SS Great Britain

High school (ages 12+)
Transportation

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ss-great-britain

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How long is SS Great Britain?98 meters (322 feet)
2. What is the location?Bristol, England
3. What is the year launched?1843
4. What made the SS Great Britain special?It was the biggest ship of its time and had an all‑iron hull and a screw propeller, the first time those two were used together on a ship that big.
5. How fast could the SS Great Britain travel across the Atlantic?It crossed from Bristol to New York in just 14 days, which was much faster than earlier steamships.

Iron Hull: The main body of a ship constructed from iron plates, offering greater strength and durability than wood.
Screw Propeller: A rotating helical device used to propel a ship, offering greater efficiency than paddle wheels for ocean-going vessels.
Direct-Acting Steam Engine: An early type of steam engine where the piston directly drove the propeller shaft without intermediate gearing.
Coal Hulk: A ship used primarily for storing and transferring coal to other vessels, particularly steamships.