Name_______________________________________________________    Date____________________

	CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARD 10.3.2	Inventions and Social Change	

Specific Objective: Examine how scientific and technological changes and new forms of energy brought about massive social, economic, and cultural change.

Read the chart and summaries to answer the questions on the next page.
Machinery made the Industrial Revolution possible. Reliance on machinery defined the revolution from its earliest days, and technological innovation drove its development. Here are some of the best-known innovations.

Technological Innovations of the Industrial Revolution	
Inventor	Invention	Significance	
James Watt	Improved steam engine (1769)	Provided an efficient source of industrial power	
Eli Whitney	Cotton gin (1793)	Sped cotton production by separating fiber from seed	
Henry Bessemer	Bessemer process (1850s)	Quickly and cheaply made steel out of iron	
Louis Pasteur	Pasteurization (sterilization) of liquids (1860s)	Increased the shelf life of milk and other products	
Thomas Edison	Improved electric light (1879)	Made possible long-lasting indoor electric light	

Spread of Technology
__ By the 1840s, England had become a nation connected by railroads. Around the same time, the United States, Russia, and European nations, such as France and Germany, developed rail systems too. Railroads transported goods and linked commercial centers.
__ Major advances in communications had occurred by the 1870s. International mail service had been achieved; telegraph messages could be transmitted around the world in minutes; and, in 1876, the telephone was used for the first time (though it did not become widespread until the early 1900s).

Effects on Society
__ In agricultural life, the forces of weather and nature rule. In the new industrial culture, work could take place in any weather and more quickly than ever before.
__ Railroads replaced horses, increasing loads and decreasing shipping and travel times. With the telegraph, it now took minutes rather than months for a message to reach a faraway destination. The pace of life had changed forever.

	CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARD 10.3.2	Inventions and Social Change	

Directions: Choose the letter of the best answer.

1	What impact did the steam engine have on the growth of industry?
A	permitted merchants to reach new markets
B	ended dependence on ocean transport
C	reduced pollution compared with coal
D	provided an efficient source of power

2	What technology did James Watt improve?
A	the steam engine
B	cotton processing
C	electric light
D	the Bessemer process

3	Which process would be an example of pasteurization?
A	Milk is sterilized.
B	Cotton fiber is separated.
C	Coal is burned to make steam.
D	Steel is made out of iron.

4	By the 1840s, England was connected by a network of
A	craft guilds.
B	telephone lines.
C	railroads.
D	electric lines.

5	Which 20th-century invention is most comparable to the telegraph in its impact?
A	television
B	e-mail and the Internet
C	airplanes
D	the telephone

6	Which increased as a result of the Industrial Revolution?
A	prices for consumer goods
B	dependence on the weather
C	the speed of transactions
D	isolation of commercial centers