Praxis Technology Education (5051)

Which statement best describes a primary impact of the printing press as a technological innovation?

• AIt made the rapid mass distribution of information possible, accelerating literacy and th…
• BIt eliminated the need for written language entirely
• CIt had no measurable effect on education or commerce
• DIt was used only by governments and never by private citizens

A technology teacher leads a class discussion on whether a new manufacturing process should be adopted given its lower cost but higher pollution. This activity best develops students' ability to:

• AMemorize the names of historical inventors
• BConduct a technological assessment that weighs trade-offs and consequences
• CCalculate gear ratios in a mechanical system
• DSolder electronic components safely

Which scenario is the clearest example of an unintended negative consequence of a technology?

• AA new bridge design was tested and met all load requirements
• BA factory installed energy-efficient lighting to lower costs
• CWidespread use of refrigerants improved food storage but contributed to ozone-layer deple…
• DStudents used CAD software to complete a design project on time

In technology education, the concept that technologies are developed by people to extend human capabilities and meet needs and wants is best described as:

• AThe scientific method
• BNewton's third law of motion
• CThe law of conservation of mass
• DThe nature and purpose of technology

A student copies a peer's CAD design and submits it as original work. This situation is best used to teach which concept?

• AIntellectual property and ethical use of designs
• BTensile strength of materials
• CSeries and parallel circuit analysis
• DFluid power and Pascal's principle

Which best illustrates technology transfer?

• AA student measures voltage with a multimeter in a lab
• BGPS, originally developed for military use, is now used in consumer navigation and agricu…
• CA teacher writes a lesson plan for a unit on materials
• DA class votes on which design to build

During the Industrial Revolution, the most significant change to manufacturing was the shift from:

• AFactory production back to home-based craft production
• BDigital automation toward manual assembly
• CSkilled handcraft production toward mechanized factory production
• DMass production toward one-of-a-kind custom work

A community evaluates building a wind farm. Which factor is an example of a social impact rather than a purely technical one?

• AThe rated power output of each turbine in kilowatts
• BThe blade material's fatigue resistance
• CThe gearbox ratio inside the turbine
• DConcerns about noise and visual changes to the local landscape for nearby residents

Which is the best example of a renewable resource being used as a sustainable practice in technology?

• AUsing sustainably harvested timber and replanting trees for ongoing supply
• BExtracting and burning coal until reserves are exhausted
• CMining a fixed deposit of copper ore
• DPumping a finite reservoir of crude oil

The idea that technological progress in one area often creates the need for new technologies in related areas is best described as:

• ATechnology being completely independent of other systems
• BTechnology being interconnected and driving further innovation
• CTechnology always reducing the total number of inventions over time
• DTechnology having no relationship to human needs

Which is the strongest example of using a life-cycle perspective when evaluating a product's environmental impact?

• ALooking only at how much the product costs to buy
• BMeasuring only the energy used during manufacturing
• CConsidering raw material extraction, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life disposal together
• DJudging the product solely by its color and styling

Which historical development most directly enabled the modern internet?

• AThe invention of the steam engine
• BThe development of the cotton gin
• CThe construction of the first suspension bridge
• DPacket-switching networking research that led to ARPANET

A teacher wants students to recognize that the same technology can have both positive and negative effects. Which example best demonstrates this?

• AAutomobiles increased personal mobility but also increased air pollution and traffic deat…
• BA ruler is used to measure the length of a board
• CA pencil is sharpened before a sketch
• DA student labels the parts of a hand tool

Which best describes the relationship between science, engineering, and technology?

• AThey are identical fields with no meaningful differences
• BScience seeks to understand the natural world, engineering applies that knowledge to desi…
• CTechnology must always be developed before any scientific knowledge exists
• DEngineering is concerned only with proving scientific theories, not solving problems

Which is an appropriate way for a technology class to address the digital divide as a societal issue?

