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 B: Latin octavos cost 30 soldi, a fourth of a ducat. How many soldi make a ducat, and what did a Greek octavo at 60 soldi cost in ducats, Ari asks?

   • 34 soldi; 2 ducats
   • 120 soldi; 2 ducats
   • 60 soldi; a quarter of a ducat
   • 120 soldi; half a ducat
3. 2.

   Card B: the 1501 Virgil was printed in 1,000 copies, rather than the usual 200 to 500. How many times as large was the run as the usual run, Bo asks?

   • 2 to 5 times as large
   • 500 to 800 times as large, since the differences are 500 to 800
   • A fifth to a half as large
   • 1,000 times as large, since the run was 1,000
4. 3.

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

   • 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
   • His view was simple: he disliked printed books and refused to use them
5. 4.

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

   • Not supported: cities cannot grow faster because of a new technology
   • Proven: the study counted the readers in the cities it compared
   • Proven: cities with presses grew 60 percent faster, so printing was the cause
   • Supported but not proven: the study separates printing from other causes
6. 5.

   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 measurement made by scientists in a laboratory using old paper
   • A claim made in 1492 that a reader should test
   • 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
7. 6.

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

   • Proven: both cards are about the 1500s, so one caused the other
   • Not shown: card B says Aldus printed no books in Venice or anywhere in Italy
   • Proven: card C says Aldus's press made Venice grow faster than other cities
   • Not shown: no card links the small books to the growth
8. 7.

   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 cheaper because paper was new
   • 1 year; books became free to buy
   • 7 years; books became small enough to carry
9. 8.

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

   • It changes nothing, since studies cannot be compared
   • 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
10. 9.

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

    • To raise the price to four ducats for each book
    • To reach readers who wanted books easier to carry and own
    • To make books harder to read so just scholars could use them
    • To follow an order from Trithemius to print less
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
    • Card C must be wrong, since it does not count readers
    • A claim about printing's effects should stay modest, since other changes happened too
    • Printing caused each change of these centuries