Electric cars a. are a recent invention b. predate gas cars c. were designed by Leonardo da Vinci
Ransom Olds and Henry Ford a. invented the first gas car b. designed an early personal vehicle in 1478 c. developed ways to mass-produce cars
Originally, car users were often a. people from rural areas b. people from city centres c. professional race car drivers
Discussion/essay questions
Some places, especially in North America, are now designed for cars. Getting to work or school can be difficult without travelling a long distance, and other types of transportation are less common. Do you own a car? Is it necessary to own a car where you live?
Cars are changing now that people are more aware of the environment. Electric cars are becoming popular again. What do you think transportation will look like in the future?
Transcript
Early ideas for an automatic personal vehicle can be found in sketches by artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci from 1478. In the late 1800s, many European inventors worked to build and test personal vehicles. Electric cars actually predate gas cars, which weren’t invented until 1886. However, electric cars were expensive to build and maintain. When American business owners Ransom Olds and Henry Ford developed ways to mass-produce gas cars, they became the more popular choice. Originally, car users were most often people from rural areas who had long distances to travel. However, over the past century, cars have also changed the way that cities are planned and built.
The person who discovered radio waves was a. Heinrich Hertz b. Guglielmo Marconi c. Thomas Edison
Marconi’s radio device was a. a wireless telegraph b. a music player c. an early television
Radios were originally used for a. news broadcasts b. entertainment c. military communication
Discussion/essay questions
Today, it is easier than ever to receive instant information due to the Internet and social media. What are some of the benefits and drawbacks of this?
Transcript
In the 1880s, a German physicist named Heinrich Hertz discovered radio waves, a type of invisible electromagnetic radiation. Hertz proved that the waves could travel through the air, just like light, and transmit information. Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi created the first device that used radio transmissions in the 1890s. It was a telegraph that could transmit Morse code without wires. In the years before World War I, inventors developed radio devices that could communicate more complex messages, including spoken words and music. Radios were originally used for military communication. However, many people began to buy radios for personal use during the 1920s, when radio companies built stations for news and entertainment broadcasts. This allowed people to receive information about politics, the world, and important events almost instantly.
Women’s contributions to math and science have often been overlooked. Do you know about any female inventors from history? What are their stories?
Transcript
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor. She was born in 1914 in Vienna, Austria. She began acting in European films when she was a teenager, but later moved to the United States after divorcing her first husband, a weapons manufacturer who sold to the Nazis. Lamarr became famous in Hollywood for her beauty, but her intelligence was often overlooked. During World War II, she invented a device to help the Allies with radio communications. At first, the U.S. military did not use the device, and Lamarr was told that she could do more to help by advertising war bonds. However, her invention formed a starting point for the technology we use today, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Lamarr died in 2000, at age 85.
