Technology · Unit 1
What is Technology?
What technology is, and the tools and machines around us
Technology is not the same as electronics. A wheel, a plough and a pencil are all technology, and defining it as applied solutions to practical problems keeps the history from starting in 1950.
The unit covers what technology is, where it appears in daily life, tools and machines, how technology helps, and the comparison between old and new solutions to the same problem.
This unit breaks down into 24 short steps and 123 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 4. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 24
- Questions
- 123
- Difficulty
- 1-4
What this unit covers
- What Technology Is
- Technology All Around Us
- Tools and Machines
- How Technology Helps Us
- Old and New Technology
Where this fits
The first unit in the track. History of Technology takes the long view later.
Where people slip
New does not mean better. Plenty of older technologies persist because they are more reliable, cheaper or need no power, and that is a judgement rather than nostalgia.
How the unit is structured
What is Technology? runs as 24 short steps that unlock in order. 18 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 4 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 123 in the unit altogether.
How Technology Helps Us
- Guess the numberLevel 1
1. A bicycle helps people travel. How many wheels does a normal bicycle have?
Answer: 2 wheels
A normal bicycle has 2 wheels, which is why the word bicycle starts with 'bi', meaning two.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
2. Match each technology to the problem it helps solve.
Answer: Umbrella = Staying dry in rain; Refrigerator = Keeping food fresh; Telephone = Talking to people far away; Streetlight = Seeing at night
Each technology solves a problem, like an umbrella for rain and a fridge for keeping food fresh.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
3. Which of these are real ways technology helps us? Pick all that apply.
- Doctors use machines to help sick peoplecorrect
- Phones let us call for help in an emergencycorrect
- Refrigerators keep food safe to eatcorrect
- Televisions make the weather change
- Computers control the ocean tides
Technology helps in medicine, communication and keeping food safe, but it does not control the weather or the tides.
- Multiple choiceLevel 3
4. How does farming technology, like tractors, help produce food?
- It lets farmers plant and harvest much faster than by handcorrect
- It makes plants grow without any sunlight
- It stops the rain from falling
- It turns rocks into food
Tractors and farm machines help farmers plant and harvest large fields much faster than doing it by hand.
- True or falseLevel 3
5. Technology can have both benefits and drawbacks at the same time.
Answer: True
Most technology brings benefits and drawbacks together, so people weigh both when they use it.
- Type the answerLevel 4
6. Technology designed to help people with disabilities, like ramps and hearing aids, is called ____ technology.
Answer: assistive
Assistive technology is designed to help people with disabilities do daily tasks.
Old and New Technology
- Fill the blankLevel 1
7. Long ago, before electric bulbs, people lit their homes with a ____.
- candlecorrect
- computer
- television
- microwave
Candles gave people light long before the electric bulb.
- Odd one outLevel 2
8. Three of these are ways to send messages that came before the internet. Which one is the NEWEST?
- Emailcorrect
- A handwritten letter
- A telegraph
- A carrier pigeon
Letters, telegraphs and carrier pigeons are all older ways to send messages, while email came with computers and the internet.
- Put in orderLevel 2
9. Put these ways of giving light in order from oldest to newest.
Answer: Campfire -> Candle -> Electric light bulb
People first used campfires, then candles, and much later the electric light bulb.
- True or falseLevel 2
10. Technology stays exactly the same and never changes or improves.
Answer: False
Technology keeps changing and improving over time, like candles becoming electric lights.
- Choose all that applyLevel 4
11. Which of these are true about how technology changes over time? Pick all that apply.
- Newer tools often replace older ones that do the same jobcorrect
- Old ideas like the wheel can still be used in new machinescorrect
- Inventions often build on earlier inventionscorrect
- Technology always gets worse over time
- Technology never changes at all
Technology changes by building on old ideas and replacing older tools, generally improving rather than getting worse.
- Multiple choiceLevel 4
12. Which sequence shows communication technology from oldest to newest?
- Written letter, telegraph, telephone, smartphone
- Smartphone, telephone, telegraph, written letter
- Telephone, written letter, smartphone, telegraph
- Telegraph, smartphone, written letter, telephone
Letters came first, then the telegraph, then the telephone, and finally the smartphone.
Technology All Around Us
- Odd one outLevel 2
13. Which of these is NOT technology found in a city?
- A wild rivercorrect
- Streetlights
- Buses
- Traffic lights
Streetlights, buses and traffic lights are built technology, while a wild river is part of nature.
- Sort into groupsLevel 2
14. Sort each thing into technology (made by people) or nature.
Answer: Television = Technology; Bus = Technology; Lamp = Technology; Tree = Nature; Mountain = Nature; River = Nature
Televisions, buses and lamps are made by people, while trees, mountains and rivers are part of nature.
- True or falseLevel 2
15. The electricity that powers our lights and gadgets travels through wires, which are also technology.
Answer: True
Wires and power lines are technology that carry electricity to our homes.
