Inventions Flashcards
What is an invention?
Any new idea or product created by a person.
How can inventions change people’s lives?
They can make things safer, easier, faster, or cheaper.
Can inventions happen by accident?
Yes.
What is technology?
The science of how things work.
What did the inventors of power shoes use as a source of stored energy?
A coiled spring.
What is an example of a technology developed for space programs?
Smoke detectors.
Who was Leonardo da Vinci?
An Italian artist and scientist known for being an avid inventor.
What did Leonardo da Vinci design?
Hundreds of machines, including airplanes, pumps, and cannons.
How long can it take for an idea to become a workable invention?
It can take hundreds of years.
Where did the idea for a helicopter possibly originate?
China, around 400 BCE.
Who can be an inventor?
Anyone.
What did design engineer John Smeaton contribute to lighthouses?
He designed a new shape for them.
What are patents?
Official documents that describe an idea and identify the inventor.
What is necessary for an invention to succeed?
People must want it.
Give an example of a successful invention.
Sneakers, LEGO®, microwave ovens.
Give an example of a failed invention.
Sinclair C5.
What significant event occurred around 7000 BCE?
People learned how to start a fire.
What innovation occurred around 2000 BCE?
Spoked wheels were invented.
When was the first wheel made?
Around 3500 BCE.
What was early welding like around 2500 BCE?
Involved hammering heated metal parts together until they fused.
What were the first mirrors made from?
Highly polished obsidian.
What writing tools did ancient Egyptians use?
Reed pens and brushes.
What evidence of early plumbing exists?
Found among the ruins of the Palace of Knossos.
What did wooden plows do?
Cut and turn soil for farming.
What does the ‘c.’ in ‘c. 6000’ mean?
Circa, indicating an approximate date.
What materials were used to make reed boats?
Bundles of papyrus reeds.
What was the earliest underfloor heating system found?
In modern-day Alaska.
What were the first magnets made from?
Lumps of magnetite.
What was the Greek abacus used for?
Making calculations.
What discovery did the Chinese make around 300 BCE?
A free-moving magnet will point north, leading to the compass.
What material was accidentally discovered by Wesley Hyatt?
Celluloid.
When was paper invented?
Around 50 BCE in China.
What type of footwear was crafted in Mesopotamia?
Leather shoes.
What were the earliest coins used for?
Exchanging goods.
What is the Archimedes screw?
A device that allows water to travel upward along a turning screw.
What innovation occurred around 100 BCE?
The invention of glass-blowing.
Who built the first ships?
Phoenicians and Greeks.
