiz 04 - Pg. 10-13

Large-scale manufacturing became widespread in the United States after the

• War of 1812

• American Revolution

• Mexican-American War

• Civil War

• Spanish-American War

Answer explanation

Large-scale manufacturing in the United States did not become widespread until after the Civil War. [10,8]

Why did Americans adopt new technology more quickly than their European counterparts?

• The new technology was often made in Europe and pirated in the United States.

• They generally had more capital.

• American businesses were able to finance with credit easier.

• The American government encouraged new technology.

• They did not have decades of established economic tradition.

Answer explanation

Americans were generally quicker than Europeans to adopt new technology such as typewriters and calculating machines. This may be because European businesses and governments had decades of tradition while America did not. [11,0]

The United States conducted its first census in

• 1810

• 1790

• 1800

• 1780

• 1770

Answer explanation

The earliest large-scale data processing project in the United States, the census, was first performed in 1790. [11,1]

Which of the following instruments inspired Herman Hollerith’s proposal for the census?

• the hydraulophone

• the glass armonica

• the organette

• the theremin

• the stylophone

Answer explanation

Herman Hollerith was inspired to innovate the census by the use of perforated sheets to control the organette. [11,2]

Herman Hollerith’s innovations decreased census tabulation time by

• 1.5 years

• 2.5 years

• 3.5 years

• 5.5 years

• 4.5 years

Answer explanation

Herman Hollerith’s machine used holes in paper cards to encode information, which could be read quickly by a machine. This reduced the time it took to tabulate the census from seven years in 1880 to two and a half years in 1890. [11,3]

Herman Hollerith’s company eventually became the nucleus of

• IBM

• AT&T

• HP

• Dell

• Intel

Answer explanation

Herman Hollerith’s use of perforated cards in the census greatly improved its efficiency and paved the way for automated data processing in the United States. Years later Hollerith’s company would become the nucleus of IBM. [12,0]

Which of the following businessmen provided funding for the first practical typewriter?

• Alan Turing

• James Densmore

• William S. Burroughs

• John H. Patterson

• Philo Remington

Answer explanation

In 1869 Christopher Latham Sholes invented the first practical typewriter, and used funds from James Densmore, a businessman from Philadelphia, to improve his invention. [12,2]

Which of the following numbers is closest to the number of typewriters sold in 1890?

• 60,000

• 20,000

• 100,000

• 80,000

• 40,000

Answer explanation

Philo Remington’s typewriter sales were slow at first, but by 1880 he was selling more than one thousand per year, and by 1890 he was selling 20,000 annually. [12,3]

Before its merger, the Rand Kardex Company made

• notepads and writing utensils

• staplers and other small office tools

• chairs and desks for offices

• typewriters and supplementary supplies

• vertically hanging folders and filing cabinets

Answer explanation

Before merging with the Remington Typewriter Company, the Rand Kardex Company produced filing cabinets and vertically hanging folders. [12,4]

Early calculators were known as

• totalizers

• mathematical computers

• number crunchers

• adding machines

• data processors

Answer explanation

Early calculators, such as William S. Burroughs’ mechanical calculator and Dorr E. Felt’s Comptometer, were known as adding machines because they were primarily meant for addition. [12,5]