Lesson Y8-U04-L03

Y8-U04-L03 From Cottage to Factory Quiz: KS3 History, Unit 10

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson Y8-U04-L03, From Cottage to Factory: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 History (National Curriculum), Unit 10: Year 8: Industrial Revolution, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. What was the domestic system also known as?

    • Canal industry
    • Cottage industry
    • Factory industry
    • Turnpike industry

  2. Under the domestic system, who brought raw wool or cotton to a family's cottage?

    • The village lord
    • The local bell ringer
    • A factory overseer
    • A merchant

  3. What was Arkwright's water frame?

    • A steam engine that pumped water out of coal mines
    • A railway wagon that carried finished cloth to the ports
    • A spinning machine too big for a home, powered by a water wheel
    • A hand loom that could be worked by one person sitting in a cottage

  4. In which year did Richard Arkwright build the water frame?

    • 1807
    • 1701
    • 1771
    • 1833

  5. Why did Arkwright put his machines and workers under one roof beside a river?

    • The law required all cloth to be made in one place near a river
    • The machines were too big for a cottage and needed water power to run them
    • The merchants wanted to sell the cloth directly from the riverbank
    • The workers preferred to live together in one large building

  6. What is the 'factory system'?

    • Selling goods to merchants who then carry them to distant towns
    • Making goods in one large building, using machines and many workers together
    • Growing crops in open fields that were split into thin strips
    • Making goods at home by hand, with the family working together

  7. What does 'discipline' mean in the context of factories?

    • Regular breaks and holidays that were agreed with the workers
    • Fair wages that rose each year as the factory grew bigger
    • Strict rules and control over how and when workers do their jobs
    • Training in a skilled craft that took several years to complete

  8. How was the working day in a factory set?

    • By a bell, with workers starting at about 5.30am and working 12 to 14 hours
    • By the seasons, so workers rested in winter and worked in summer
    • By the local church, which rang at noon each day for all the workers
    • By each worker, who chose their own hours to suit their families

  9. What punishment could a factory worker receive for arriving late?

    • An extra day of paid holiday
    • A promotion to the position of overseer
    • A pay rise for the rest of the week
    • A fine

  10. How did a domestic worker's hours in 1760 differ from a factory worker's hours in 1800?

    • The domestic worker had to be at the mill by the bell, while the factory worker set their own pace
    • Both workers set their own hours, because the factory bell was only used on holidays
    • Both workers were paid for every hour worked, with no fines and no set start time
    • The domestic worker set their own hours, while the factory bell controlled when work started and stopped

  11. A factory rulebook fined workers for arriving late, talking, whistling or leaving a window open. What does this show about factory owners?

    • They wanted workers to enjoy the job so that they would stay for many years
    • They controlled workers' behaviour very closely, down to small details
    • They had no rules and left all decisions to the overseers and their bells
    • They trusted workers to decide for themselves how to run the machines

  12. A mill worker recalled that the overseer would strap workers who slackened. What happened to a worker who slackened?

    • The owner dismissed them immediately without any pay
    • The worker was sent home early with a note from the bell ringer
    • The overseer would strap them to keep them awake and working
    • The overseer gave them a reward and extra time for lunch

  13. Why might a worker used to the domestic system have hated the factory rules?

    • They lost the freedom to set their own hours and to work at their own pace
    • They were not allowed to spin wool at any time of the year
    • They had to make cloth for themselves, which they found too difficult
    • They were given far too much money, which made them unhappy

  14. A mill worker recalled starting at half past five in the morning and working until eight or nine at night. Which statement is best supported by this account?

    • Workers were taught to read and write during the long working day in the mill
    • Workers started at half past five in the morning and worked until eight or nine at night
    • Workers were paid higher wages for working late into the evening in the mill
    • Workers were excused from work on Sundays and during bad weather each year

  15. Why did factory owners need every worker to work at the same time?

    • Each worker had to finish a set number of cloth pieces before going home for the day
    • Workers were needed to guard the machines against theft by their neighbours
    • Expensive machines only paid off if they ran all day with everyone working
    • The law required that all factories close at the same hour each evening

  16. Apart from the machines themselves, what was the factory's 'real invention'?

    • Discipline, meaning total control over the worker's time
    • The bell, which was the first machine ever made to ring by itself
    • The steam engine, which replaced the water wheel in most mills
    • The water frame, which spun cotton thread far faster than a spinning wheel

  17. Which statement best compares the domestic system and the factory system?

    • The domestic system used machines to produce more cloth than the factory system did
    • The factory system was slow and handmade, while the domestic system was very fast
    • Both systems were slow and handmade, but the factory system paid workers far more and gave longer holidays
    • The domestic system was slow and handmade, while the factory system used machines to produce far more cloth

  18. Why was the water frame more significant than the spinning wheel?

    • It was made of wood and could be repaired by any village carpenter
    • It needed no power at all and could be worked by one person
    • It spun strong thread much faster, though it needed a building and a source of power
    • It could be carried easily from cottage to cottage by a single family

  19. Why did factories need overseers?

    • To sell the finished cloth to merchants in distant towns
    • To teach workers to read, write and calculate during the working day
    • To watch workers constantly and keep the machines and workers working
    • To repair the water wheels that were damaged in storms each winter

  20. A cloth merchant in 1790 wants to make far more cloth, quickly. Which system should he choose?

    • The turnpike system, because roads could weave cloth on their surfaces
    • The factory system, because machines and many workers could make far more cloth
    • The canal system, because boats could spin the wool while they sailed
    • The domestic system, because cottage workers could spin cloth faster than machines

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