US History: Technology and Society in the Industrial Age

When did Thomas Edison first make his impact on culture and society?

• in the second half of the 1700s

  
  

• in the first decade of the 1800s

  
  

• in the beginning of the 1900s

  
  

• in the mid-1900s

  
  

Thomas Edison’s fascination with what invention inspired him to develop the phonograph?

• the incandescent light bulb

  
  

• the telephone

  
  

• the automobile

  
  

• the telegraph

  
  

In what way was communication by telegraph an improvement over communication by mail carriage?

• The telegraph allowed instant communication.

  
  

• The telegraph used Morse code.

  
  

• The telegraph let messages be delivered in days instead of weeks.

  
  

• The telegraph carried the sounds of people’s voices.

  
  

How did Henry Ford affect the automobile industry?

• He made car production cheaper by improving the assembly line.

  
  

• He made car production more expensive by making more luxury cars.

  
  

• He made car production more expensive by mass-producing vehicles.

  
  

• He made car production cheaper by using customized parts.

  
  

From a telegraph office, you could send a message to almost any place in the world instantaneously. Yet, there were problems with the telegraph. Identify at least one of the telegraph’s problems:

• The telegraph usually required people to go to offices.

  
  

• The telegraph wasn’t easy to carry around.

  
  

• The telegraph couldn’t transmit voices.

  
  

• The telegraph required a special code to communicate.

  
  

How did new methods of rail transportation help people commute in cities?

• How did new methods of rail transportation help people commute in cities?

  
  

• They made the city feel more convenient.

  
  

• They made it easier for people to get around the city to shop or do business.

  
  

• They made it possible for cities to continue to support more residents.

  
  

When was the first gasoline-powered American automobile made?

• the late 1700s

  
  

• the mid-1800s

  
  

• the late 1800s

  
  

• the mid-1900s

  
  

What effects did the construction of the transcontinental railroad have on coast-to-coast communication?

• It made coast-to-coast communication instantaneous.

  
  

• It reduced coast-to-coast communication from about a week to about a day.

  
  

• It reduced coast-to-coast communication from about 180 days to about a week.

  
  

• It made coast-to-coast communication more complicated.

  
  

Which of these forms of transportation was not an innovation that used rails?

• the subway

  
  

• the automobile

  
  

• the elevated train

  
  

• the streetcar and the trolley

  
  

How did automobiles affect Americans’ ability to get from place to place?

• by making travel slower

  
  

• by taking away personal transportation

  
  

• by creating more freedom and convenience

  
  

• by allowing commuting for the first time