• AMemorizing the boiling point of water
• BPracticing only freehand sketching with no discussion
• CDiscussing how unequal access to computing and internet affects opportunity and proposing…
• DCalculating the area of a rectangle with no context

What is the correct general order of the engineering design process?

• ABuild a prototype, define the problem, sell the product, then research
• BTest and evaluate, define the problem, then stop
• CBrainstorm, mass produce, then define the problem
• DDefine the problem, research and brainstorm, design and model, build a prototype, test an…

In the engineering design process, criteria and constraints are best defined as:

• ACriteria are the requirements a solution must meet; constraints are the limits within whi…
• BCriteria are the tools used to build, and constraints are the materials
• CCriteria are the final test scores, and constraints are the grading rubric
• DCriteria and constraints both mean the same thing as the project deadline

Why is the engineering design process described as iterative?

• AIt must be completed in exactly one pass with no changes allowed
• BDesigners often loop back to earlier steps to revise solutions based on testing and new i…
• CIt is performed only once at the start of a project and never revisited
• DIt always produces a perfect solution on the first attempt

Which activity best represents a systems-thinking approach to a technological problem?

• AFocusing only on a single broken part without considering the rest
• BChoosing a solution based only on its color
• CAnalyzing how inputs, processes, outputs, and feedback interact within the whole system
• DIgnoring how subsystems affect one another

A student builds a small-scale physical model of a bridge before constructing a full design. The main purpose of this prototype is to:

• AReplace the need for any analysis or testing
• BGuarantee that the final design will never fail
• CDecorate the classroom with a finished product
• DTest and evaluate the design's performance and identify problems before committing resour…

Which best distinguishes invention from innovation?

• AInvention is creating something entirely new; innovation is improving or applying an exis…
• BInvention and innovation are exactly the same thing
• CInnovation always means creating something that has never existed before
• DInvention only refers to improving older products

A machine intermittently stops working. Which troubleshooting step should come first?

• AReplace every component at random
• BIdentify and clearly describe the symptoms of the problem
• CDisassemble the entire machine immediately
• DOrder a brand-new machine before any investigation

When defining a design problem, why is identifying the end user important?

• AIt is unnecessary because all users have identical needs
• BOnly the budget matters, not who uses the product
• CUser needs, abilities, and context shape the criteria and constraints of an effective sol…
• DEnd users should be ignored until after production

Which is the best example of using a trade-off analysis in design?

• ASelecting a material because it is the first one listed in a catalog
• BIgnoring cost, weight, and strength entirely
• CPicking a design only because it looks the most colorful
• DChoosing a lighter material that costs more because reduced weight is the higher priority

A teacher asks students to generate as many possible solutions as they can without judging them yet. This technique is called:

• ABrainstorming
• BPrototyping
• CQuality control
• DMass production

Which is a key reason designers use mathematical and computer models before building?

• AModels eliminate any need to ever build or test a real product
• BModels allow predicting performance and exploring options quickly and inexpensively
• CModels are always perfectly accurate representations of reality
• DModels are used only to make presentations look attractive

In a closed-loop control system, what is the role of feedback?

• AIt permanently shuts the system down after one cycle
• BIt has no effect on the system's behavior
• CIt returns information about the output so the system can adjust and maintain desired per…
• DIt only increases the system's input without any monitoring

Which statement best reflects optimization in engineering design?

• AChoosing the cheapest option regardless of any requirement
• BAdding as many features as possible without limits
• CMaking the design as heavy as possible
• DAdjusting a design to achieve the best possible balance among competing criteria within c…

A design team records test results, sketches, and decisions throughout a project. The main value of this engineering notebook is to:

• ADocument the design process for communication, evaluation, and protection of ideas
• BReplace the need to ever test a prototype
• CServe only as scratch paper with no later use
• DGuarantee a passing grade regardless of design quality

Which scenario best demonstrates redesign based on test results?

• AThe team ships the failed design without changes
• BAfter a prototype car fails a crash test, the team strengthens the frame and retests
• CThe team abandons the project without analyzing the failure
• DThe team changes only the paint color after a structural failure

Which of the following is the best example of applying the design process to an open-ended problem?

