U5 Vocabulary

Question 1

Airplane

Answer 1

Wright Brothers invented this in 1918

Question 2

invest

Answer 2

to put money into something (usually a business) to try to earn more money

Question 3

Henry Ford

Answer 3

Known for using the assembly line for mass production of automobiles

Question 4

tenements

Answer 4

Cheap apartment buildings. Small, dark, dangerous buildings where many people lived. Lacked fresh air and water. Very crowded

Question 5

monopoly

Answer 5

A company that controls all production and sales of a particular product or service

Question 6

mass production

Answer 6

process of making large quantities of a product quickly and cheaply

Question 6

urbanization

Answer 6

the growth of cities- usually meant that people are leaving rural areas

Question 7

Wright Brothers (Orville and Wilbur)

Answer 7

Known for building and flying the first airplane in 1903

Question 8

profit

Answer 8

money earned by a business after subtracting its operation costs. It provides and incentive for individuals to take the risks that come with starting a business

Question 9

Telephone

Answer 9

Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876 and founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Co.

Question 10

Bessemer Process

Answer 10

A way to manufacture steel quickly and cheaply by blasting hot air through melted iron to quickly remove impurities

Question 11

entrepreneur

Answer 11

someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for it. Famous entrepreneurs of the Industrial Age were W. K. Vanderbilt (railroad), J.P. Morgan and Andrew Carnegie (steel), and J. D. Rockefeller (oil)

Question 12

social elite

Answer 12

Members of the highest socioeconomic group- the richest 1%

Question 13

working conditions

Answer 13

Term used to talk about what it was like where people worked- included the dangers, work hours, environment, and machinery. In factories during the Industrial Revolution, working conditions were very dangerous with long hours, child labor and small pay checks

Question 14

labor union

Answer 14

an organization that brings together workers in the same trade or job to negotiate for better wages and working conditions. Worked for and eventually won the standard 8 hour work day, 40 hour work week and helped to end child labor

Question 15

laissez-faire

Answer 15

a theory that economies work best when there is minimal involvement from government

Question 16

Electricity

Answer 16

A form of energy used in telegraphy from the 1840s on and for lighting, industrial motors, and railroads beginning in the 1880s

Question 17

Gilded Age

Answer 17

There were a few very rich people with many luxuries, but most people were very poor, living in dismal poverty

Question 18

steam

Answer 18

Gas that comes from boiling water. Steam was very important to manufacturing

Question 19

Cotton Gin

Answer 19

a hand-operated machine that cleans seeds and other unwanted material from cotton

Question 20

trust

Answer 20

a group of corporations that unite in order to reduce competition and control prices in a business or an industry

Question 21

corporation

Answer 21

a business that is owned by many investors

Question 22

Thomas Edison

Answer 22

Known for inventing the light bulb and for the production of electricity in homes, stores, and factories. In 1882, he built the first electrical power station and distribution center in New York City