AP World History : Science and Technology 600 CE to 1450

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Science And Technology 600 Ce To 1450

After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire much of Europe's knowledge was destroyed; for example, domed buildings weren't built again until ____________.

Possible Answers:

the unification of Germany

the Age of Sail

William the Conqueror invaded the British Isles

Cortez's invasion of Mesoamerica

the Italian Renaissance

Correct answer:

the Italian Renaissance

Explanation:

The first domed building to be built in Europe since the collapse of the Roman Empire was the Florence Cathedral, built by Filippo Brunelleschi during the Italian Renaissance. The Italian Renaissance was a period of rediscovery for European intellectuals, including ancient architectural techniques. The Age of Sail, in which millions of Europeans migrated to the Americas, Cortez's invasion of Mesoamerica, the unification of Germany, and William the Conquerors invasion of Britain had dramatic effects on Europeans and their knowledge of the world, but did not lead to the ability to build domed structures.

Example Question #1 : Science And Technology 600 Ce To 1450

Gunpowder was invented in _____________.

Possible Answers:

The United States

The Middle East

China

Europe

India

Correct answer:

China

Explanation:

Gunpowder was invented in China.

Within a few hundred years it had spread all the way through Asia, including India and the Middle East.

When European nations invaded, conquered, and colonized the Americas, gunpowder was a staple of their arsenal. 

Example Question #271 : Cultural History

Although precise definitions are sometimes difficult to assign, in general, hand cannons differ from arquebuses and muskets because they typically _________________.

Possible Answers:

were only ever used in China

lack trigger mechanisms

use percussion caps

cannot be used if the powder gets wet

were so heavy that they were always held by multiple people

Correct answer:

lack trigger mechanisms

Explanation:

Hand cannons are the earliest types of handheld firearms and tend to lack both triggers and stocks; a burning torch would be applied, often by a different person than the one holding the cannon, to a hole bored in the cannon and lined with powder leading down into the barrel of the weapon where packed powder was ignited, pushing forward a projectile with enormous speed. Although over centuries, and from workshops as diverse as Medieval Switzerland, Sinkoku Japan, and Lincoln's United States, arquebuses and muskets were constructed with different attributes, in general all arquebuses and muskets have trigger mechanisms.

Wet gunpowder won't light, regardless the weapon system.

Hand cannons could be held by a single person.

Hand cannon technology was used all over the world, including but not limited to the Middle East and Europe.

Percussion cap technology occurred at the end of muskets being used by professional armies, long after hand cannons and arquebuses became obsolete.

Example Question #2 : Science And Technology 600 Ce To 1450

By the 15th century, European armies ____________________.

Possible Answers:

were using firearms in decreasing numbers

were using firearms in lieu of bows and crossbows

only allowed the king himself to use firearms

were using firearms alongside bows and crossbows

were using firearms as their primary weapon of war

Correct answer:

were using firearms alongside bows and crossbows

Explanation:

In the 15th century, firearms were used on many medieval battlefields, but only by a small proportion of troops because they were expensive, ineffective, and potentially dangerous to the user; bows and crossbows existed alongside firearms for centuries.

Firearms numbers decreased as the technology became more lethal.

Firearm usage was never a monarch's personal prerogative.

Example Question #1 : Science And Technology 600 Ce To 1450

Select the most popular reason for the spread of the Black Death, according to most Europeans at the time.

Possible Answers:

Earthquakes and/or volcanic eruptions

Personal and/or societal immortality

A Jewish conspiracy to create and spread the disease

Toxins in the atmosphere

Correct answer:

Toxins in the atmosphere

Explanation:

Due to the era’s complete and total lack of anything approaching modern medical knowledge, the majority of Europeans, from nobles and the clergy down to shopkeepers, merchants, and peasants, had no factual idea about the plague’s true cause. Even worse, this lack of understanding extended to the ways in which the disease was spread; even physicians, who lacked knowledge of germs or proper hygiene, could only guess as to how the plague was transferred from person to person. This vast state of confusion only compounded Europe’s fear and panic over the rising sick rate and death toll, as one by one, large population centers found themselves transformed into hotbeds of illness. Desperately seeking any sort of explanation for the disease’s devastation, many people turned to superstitions, extreme religious beliefs, ethnic discrimination, or misguided scientific notions about the natural environment. By far the most popular explanation was that of nameless toxins in the atmosphere – most Europeans believed that unhealthy air was somehow to blame for the plague’s swift spread, although speculation as to the exact makeup of these airborne toxins was varied and essentially baseless. Other individuals blamed earthquakes or volcanic eruptions, which they saw as natural incubators of sickness and disease. Still others turned to religion, speaking out against immorality (such as sexual promiscuity, poor church attendance, and greed) as the instigating factor which had caused God to send down the Black Death as punishment. Due to a pervasive cultural tide of anti-Semitism, many people targeted Jewish citizens as spreaders of the disease as well, but this persecution was more general in nature, and not as particular in its nature as the answer option provided, it was also not as widespread a notion, particular to the plague, as the correct answer option provided.

Example Question #282 : Cultural History

Milanese plate armor was so well-crafted that by the 15th century __________________.

Possible Answers:

armor makers across Europe were influenced by Milanese techniques

Milan was able to conquer a large area, declaring its own Milanese empire

the Turks felt threatened by the Milanese army

armies on the Italian Peninsula no longer used firearms, as they were useless against the Milanese armor

every royal house in Europe joined together to destroy the Milanese armor making workshops

Correct answer:

armor makers across Europe were influenced by Milanese techniques

Explanation:

Milanese armor workshops were so successful that for generations most European armor was heavily influenced by Milanese designs.

Milan's power waxed and waned throughout the middle ages, but it never conquered a large territory and declared a Milanese empire.

Militarily, the Turks were in a period of strength and expansion during this period, conquering Constantinople; they were not threatened by tiny Milan.

The royal houses of Europe desired Milanese armor and armor designed in that style, they did not band together to destroy the source of such advancements.

Most firearms of the period could not pierce plate armor, in fact the final test for all professionally made plate armor was for it to be shot at within close range to prove to a customer that firearms couldn't penetrate. Mounted knights in full plate armor were threatened by firearms, however, because their horses could be shot out from under them.

Example Question #2 : Science And Technology 600 Ce To 1450

Junks, were __________.

Possible Answers:

scholar bureaucrats in the Chinese imperial system

religious dissidents in China during the Song Dynasty

massive ships of classical Chinese origin

translators who used to travel with trading caravans on the Silk Road

walls and barricades established to protect Chinese merchants from raiders

Correct answer:

massive ships of classical Chinese origin

Explanation:

Junks are sailing ships that were first invented in China during the classical period. Junks came to be popular during the productive years of the Song Dynasty and were used extensively for Chinese voyages in southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.

Example Question #2 : Science And Technology 600 Ce To 1450

Moveable type and printing were both invented in __________.

Possible Answers:

China

North Africa

The Middle East

Central Europe

Japan

Correct answer:

China

Explanation:

Moveable type and printing were both invented first in China. Moveable type allows for the mass production of documents and was first invented in China in the eleventh century, during the Song Dynasty.

Example Question #283 : Ap World History

Gunpowder was invented in __________.

Possible Answers:

China

Russia

Italy

India

Germany

Correct answer:

China

Explanation:

Gunpowder was invented in China in the ninth or tenth century. The discovery of gunpowder led to the invention of fireworks and to the invention of firearms. Eventually gunpowder would transform the military and societies of almost everywhere in the world.

Example Question #3 : Science And Technology 600 Ce To 1450

Porcelain emerged in which of these regions?

Possible Answers:

North Africa

The Middle East

Sub-Saharan Africa

China

India

Correct answer:

China

Explanation:

Porcelain first emerged in China during the Han Dynasty. During the Tang Dynasty it was an extremely valuable commodity used to trade with Arab traders. By the time of the Ming Dynasty Chinese porcelain was being exported to Europe where it was extremely valuable.

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