Teletypewriter

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

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/teletypewriter

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. What is the primary function?Electromechanical device for sending and receiving typed messages over communication lines
2. What is the key encoding standards?Initially Baudot code, later widely adopted ASCII
3. How did a teletypewriter help people talk to each other?By sending messages instantly over telegraph lines, it let news reporters, businesses, and even families share information quickly, making the world feel closer.
4. Why did teletypewriters use codes like Baudot and ASCII?The codes turned letters into numbers that the machines could understand. Baudot was an early five‑bit code, and later ASCII added more letters, punctuation, and control characters so computers could talk to the machines.

Electromechanical: Devices that integrate electrical and mechanical components to perform a function.
Character Encoding: A system that assigns a unique numerical code to each letter, number, and symbol.
Computer Terminal: A hardware device used to enter data into and receive data from a computer.
Protocols: Sets of rules that govern how data is transmitted and received between devices.