Electric Car — Questions and answers
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What kind of car did William Morrison's team create in 1890?
Choices
- A. A steam-powered carriage
- B. An electric car ✓
- C. A horse-drawn wagon
- D. A gasoline automobile
Answer: B. An electric car
From page 1
What were some of the unpleasant conditions in cities before electric cars became popular?
Choices
- A. Too many quiet gardens
- B. Loud noise, bad smells from horse waste, and smoke ✓
- C. Streets that were too clean and empty
- D. People walking everywhere without cars
Answer: B. Loud noise, bad smells from horse waste, and smoke
From page 2
What was the main challenge for early electric car engineers?
Choices
- A. Making the cars too fast
- B. Finding comfortable seats
- C. The heavy battery that didn't last long ✓
- D. Deciding on the color of the car
Answer: C. The heavy battery that didn't last long
From page 3
Besides powering the vehicle, what other important things did Morrison want to consider when designing the car?
Choices
- A. How many horses it could pull
- B. The car's weight, passenger comfort, and how power moved ✓
- C. If it could fly
- D. How loud it could be
Answer: B. The car's weight, passenger comfort, and how power moved
From page 4
What helped make lead-acid batteries better for electric cars, even if only a little at a time?
Choices
- A. Making them much heavier
- B. Painting them different colors
- C. Continuous, small improvements from dedicated research ✓
- D. Filling them with water
Answer: C. Continuous, small improvements from dedicated research
From page 5
What made the electric car's operation simple compared to steam cars?
Choices
- A. It had a big boiler to fire
- B. It used complicated gears
- C. It had simple control of current from the battery to the motor ✓
- D. It needed horses to pull it
Answer: C. It had simple control of current from the battery to the motor
From page 6
What did a passenger say they loved about riding in the early electric car?
Choices
- A. It was very loud and shaky
- B. It required hand-cranking to start
- C. It was incredibly smooth and quiet, letting them talk easily ✓
- D. It was difficult to operate
Answer: C. It was incredibly smooth and quiet, letting them talk easily
From page 7
What two major advancements made gasoline cars more popular and caused electric cars to decline?
Choices
- A. Quieter electric motors and faster charging
- B. The electric starter for gasoline cars and Henry Ford's affordable Model T ✓
- C. Smaller batteries and fewer roads
- D. Horses becoming more popular and steam engines improving
Answer: B. The electric starter for gasoline cars and Henry Ford's affordable Model T
From page 9
What are two main reasons electric cars are popular again today?
Choices
- A. There are no more gasoline stations, and horses are too slow.
- B. Environmental urgency and new lithium-ion battery technology. ✓
- C. People prefer loud vehicles, and old batteries are cheap.
- D. Steam engines are too difficult to build, and roads are disappearing.
Answer: B. Environmental urgency and new lithium-ion battery technology.
From page 10