• ASolving for x in a single linear equation with one answer
• BReciting the definition of torque from memory
• CDesigning a device to help an elderly person open jars more easily, with multiple possibl…
• DCopying a finished design from a textbook exactly

A subsystem within a larger automated system stops responding. Systems thinking suggests the technician should first:

• AReplace the entire system without diagnosis
• BAssume the failure cannot affect anything else
• CIgnore the failure because the system is automated
• DDetermine how that subsystem's failure affects inputs and outputs of connected subsystems

Which is the most accurate statement about constraints in a real-world design project?

• AConstraints such as budget, time, and safety regulations limit which solutions are feasib…
• BConstraints make all solutions equally easy to build
• CConstraints are optional and can always be ignored
• DConstraints only apply to professional engineers, never to students

An innovation that combines an existing camera, phone, and computer into one device best illustrates:

• ATechnological obsolescence with no new function
• BTechnological convergence, where multiple technologies merge into a single product
• CA purely scientific discovery with no design
• DAn open-loop system with no feedback

Which best describes the purpose of establishing a clear problem statement at the start of a design project?

• AIt is a formality that has no influence on the design
• BIt locks the team into the first idea with no flexibility
• CIt focuses the team on the real need and guides all later design decisions
• DIt replaces the need for any testing later

Which energy conversion takes place in a typical electric generator?

• AElectrical energy is converted into chemical energy
• BLight energy is converted directly into sound energy
• CThermal energy is converted into nuclear energy
• DMechanical (kinetic) energy is converted into electrical energy

Which of the following is a renewable energy source?

• ASolar energy
• BCoal
• CNatural gas
• DPetroleum

In a four-stroke internal combustion engine, what is the correct order of the strokes?

• APower, intake, exhaust, compression
• BIntake, compression, power, exhaust
• CCompression, exhaust, intake, power
• DExhaust, power, compression, intake

Pascal's principle, which underlies hydraulic systems, states that:

• AFluids cannot transmit force
• BPressure in a fluid decreases with depth
• CPressure applied to a confined fluid is transmitted equally in all directions
• DGases cannot be compressed under any condition

A simple machine that consists of an inclined plane wrapped around a cylinder is a:

• ALever
• BPulley
• CWheel and axle
• DScrew

In a gear train, a small driver gear turns a much larger driven gear. Compared with the driver, the larger driven gear will turn:

• ASlower but with greater torque
• BFaster but with less torque
• CAt exactly the same speed and torque
• DBackward at the same speed with no torque change

Ohm's law expresses the relationship among voltage (V), current (I), and resistance (R) as:

• AV = I / R
• BV = I × R
• CR = V × I
• DI = V × R

Which transportation subsystem is responsible for controlling speed and direction of a vehicle?

• AStructural subsystem
• BPropulsion subsystem
• CControl subsystem
• DSuspension subsystem

Which statement about the law of conservation of energy is correct?

• AEnergy can be created from nothing in any machine
• BEnergy is always completely destroyed when used
• CEnergy conversion is always 100 percent efficient
• DEnergy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another

A photovoltaic (solar) cell converts:

• ALight energy directly into electrical energy
• BElectrical energy into light energy
• CMechanical energy into thermal energy
• DChemical energy into mechanical energy

A pneumatic system differs from a hydraulic system primarily because a pneumatic system uses:

• AAn incompressible liquid that cannot transmit force
• BCompressed gas as the working fluid, making it compressible
• COnly electrical signals and no fluid at all
• DSolid mechanical gears instead of any fluid

Which device increases or decreases AC voltage for transmission and distribution of electric power?

• AResistor
• BDiode
• CTransformer
• DCapacitor

Which best describes thermal energy transfer by conduction?

• AHeat moves through empty space as electromagnetic waves
• BHeat moves by the bulk motion of a heated fluid
• CHeat is converted directly into electrical current
• DHeat moves through a material by direct contact between particles