Technology & Tools Flashcards

Which 1957 Soviet achievement spurred the United States to increase funding for science and technology education?

Answer: Launch of Sputnik

Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, triggered the Space Race and the National Defense Education Act.

Which Virginia site served as NASA's first research center, later called Langley Research Center?

Answer: Hampton

Langley in Hampton, Virginia, conducted aeronautics research and helped train the Mercury astronauts.

Which NASA mission in 1969 landed the first humans on the Moon?

Answer: Apollo 11

Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the Moon on July 20, 1969.

How did the spread of television in the 1950s change American society?

Answer: It created a shared national media and influenced politics and culture

Television brought news, entertainment, and political events such as debates and civil rights coverage into homes nationwide.

Which Virginia-linked mathematicians at NASA Langley helped calculate orbits for early space flights?

Answer: Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson

These African American women, known from Hidden Figures, made vital computations for NASA at Langley.

The internet grew out of ARPANET, a project originally funded by which U.S. agency?

Answer: Department of Defense

ARPANET was a Defense Department research network that evolved into the modern internet.

What was a major effect of widespread electrification and appliances in the 1920s?

Answer: Changed household work and boosted consumer spending

Electric appliances like refrigerators and irons reduced housework and spurred consumer goods industries.