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Cars: From Steam to Electric

#CarsAndEngineering #ElectricVehicles #AutoHistory #WordUp #S2C #STEMforAll

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a large cannon with large wheels

Long before anyone dreamed of highways, people got around on foot, horseback, or in horse-drawn carriages. The idea of a self-powered VEHICLE felt like pure fantasy — until inventors started experimenting with STEAM engines in the late 1700s. A French engineer named Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built what many historians consider the first self-propelled vehicle in 1769. It ran on steam and could only travel at about 2 miles per hour, barely faster than a brisk walk. Still, that slow, clanking machine planted the seed for everything that came after. The age of the AUTOMOBILE had quietly begun.

Before cars existed, people traveled by foot, horseback, or in horse-drawn _____.
CARRIAGES
The French engineer who built the first self-propelled vehicle was named _____.
CUGNOT
Cugnot's steam vehicle was built in the year _____.
1769
Name something the text tells us about Cugnot's steam vehicle.
RAN ON STEAM / VERY SLOW / BUILT IN 1769
Cugnot's vehicle was powered by a _____ engine.
STEAM
Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot was an engineer from the country of _____.
FRANCE

Writing Prompt

Think about what life was like before cars existed and how early inventors first tried to create self-powered vehicles — write a paragraph explaining what transportation looked like before cars and why experimenting with steam engines was such a big deal.

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