Questions: Old vs New Technology

Question 1

Which pair shows an old technology and the new technology that replaced it?

• A. A bicycle and a skateboard
• B. A candle and an electric light bulb
• C. A book and a pencil
• D. A hat and a coat

Answer: (B)

A candle was used for light long ago, and an electric light bulb is the newer technology that replaced it for most lighting needs. Both solve the same problem — providing light — but in different ways.

Question 2

Technology only means computers and electronic devices.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

Technology is any tool or machine people create to solve a problem. A wheel, a plow, a hammer, eyeglasses, and a pencil are all examples of technology. Technology has existed for thousands of years, long before electronics were invented.

Question 3

Why did people invent new technology to replace old technology?

Model answer: People invented new technology to solve problems faster, more easily, or more safely. For example, electric lights replaced candles because they were brighter, safer, and did not need to be relit.

A good answer explains that people invent new technology to improve on the old — to be faster, safer, easier to use, or able to do things the old technology could not do. The key idea is that invention is driven by the desire to solve problems better.

Question 4

What was used to wash clothes before washing machines were invented?

• A. A dishwasher
• B. People washed clothes by hand using water, soap, and a washboard
• C. A vacuum cleaner
• D. Clothes did not need to be washed

Answer: (B)

Before washing machines, people washed clothes by hand. They would scrub clothes on a washboard, a ridged board that helped loosen dirt, using water and homemade soap. It was hard, time-consuming work.

Question 5

Every new invention is created from scratch with no connection to older inventions.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

New inventions almost always build on older ones. The smartphone, for example, built on the telephone, which built on the telegraph. Each new technology takes ideas from earlier inventions and improves on them.