Tech Inventions That Changed Society
Explore how familiar technologies changed daily routines, communication, and work—and the challenges those changes can create.
Preview
Questions with solutions-
1. சரியான பதிலைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும்.
How did home refrigerators change food shopping?
Keeping fresh food cold slows spoilage, so households can store many foods longer than they could at room temperature.
- They made it possible to buy some fresh foods less often.
- They removed the need to check whether food was still safe.
- They made cooking unnecessary for foods that normally require it.
Think about the time between shopping trips.
Show solution
- They made it possible to buy some fresh foods less often.
Cold storage also helps households keep leftovers, although refrigeration does not keep food safe forever.
-
2. சரியான பதிலைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும்.
What everyday difficulty can GPS navigation reduce?
A driver misses a turn in an unfamiliar city. The navigation system uses the driver's current location to suggest another route.
- Having to understand road signs while driving.
- Finding a new way to the destination after a wrong turn.
- Finding a parking space that is definitely available.
Focus on what happens after the missed turn.
Show solution
- Finding a new way to the destination after a wrong turn.
Unlike a printed map, digital navigation can adjust directions as the traveler's position changes.
-
3. சரியான பதிலைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும்.
What did telephone calls make possible compared with mailed letters?
Relatives living far apart could hear each other's voices and respond during the same conversation.
- Receiving a physical copy of every conversation.
- Communicating without arranging a time when both people were available.
- Exchanging spoken responses immediately across a distance.
Consider the delay between a message and a reply.
Show solution
- Exchanging spoken responses immediately across a distance.
The telephone made distant conversations interactive: people could clarify a point immediately instead of waiting for another letter.
-
4. காலியிடத்தை நிரப்பவும்.
Reliable electric lighting allowed indoor work to continue after sunset. Working hours became less dependent on ___.
- the availability of daylight
- the availability of workers
- the availability of materials
What natural limit does artificial light overcome?
Show solution
Reliable electric lighting allowed indoor work to continue after sunset. Working hours became less dependent on the availability of daylight.
Electric lighting expanded the hours available for work, study, and leisure, rather than simply making rooms brighter.
-
5. சரியான பதிலைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும்.
How did printing help ideas spread?
Printing made it possible to produce many copies of a book without writing out each copy by hand, reducing the cost of reproduction.
- It made disagreements between readers less likely.
- It allowed written ideas to reach a wider audience.
- It made the information in books more accurate by itself.
Consider what happens when copies become cheaper to produce.
Show solution
- It allowed written ideas to reach a wider audience.
Wider access helped education and public debate grow, but printing could spread errors as well as useful knowledge.
-
6. காலியிடத்தை நிரப்பவும்.
A supermarket's barcode system records each sale and updates its stock count. When the count becomes low, the store knows it needs to ___.
- check the customer's receipt
- change the product's packaging
- order more of the product
The system tracks how much is left on the shelves.
Show solution
A supermarket's barcode system records each sale and updates its stock count. When the count becomes low, the store knows it needs to order more of the product.
Barcode systems connect checkout activity with stock management, reducing the need to count every item by hand.
-
7. சரியான பதிலைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும்.
How can email help teams in different time zones?
An employee sends a project update before leaving work. A colleague on another continent reads it when her own workday begins.
- Team members can exchange information without being available at the same time.
- Team members can be certain that every message receives an immediate reply.
- Team members no longer need to agree on project deadlines.
Do both employees need to be at work together?
Show solution
- Team members can exchange information without being available at the same time.
This is asynchronous communication: sending and receiving happen at different times, which offers flexibility but can delay decisions.
-
8. சரியான பதிலைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும்.
Which work-related need can video meetings reduce?
Engineers in several cities discuss a design through a video call and view the same diagram on a shared screen.
- Preparing clear diagrams before a discussion.
- Traveling to one location for some meetings.
- Coordinating a meeting time across different cities.
Think about where the participants are physically located.
Show solution
- Traveling to one location for some meetings.
Remote meetings can save travel time and expense, although activities involving physical equipment may still require people to meet in person.
-
9. காலியிடத்தை நிரப்பவும்.
A craft shop begins accepting online orders and shipping nationwide. Its customer base is no longer limited to ___.
- people interested in its crafts
- people able to pay for its goods
- people who can visit the shop in person
Which barrier does shipping remove?
Show solution
A craft shop begins accepting online orders and shipping nationwide. Its customer base is no longer limited to people who can visit the shop in person.
Online selling expands geographic reach, but sellers still need to attract customers and manage delivery costs.
-
10. சரியான பதிலைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும்.
Which cost does digital music distribution reduce most directly?
Delivering another copy of a digital album does not require making a new disc or mailing a package.
- Producing and shipping physical copies.
- Hiring musicians to record the album.
- Promoting the album to potential listeners.
Separate creating the music from distributing copies.
Show solution
- Producing and shipping physical copies.
Digital distribution makes additional copies inexpensive to deliver, but creating and promoting the original work still involves costs.
-
11. சரியான பதிலைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும்.
How does automation change the warehouse jobs described here?
Machines move boxes along fixed routes. Employees now monitor the system and deal with damaged packages or other problems the machines cannot handle.
- It leaves employees' main responsibilities unchanged.
- It shifts some human work from routine transport to handling unusual situations.
- It transfers both routine transport and unusual decisions entirely to machines.
Compare what the machines do with what the employees still do.
Show solution
- It shifts some human work from routine transport to handling unusual situations.
Automation can change the tasks within a job rather than remove the whole job, creating a need for different skills.
-
12. சரியான பதிலைத் தேர்ந்தெடுக்கவும்.
How could this service keep online convenience without excluding these residents?
A public office moves appointment booking entirely online. Many residents find this convenient, but residents without internet access can no longer book independently.
- Make the online booking process shorter.
- Publish video guides on the booking website.
- Keep a telephone booking option alongside the website.
The barrier is access to the internet, not understanding the website.
Show solution
- Keep a telephone booking option alongside the website.
Digital services can widen access for some people while creating barriers for others. An alternative booking channel helps address this digital divide.