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Student Reading 13.7: Contemporary Travel Modes
Modes of transportation are ways that people, products, and ideas move
from one place to another. Ohio’s location made it one of the “gateways to the
West” during the time of westward expansion in the United States. That means
that people, products, and ideas moved through Ohio as people started settling
father and farther west. Even though boats still travel on the Ohio River and Lake
Erie, trains remain on Ohio’s railroads, and horses are used to get from place to
place in some areas of Ohio, there are updated modes of travel in use today. Ohio
continues to play an important role in transportation for the rest of the United
States.
(Panoramic photograph taken a few miles south of Dayton, Ohio, where the river, canal, interurban and railway lines and
the Cincinnati pike all run parallel for a short distance. Courtesy of Ohio Pix.)
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Activity 13.7: Contemporary Travel Modes
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Cars have been around for over 100 years, but new technology in the car
industry is creating changes. One change is trying to make cars that create less
pollution and limit harmful effects on the environment. Hybrid cars use more than
one form of energy to work. Rather than just using a gasoline engine and a fuel
tank, hybrid cars also
have electric motors
and a battery back.
The electric parts can
collect and reuse
energy instead of
letting it go to waste.
(Photograph showing a Ford truck parked in front of a dealership. Courtesy of
Ohio Pix.)
Electric cars are
powered only by electricity. They have rechargeable batteries that power the car.
This reduces the pollution emitted by the car and the use of the natural resource
crude oil that is used to make gasoline. Another change in the car industry is
companies are trying to create self-driving cars. If this technology becomes
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Activity 13.7: Contemporary Travel Modes
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available, there could be fewer accidents on the roads and more time for people
to focus on work or communication with others.
Another contemporary mode of travel is air travel. Airplanes allow people
to travel far distances in a relatively short length of time. Ohio is credited as being
“the birthplace of aviation” due to
Orville and Wilbur Wright being from
Dayton, Ohio. They built and flew the
first sustained, controlled, and powered
heavier-than-air manned airplane. At
first, airplanes were too small to carry
passengers and cargo. Once the
technology got good enough to carry
people and their belongings or to
distribute items for trade or business, it
(This photograph depicts World War I flying ace
Captain Edward Rickenbacker standing next to a plane
he flew during World War I in France. Courtesy of Ohio
Pix.)
still took as long as 64 hours to fly
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Activity 13.7: Contemporary Travel Modes
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between the east and west coasts of the United States. Ohio served as a
convenient transportation hub and location for flights to stop on their way across
the country. Airports across the state of Ohio were built. Today, airplanes
continue to be used to move people and products across the United States.
Modes of transportation continue to get faster and faster over time. The
fastest mode of transportation today is
space travel. Spaceflight is used for
exploring outer space. Eventually, there
may be opportunities for people to visit
outer space for a fee, called space tourism.
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
was used as an aircraft testing facility.
Other Ohio connections to space travel
(Astronaut John Glenn in his space suit sitting
outside the Friendship 7 space capsule. Courtesy
of Ohio Pix.)
include two Ohio-born astronauts John Glenn, the first human to orbit the Earth,
and Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on the moon.
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Activity 13.7: Contemporary Travel Modes
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Modes of transportation continue to evolve with technological advances.
There has been an emphasis on creating modes of transportation that reduce or
eliminate harm to the environment. Who knows what the next latest and greatest
mode of transportation will be!
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Activity 13.7: Contemporary Travel Modes
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Reading Comprehension Questions
1. Name at least (2) ways Ohio’s location and its transportation systems have
influenced the movement of people, products, and ideas.
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2. What is the difference between hybrid and electric cars?
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Activity 13.7: Contemporary Travel Modes
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3. Explain how current modes of transportation are different than previous
modes of transportation.
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Activity 13.7: Contemporary Travel Modes