Design That Changed the World · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Design That Changed the World

Design & Technology · Designing & Making · ages 8-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. What problem did Alexander Graham Bell's telephone solve?

    • People could not send any letters
    • People could not talk to someone far away right away
    • People could not read at night

  2. Before the printing press, how were most books made?

    • Copied by hand, one at a time
    • Printed on a machine
    • Typed on a computer

  3. The Wright brothers designed a machine that could fly.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Look at how the bicycle changed. Why was the later design safer?

    Big wheel, no brakesTwo wheels, chainAdds brakes, safer
    • It had two matched wheels and brakes
    • It had one giant wheel
    • It had no pedals

  5. How did washing machines change daily life for families?

    • Clothes needed ironing more often
    • Families stopped wearing clean clothes
    • People spent far less time washing clothes by hand

  6. Once telephones were invented, how did sharing news with someone far away change?

    • People could no longer talk to anyone
    • People had to wait days for a letter, then could talk right away
    • News now took even longer to arrive

  7. Early cars had no seatbelts and broke down often. What does this tell you about how good designs happen?

    • Designs get better as people notice and fix what is missing
    • Cars never really needed extra safety parts
    • The very first design is always the best one

  8. Ravi says a good design only needs to be made once and never has to change. What is wrong with that idea?

    • Designers get bored, so they change things for no reason
    • Laws require new designs to be released every year
    • People keep spotting problems and improve designs, like safer bikes and cars over time
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Design That Changed the World W1-mt_6PWs6Qp8V6-s1

  1. People could not talk to someone far away right away · Before telephones, people had to wait days for letters. The telephone let voices travel instantly.
  2. Copied by hand, one at a time · Copying by hand took months, so books were rare until presses could print pages fast.
  3. True · Their design solved the problem of getting a person off the ground and through the air.
  4. It had two matched wheels and brakes · Two same-size wheels and brakes fixed the wobbling and stopping problems of the early bike.
  5. People spent far less time washing clothes by hand · A job that took hours of scrubbing became a job that took minutes.
  6. People had to wait days for a letter, then could talk right away · The telephone let people hear news the moment it happened instead of waiting for a letter.
  7. Designs get better as people notice and fix what is missing · Just like bicycles and books, cars improved once people spotted the missing safety pieces.
  8. People keep spotting problems and improve designs, like safer bikes and cars over time · Designs improve because people notice what still causes trouble and fix it.
Worksheet · LightMySky