- Fill the blankLevel 3
16. The many satellites orbiting Earth are technology that help with weather forecasts, television and ____.
- navigationcorrect
- gravity
- sunlight
- rainfall
Satellites help with navigation systems like GPS, along with weather and television signals.
- Multiple choiceLevel 3
17. Which of these is a piece of communication technology that surrounds us but is often hidden from view?
- Underground and undersea cables that carry internet datacorrect
- The clouds in the sky
- The roots of trees
- Ocean waves on a beach
Much of the internet travels through hidden cables under the ground and sea that connect the world.
- Choose all that applyLevel 4
18. Which of these are parts of a city's infrastructure? Pick all that apply.
- Power linescorrect
- Water pipescorrect
- Roads and bridgescorrect
- Rain clouds
- Wild forests
Power lines, water pipes and roads are all built infrastructure, while rain clouds and wild forests are natural.
Tools and Machines
- Fill the blankLevel 1
19. You use a ____ to hit a nail into wood.
- hammercorrect
- spoon
- pillow
- cup
A hammer is the tool made for hitting nails.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
20. Match each tool to the job it helps with.
Answer: Hammer = Hitting nails; Scissors = Cutting paper; Broom = Sweeping the floor; Spoon = Eating soup
Each tool is designed for a special job, like a hammer for nails and a broom for sweeping.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
21. What do we call a thing that helps us do a job more easily, like a hammer or a broom?
- A toolcorrect
- A cloud
- A pet
- A song
A tool is anything that helps us do a job more easily.
- Odd one outLevel 2
22. Which of these is NOT a simple machine?
- A computercorrect
- A lever
- A pulley
- A screw
Levers, pulleys and screws are simple machines, but a computer is a complex electronic device.
- Put in orderLevel 2
23. Put these steps in order to hammer a nail into a piece of wood.
Answer: Hold the nail in place -> Hit the nail with the hammer -> The nail goes into the wood
First you hold the nail, then you hit it with the hammer, and then it sinks into the wood.
- Choose all that applyLevel 4
24. Which of these are among the six classic simple machines? Pick all that apply.
- Wedgecorrect
- Screwcorrect
- Wheel and axlecorrect
- Transistor
- Magnet
The six simple machines include the wedge, the screw and the wheel and axle, while a transistor and a magnet are not simple machines.
What Technology Is
- Fill the blankLevel 1
25. Technology is things that people ____ to make life easier.
- inventcorrect
- find
- grow
- eat
People invent technology to help make life easier.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
26. What is technology?
- Tools and machines that people make to help do jobscorrect
- Plants that grow in a forest
- Weather like rain and wind
- Wild animals that live in the woods
Technology is the tools and machines people invent to help solve problems and do jobs.
- Odd one outLevel 1
27. Which one is NOT technology, because it is part of nature and not made by people?
- A treecorrect
- A computer
- A spoon
- A bicycle
A tree grows in nature, while a computer, spoon and bicycle are all made by people.
- True or falseLevel 1
28. A pencil is a kind of technology because people invented it to help them write.
Answer: True
A pencil was invented by people to help us write, so it counts as technology.
- Choose all that applyLevel 3
29. Which of these count as technology? Pick all that apply.
- A paper mapcorrect
- A sewing needlecorrect
- A number system for countingcorrect
- A rainstorm
- A mountain range
Maps, needles and counting systems were all invented by people, while rainstorms and mountains are natural.
- Type the answerLevel 3
30. The know-how and tools people use to solve problems is called ____.
Answer: technology
Technology is the know-how and tools people use to solve problems.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 10 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Choose all that apply
- Fill the blank
- Guess the number
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise What is Technology?
123 questions across 24 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about What is Technology?
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- How Are Tunnels Dug? Boring Machines, Blasting and the Channel TunnelA tunnel is dug by cutting rock or soil at the face and holding up the ground behind, by machine, explosive or shield. How each works, and the Channel Tunnel.September 15, 2026 · 5 min read
- How Do QR Codes Work? A Simple Technology GuideLearn how the black and white pattern stores data, helps cameras find orientation, and uses error correction to survive damage.August 14, 2026 · 5 min read
- How Do Electric Cars Work? Batteries, Motors and the Missing GearboxAn electric car replaces the engine, gearbox and fuel tank with a battery, a motor and a controller. How each part works, why it needs no gears, and charging.September 15, 2026 · 5 min read
- How Does Bluetooth Work? Short-Range Radio That Hops Between ChannelsBluetooth links headphones, cars and watches over a few metres of radio. How devices pair, why the signal hops 1,600 times a second, and why the name is Viking.September 14, 2026 · 4 min read
More units in Technology
- Everyday TechnologyThe gadgets we use at home and on the go
- Meet the ComputerWhat a computer is and its main parts
- The InternetWebsites, email, searching and going online
- Staying Safe OnlinePasswords, privacy and being kind and careful online
- Computer HardwareThe physical parts that make a computer work
- SoftwareOperating systems, apps, files and updates
- Networks and the InternetHow devices connect and talk to each other
- Coding BasicsWhat code is, and the ideas behind it