Invention and

Innovation
 History of Invention

• Inventions of the:

• Stone Age: axes, and tools made of stone


People invented ways of creating pottery

• Bronze Age: wheel, plow, irrigation and writing. These were the building
blocks for later inventions.

• Iron Age: the screw pump,

 History of Invention

• Inventions of the:

• The Industrial Revolution: (1750- 1850)

• Steam engine, telegraph, better ways to plant

and grow crops

• Information Age: vacuum tubes, transistors, used

in television, computers
 Discovery
Electricity 1752
Vacuums
Newton’s Laws of Motion 1666

• A discovery is made when something that naturally occurs is first noticed.

Invention and Innovation

● Invention means having a totally original

idea and showing how it can work in
theory
● Innovation means putting a new idea
into practice. This could be either bringing
a new product to the market or by getting
an organisation to try a new way of
working
 Invention

• An invention is a new idea, process, or device. Humans design and create

inventions
 Products

• Products. These are manufactured artifacts. Examples of

products include:

• ink pens

• sporting equipment

• clothing

• even artwork

• pieces of music

• food
 Devices and Machines

• Devices and machines. These are inventions with moving parts or

electrical circuits used to do work.
 Processes

• Processes. These are new techniques and ways of doing

things.

• Processes can be changes in the way products are

manufactured.

• They can also be new techniques for performing surgeries,

growing crops, or making medicines.
Processes
 Problem Solving
• Inventing follows a set of steps. It is a process.
The process begins with a problem and ends with
a solution.
 Trouble Shooting

A technique used to find the cause of a

problem in a technological system.
 Experimentation

Problem solving step that is used to carry out

tests on technological products and systems.
Can you hold your plastic cup at the same time holding
the umbrella?

That is really difficult. What if you need to take

something, let’s say a briefcase, which will you put
down, the cup or the umbrella? 
 Are you tired buying candle
every month or twice a month?
 The Invention Process
Identify the
problem

Review Collect
Information

Experiment Think
Creatively
 Problem

• A problem is anything that can be made better through change.

• Example: the time and effort it takes to mow the lawn is a problem.
 Challenge

• A challenge is also a problem.

• A challenge is an obstacle or goal that needs to be met.

• Example: to safely travel to the planet Mars.

 Collect Information

• Research Techniques used by Inventors:

• Interview Experts.

• Read Books, Magazines, and Academic Journals.




Inventors keep up with and record their progress by keeping
notebooks or personal journals.
 Think Creatively
• Requires the human brain.

• Inventors create:

o sketches

o drawings

o charts

o graphs

To aid in the creative process.

 Experiment

• In this step the inventor builds inventions. They use drawings created in
the last step.

• This step may take weeks or even years.

 Review

• After the invention works, inventors review their notebooks. They make
sure that the invention solves the problem.

• If the invention does not solve the problem, the inventor starts over again
with step one.

• If the problem is solved, the invention process is solved.

 Why People Invent

• #1 Social Inventions

• #2 Financial Inventions

• #3 Leisure Inventions
 Social Inventions

• Social inventions are created to help the inventor or other people. They
make our lives better. These inventions impact society.

• Example: a jar opener for the elderly,

vaccines for children

 Financial Inventions

• Most inventions are created to make money. These are called

financial inventions.

• Financial inventions often make things faster or easier to do.

• Example: Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin to process cotton

faster.
 Leisure Inventions

• Leisure inventions are created for the pleasure of inventing.

Inventors who like to tinker create things.

• Example: Rube Goldberg was a cartoonist who drew funny

leisure inventions.
 Innovation

• Inventors do not always invent new devices. They often create

innovations.

• Innovation is the process of altering an existing product or

system to improve it.
 Adaptations

• Adaptations are developed when inventions are used for something other
than the purposes for which they were intended.

• Medicines are adapted when used to treat ailments besides the one they
were meant to cure.
 Spin-offs
• NASA has created over one thousand inventions that have been
adapted to solve other problems.

• These adaptations are known as spin-offs.

• Racecar drivers now use technology from space suits worn by Apollo
astronauts.

• Cordless power tools were first used in space.

• The suits firefighters wear are NASA spin-offs

• Spin-offs are inventions that have been adapted to solve other

problems.



 Innovations and Adaptations

• Innovations and adaptations make devices, products, and processes

easier to use. They help to make inventions better and more useful.

• Innovations are an important part of invention

Go Out and Invent Something