UNIT #1 – The
History of Computers
Karen Provencal
Hyde
Park Middle
School
Las Vegas, NV
PART I: FAMOUS
PEOPLE AND INVENTIONS
A. What
do you know? Use a FACT SHEET for each
person or invention listed.
10
points
____ Abacus
10 points ____ John
Napier
12 points ____
Blaise Pascal
10
points
____ Joseph Jacquard
12
points
____ Herman Hollerith
12
points
____ Charles Babbage
10
points
____ Ada Lovelace
12
points
____ Steve Jobs
12
points ____ Bill Gates
A.
DUE
DATE ___/___ Total points = _____________ / 78
B. What
have you learned? Use the URL(s) listed
to answer each question.
10
points ____
Create a timeline of the
inventor’s and inventions listed above.
List the YEAR that their famous invention was created.
GO TO HARD DRIVE > APPLICATIONS > WORLD BOOK 2004 FOLDER
> TIMELINE WIZARD. Follow these
steps to CREATE & PRINT your Timeline.
http://googolplex.cuna.org/15378/ajsmall/story.html?doc_id=784
25
points ____
Research the
life and invention(s) of one of the people listed above. Give a
three to five-minute oral presentation about this person-
where they’re from, what they did and how or if it is used today.
5
points ____ Find an
encyclopedia dated 1980 or earlier and copy the entry for computer. Find an
encyclopedia dated 1990 or later and copy the entry for computer. List the words
and phrases that are the same and those that are different.
B.
DUE DATE ___/___ Total points =
_____________ / 35
C. Past,
Present, and Future.
20 points ____ Explain the
roles that The
Department of Defense, Apple and IBM played in the history of the
personal
computer. You may write an essay,
create a timeline or design your own website.
Include names, dates and references to your sources.
10 points ____ What are three
major
computer manufacturers in the world today?
Compare their top selling computer(s).
Include machine specifications and cost. Which
of these three would you buy and why?
20 points ____ Choose
a field of technology that interests you like computers, hardware,
software,
communication, robotics, roller coasters, weapons, etc. (Sorry, no
video games
or systems). Make a timeline of some
new ideas and products developed during YOUR lifetime.
Start in the year you were born and up to
and including this year. You should
have 1 to 3 items for each year. For
each technology, list the following:
• Name
• Maker
•
Image
• Brief
description
(less than 20 words)
• Month “it”
was first used/sold
C.
DUE DATE ___/___ Total points =
_____________ / 30
PART II: THE
DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTERS
A. What do you know?
Use a FACT SHEET for each component listed.
25
points ____ vacuum
tubes
25
points ____
transistors
25
points ____
integrated circuits
25
points ____
microprocessors
A.
DUE DATE ___/___ Total points =
_____________ / 75
B. What have you learned?
Use the URL(s) listed to answer each
question.
5 points ____ How does a
microprocessor
work? What does it process? http://www.intel.com/education/mpworks/index.htm?iid=search&
5 points ____ What travels
through an
integrated circuit? What units are used
to measure this?
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0825307.html
10 points ____ Why is the
microprocessor
the brains of the computer?
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bvc.html
20 points ____ Find
an item used at home, school, or another place you frequent,
that is not designed well, and redesign it to make it easier for people
to use.
Designs may be presented as drawings or physical models. Models may be
made
from any materials available. They do not necessarily have to work,
just so
they represent what the real item would look like, either full size or
to
scale.
B.
DUE DATE ___/___ Total points =
_____________ / 30
C.
How were computers
developed?
30
points ____ The
first microprocessors were made in the 1970’s by M.E. Hoff. Today, Intel
is one of the leading manufacturers.
Extra care must be taken when making the microprocessors and
special
suits must be worn. Create a model of a
“clean room” OR “bunny suit.”
30 points ____ Think
of the
sewing machine or the phonograph, or any other inventions that has
changed the
way we work and live. The original
sewing machines were not electronic but had to be operated by a foot
pedal. Even the phonograph evolved into
the CD player. Trace the changes & discoveries in one of these, or
any
other invention.
20 points ____
How do people communicate?
Think of your
friends, family, teachers, coaches, community leaders, etc. How do you communicate with them? Ask
two adults this same question. Record
their answers and compare their answers with your thoughts. What common tools are
used?
C. DUE DATE ___/___
Total points = _____________ / 50
PART III:
GENERATIONS OF COMPUTERS
A. What do you know? Use a FACT SHEET
for each
component listed.
20
points ____ 1st
generation (1940’s – 1950’s)
20
points ____ 2nd
generation (late 1950’s – early 1960’s)
20
points ____ 3rd
generation (late 1960’s – 1970’s)
20
points ____ 4th
generation (1980’s – 1990’s)
20
points ____ 5th
generation (2000’s - ????)
A.
DUE DATE ___/___ Total points =
_____________ / 80
B. What have you learned? Use the
URL(s) listed
to answer each question.
30
points ____ Design a
model of the ENIAC using AppleWorks draw or paint
tools. Include labels of the parts of
the machine.
20
points ____ Select a common,
non-electric household item that you
believe is important. Write down answers to the following questions
about your
item:
1. What need does this
item fill?
2. What do you think the
first one looked like?
3. How did it change?
4. How could it still be
improved?
5. What might this item
look like in the future? (Draw a sketch.)
20
points ____ Imagine
that you are a gifted computer engineer. You
have the power to travel back in time,
as early as the 1940’s. Choose three
different generations of computers that you would travel to and one
technology
in each generation you would work to create.
B.
DUE DATE ___/___ Total points =
_____________ / 50
C.
What’s the next generation?
30
points ____ Compare
and contrast the MARK I, ENIAC, & EDVAC. You must
use images or illustrations.
30 points ____ Can
you think of a problem that hasn't been solved or a need that has not
been
met? Design an invention to provide a
solution or fill that need. Respond in writing to the following:
1. Define the problem.
2. Give causes for the
problem.
3. Describe your
solution.
4. Tell why your
solution will improve the situation.
Give a three to
five-minute oral
presentation when you have completed either assignment A or B.
C.
DUE DATE ___/___ Total points =
_____________ / 30
UNIT
#1 – FACTS SHEET
Ms. Provencal, Hyde
Park Middle
School, Nevada
Who are you?
Name
___________________________________ Class
________
What
PERSON, PLACE, THING are you learning
about?
When
was it BORN, BUILT, or INVENTED?
Where
did IT come from?
Is
IT used today?
How
did you learn about this?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Use
the back of this sheet for ONE of the following:
•
Sketch the person, place or thing you have researched.
•
Attach a copied/printed image from a URL.