The printing press and how books spread ideas

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   What printing changed (cards A to D; summaries in our words). Card A, Johannes Trithemius, a German abbot, wrote In Praise of Scribes in 1492. He urged monks to keep copying by hand and argued that writing on parchment could last about a thousand years, while a book of paper might last about two hundred. His book was printed in Mainz in 1494. Card B, Venice: Aldus Manutius founded his press in 1494. From 1501 he printed small, portable octavo books. His 1501 Virgil was printed in 1,000 copies, rather than the usual 200 to 500, and Latin octavos cost 30 soldi, a fourth of a ducat. Card C, a study: between 1500 and 1600, European cities where presses were set up in the 1400s grew about 60 percent faster than otherwise similar cities. The study used distance from Mainz as a tool to separate the effect of printing from other causes. Card D, a reminder: printing was one change among many in these centuries, and the cards give no counts of readers.

2. 1.

   Card A: Trithemius urged monks to keep copying by hand, and his book was printed. What does that show about his view, Esme asks?

   • His view was simple: he disliked printed books and refused to use them
   • He wanted monks to stop copying, since his book was printed
   • He valued hand-copying but used print to spread his own argument
   • He used print by accident, since he did not know what a printed book was
3. 2.

   A student says, "Card C proves printing made cities grow faster." Which reply is best, Jun asks?

   • Proven: cities with presses grew 60 percent faster, so printing was the cause
   • Proven: the study counted the readers in the cities it compared
   • Not supported: cities cannot grow faster because of a new technology
   • Supported but not proven: the study separates printing from other causes
4. 3.

   Using card B, which chain best explains how small books could reach more readers, Kira asks?

   • Readers learned Latin from the books, which made the price fall for them
   • Small books cost more than large ones, so fewer readers bought them
   • Small books in larger runs at a lower price could reach more readers
   • The price fell because the Virgil was printed in just 200 copies
5. 4.

   Card A reports Trithemius's claim that paper lasts about 200 years and parchment about 1,000. What kind of statement is it, Luz asks?

   • A count taken from a list of surviving books in a monastery library
   • A fact, since an abbot of that time would not make a mistake
   • A claim made in 1492 that a reader should test
   • A measurement made by scientists in a laboratory using old paper
6. 5.

   A student says, "Aldus's small books caused Venice's faster growth." What do cards B and C support, Milo asks?

   • Proven: card C says Aldus's press made Venice grow faster than other cities
   • Not shown: card B says Aldus printed no books in Venice or anywhere in Italy
   • Proven: both cards are about the 1500s, so one caused the other
   • Not shown: no card links the small books to the growth
7. 6.

   Aldus founded his press in 1494 and the small books began in 1501. How many years later, and what did the new size change, Noah asks?

   • 17 years; books became too large to carry
   • 7 years; books became small enough to carry
   • 1 year; books became free to buy
   • 7 years; books became cheaper because paper was new
8. 7.

   Suppose a new study finds cities with presses in 1500 were richer before printing came. How does it affect card C, Pia asks?

   • It raises a doubt: richer cities might have grown faster anyway
   • It supports card C, since richer cities are the cities that grow
   • It cancels card C, since any new study replaces an older one
   • It changes nothing, since studies cannot be compared
9. 8.

   Why would Aldus print small, portable books, according to card B, Ren asks?

   • To follow an order from Trithemius to print less
   • To raise the price to four ducats for each book
   • To make books harder to read so just scholars could use them
   • To reach readers who wanted books easier to carry and own
10. 9.

    Which claim do cards A and B support best, Tala asks?

    • Hand-copying ended in 1492, the year Trithemius wrote his famous book
    • Printers refused to print books about copying, so his book was never printed
    • Printing did not end hand-copying at once; some still defended it
    • Printing made books worse, so readers stopped buying them after 1494
11. 10.

    Card D says printing was one change among many and gives no counts of readers. What follows, Zee asks?

    • No claim about printing can be made, since other changes happened
    • A claim about printing's effects should stay modest, since other changes happened too
    • Card C must be wrong, since it does not count readers
    • Printing caused each change of these centuries