Name:
Period:
The Industrial Revolution and Technological Advancements
Industry/Industrial:
The Industrial Revolution that occurred in the 19th century was of great importance to the economic future of the
United States. Three industrial developments led the way to industrialization in America:
1. Transportation was expanded.
2. Electricity was effectively harnessed.
3. Improvements were made to industrial processes.
Following is a list of key events and dates of the Industrial Revolution.
Person
Invention
Date
James Watt
First reliable steam engine
1775
Eli Whitney
Cotton gin, interchangeable parts for muskets
1793, 1798
Robert Fulton
Regular steamboat service on the Hudson River
1807
Samuel F. B. Morse
Telegraph
1836
John Deer
Steel plow
1837
Elias Howe
Sewing machine
1844
Isaac Singer
Improves and markets Howe's Sewing Machine
1851
Cyrus Field
Transatlantic cable
1866
Alexander Graham Bell
Telephone
1876
Thomas Edison
Phonograph, first long-lasting incandescent light bulb 1877, 1879
Hiram Stevens Maxim
Recoil-operated machine gun
1883
Nikola Tesla
Induction electric motor
1888
Rudolf Diesel
Diesel engine
1892
Orville and Wilbur Wright First airplane
1903
Henry Ford
1908, 1913
Model T Ford, large-scale moving assembly line
What was one of the MOST important inventions of the Industrial Revolution?
Your Answer:
Your Partners Answer:
The Class Answer:
tech·nol·o·gy
the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry.
machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge.
the branch of knowledge dealing with engineering or applied sciences.
Homework:
Below you will find two questions. Each question needs to be answered with two complete paragraphs. I really want
you to think deeply and give relevant and thoughtful answers.
For question number two, I want you to research your answer. You will need to use at least two different research
sources. Research different inventions of the last 200 years and tell me why you think the one you picked has had the
most influence. Please state your research in your paragraphs and underline when you are giving information or
evidence found from your research. At the end of your paragraphs, you need to tell me what different
books/articles/websites you used when researching. (I will randomly be selecting some to look up and see if research
really was done). You will be using these historical literacy skills: Claim, Evidence, Analyzing, Summarizing, and
Context.
1. How does technology impact our history and our lives?
2. What invention of the last 200 years has had the most monumental impact on the human race? Why?
Question Number Two Example:
Name
Class Period
Mrs. Gale
Technology Assignment
December 3rd, 2014
What invention of the last 200 years has had the most monumental impact on the human race? Why?
I think penicillin is one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century. Hundreds of years ago the average
lifespan of humans was only 20-30 years. Three out of ten babies died before a year after they were born and half of
the them passed away before the age of ten. That was because of diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea, measles,
malaria, smallpox, cholera, etc. Humankind had no clue about these cause of the diseases. They just assumed that
these diseases came from curses or bad air at best. It was Pasteur and Koch who finally found out that most of these
came from microbes.
Studies on microbes showed a progress through years and years and in 1928 Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin,
which is one of the first antibiotics that were effective against many previously serious diseases. Fleming knew
penicillin would be effective to kill bacteria,but he couldn’t find a way to purify it. A Team of Oxford research scientists
led by Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain devised a method of purification that was the key to its mass-production.
Penicillin saved a large number of lives during WW2 and it led the development of lots of other kinds of evolved
antibiotics. The most important reason why I think penicillin is the best invention is because it saved my father’s life
when he was suffering from pneumonia when he was in the military. It goes without saying that I wouldn’t exist if
penicillin had not been discovered!
Research Sources Used:
1. http://www.healio.com/endocrinology/news/print/endocrine-today/%7B15afd2a1-2084-4ca6-a4e67185f5c4cfb0%7D/penicillin-an-accidental-discovery-changed-the-course-of-medicine
2. http://www.livescience.com/33749-top-10-inventions-changed-world.html
*Paragraphs taken from http://yonghwanjung.blogspot.com/2011/04/greatest-invention-of-20th-century.html