Nikola Tesla: The Greatest Inventor of All

Learn about Nikola Tesla, the brilliant inventor! Explore his life, inventions, and rivalry with Edison.

Part I: Matching Match the item on the left to the item on the right by clicking on both boxes. Born in Croatia Edison direct current Tesla alternating current Used his mind to imagine methods Tesla Used models to imagine methods Edison Westinghouse bought Tesla's inventions Read each paragraph. Then choose the correct organizational structure after clicking on the selection. Cause and Effect In 1885 Tesla and Edison had a falling out. Tesla told Edison he could improve some of Edison's motors and generators. Edison told him he would him 50,000.00 if he did. This was quite a lot of money at that time. Tesla worked hard and spent months on the task. When he succeeded, he asked Edison for the reward but Edison told him he had been joking...Tesla quit the job. Comparison and Contrast In 1884, he moved to New York City. He came with a letter of recommendation to Thomas Edison from one of his bosses. The letter is claimed to have said, : I know two great men and you are one of them; the other is this young man. Edison hired Tesla, who began as an electrical engineer...Tesla was able to use his mind to imagine how different methods worked. Edison always made a lot of models and tried them out, which took longer. Tesla started his own company in 1887, Tesla Electric Light and Manufacturing. There he worked on making a system called "alternating current." Thomas Edison thought his system called "direct current" was better and safer. The two became rivals. Chronological Order Nikola Tesla was born in 1856 to a Serbian family in the country that is now called Croatia. When Tesla was young, he was able to do such complex math problems in his head that his teachers thought he was cheating. He finished high school in 3 years instead of 4. What overall organizational structure does the author follow in this article? Chronological Order Comparison and Contrast Cause and Effect Part III: Word Search To mark a word click its first letter then click its last. WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRICITY GENERATORS INVENTION ENGINEER CURRENT CROATIA EDISON TESLA RIVAL List one trait that both Edison and Tesla have in common. Write your response in 1-2 complete sentences. How did their falling out highlight a difference between these two men? Write your response in 1-2 complete sentences. Are their legacies more alike or different? Explain your reasoning in 1-2 complete sentences.