Transport and Communication
Theme 1 : Evolution of Mankind (My Watch Tower Social Studies)
Time to Camp - Exercises
A. Choose the correct answers and fill the OMR box.
1. The invention of _________ made the movement of people and goods faster.
a. language. [ ]
b. wheels. [✓]
c. communities. [ ]
d. pigeon posts. [ ]
2. The name of the first European explorer who travelled to India is ___________ .
a. Christopher Columbus. [ ]
b. Vasco da Gama. [✓]
c. Ferdinand Magellan. [ ]
d. Marco Polo. [ ]
3. The power of __________ was used to run railway engines and steamships.
a. gas. [ ]
b. liquid. [ ]
c. electric. [ ]
d. steam. [✓]
4. The Wright Brothers ________ and flew the first aircraft in the early twentieth century.
a. bought. [ ]
b. explored. [ ]
c. invented. [✓]
d. learnt. [ ]
5. The sign language was the earliest mode of __________ .
a. transport. [ ]
b. writing. [ ]
c. living. [ ]
d. communication. [✓]
B. Fill in the blanks.
1. Alexander Graham Bell is the inventor of telephone.
2. Radio and television are means of mass communication.
3. Bartholomew Dias named the southernmost tip of Africa as the Cape of storms.
4. Carl Benz invented the first motor car in 1886.
5. Samuel Morse invented the telegraph.
C. State whether true or false.
1. With the invention of the wheel, people started using carts to travel form one place to another. [T]
2. Marco Polo introduced South Asia to the Italians. [F]
3. The Wright Brothers, invented the first car. [F]
4. We use mobile phones to communicate with each other. [T]
D. Answer these questions.
1. How did the invention of wheel change the life of the early humans?
= The first wheels made of stone and wood were invented almost 5,000 years ago. Early humans realised that rolling down things made movement faster and easier than dragging heavy loads. Gradually, round-shaped wheels were invented and attached to carts to make the movement easier.
Uses of wheel in early times are as follows -
❐ Wheels were attached to carts for carrying heavy loads easily.
❐ Invention of potter's wheel helped humans to make vessels to cook and store food items.
❐ Wheels were also used for spinning threads that helped them start weaving and, hence, wearing clothes.
2. How did trade start?
= Once the wheel was invented and people could easily move from one place to another, it led to the beginning of trade. Goods produced at one place could now be transported easily to both nearby and distant places for exchange. Domesticated animals such as bullocks, horses and camels were used to drag carts attached to the wheels over longer distances.
3. What is the difference between personal and mass communication?
= Personal communication refers to exchange of ideas and thoughts between individuals or persons while mass communication refers to dissemination of ideas among a large group of people or mass. Letters, telegraph messages and telephone conversations are means of personal communication. When messages are transmitted through radio, television or the Internet to large number of people, it is called mass communication.
4. Who invented the printing press and why was it important?
= Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press.
The first printing press was invented in East Asia around the thirteen century. But it was complicated system to use. In the fifteenth century, the printing press was invented in Germany by Johannes Gutenberg. He devised hand moulds with wood or metal which made it possible to print movable typed letters. The ink was used to print the words and sentences on paper.
5. Trace the development of the form of writing.
= The development of cities and the need for different resources led to the emergence of long-distance trade. Trade needed a medium to communicate across different cities and region and keep records. Thus, the need for writing emerged. The Sumerians invented the earliest form of writing called pictograph, in which symbols represented the objects.
Writing evolved gradually and people started writing letters to communicate with their friends and families. Before the advent of the postal services, people sent these letters using messengers and pigeon posts.
Picture Study
Look at the picture and answer the questions.
1. Identify the device.
= This is a telephone.
2. Who invented it?
= Alexander Graham Bell invented it in 1876.
3. What are its advantages?
= One can speak directly to another person over the telephone and it has made the communication system simpler, convenient and safer.