A city moves permit applications to an online portal. Some residents do not have reliable internet service at home. Which concern must planners address before calling the portal successful?
- Social institution
- Access
- Impact
- Unintended consequence
Technology & Society · I.G–I.I
Study cluster 03
Impacts & STEM
Trace what technology changes in social institutions, compare environmental choices across a full life cycle, and separate the connected jobs of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology.
Opening predictions
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Start with Easy, then move to Medium and Challenge. Make a first choice for each question, then use the explainers and Kahoot to check your reasoning.
A shipping company compares package options from raw-material extraction through disposal. Which approach would best support a full environmental comparison?
- Source reduction
- Reuse
- Recycling
- Life-cycle assessment
A weather team gathers data, uses a model to forecast storms, and develops a warning system. Which field is primarily responsible for designing and testing the warning system?
- Science
- Mathematics
- Engineering
- Technology
Show the answers
- I.G: B, Access. The city must consider whether residents can obtain and use the portal, not only whether it speeds processing for people already online.
- I.H: D, Life-cycle assessment. This approach compares potential effects across material extraction, production, use, transport, and disposal.
- I.I: C, Engineering. Engineering applies evidence and models to develop, test, and improve a solution that meets a need.
The three concepts
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Concept I.G
Technology & social institutions
Technology can change how people work, communicate, learn, and participate in their communities. Its effects are not automatic or equal for everyone: access, cost, rules, and social norms help determine who benefits and who faces new problems.
- Social institutionAn enduring arrangement such as a family, school, business, or government.
- AccessThe ability to obtain and use a technology.
- ImpactA change a technology helps cause.
- Unintended consequenceAn unplanned effect of a decision or technology.
Concept I.H
Environmental impact & trade-offs
Designers can reduce harm by using fewer inputs, improving energy efficiency, extending product life, reusing parts, and recycling materials. Compare choices across their life cycle—including production, use, transport, and disposal—rather than relying on one favorable label or measure.
- Source reductionPreventing waste before it is created.
- ReuseKeeping a product or part in service for another use.
- RecyclingProcessing discarded material into new material.
- Life-cycle assessmentComparing potential effects across production, use, and disposal.
Concept I.I
Engineering, mathematics, science & technology
Science develops evidence-based explanations of the natural world. Mathematics represents quantities, patterns, and relationships. Engineering uses that knowledge to design and improve solutions within constraints. Technology includes the resulting products, processes, systems, and knowledge used to create and operate them.
- ScienceDeveloping evidence-based explanations of the natural world.
- MathematicsRepresenting and analyzing quantities, patterns, and relationships.
- EngineeringDesigning and testing solutions to needs under constraints.
- TechnologyHuman-designed products, processes, and systems.
Check the sources
Original references
These study notes are an independent synthesis. Follow the original sources for the full context.
- ETS Praxis 5051 Study Companion
- NAEP: Technology and Engineering Literacy framework
- Pew Research Center: Families and technology
- EPA: Materials and waste management hierarchy
- EPA: Sustainable materials management basics
- National Academies: Engineering, science, and mathematics
- National Academies: Mathematical and computational thinking