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Module 1 · Learning to Drive

Lesson 6 · Differential Drive & Motor Control — Knowledge Checks

Name Date

  1. Your robot is supposed to drive straight but keeps drifting to the left. What does that tell you about the two sides?

    1. A.Both sides are running at exactly the same speed
    2. B.The right side is running slightly faster than the left
    3. C.The motors are running in opposite directions
    4. D.One side is completely stopped

    Answer Why?

  2. You run Set effort with left 0.5 and right 0.5. What does the robot do?

    1. A.Curves to the left
    2. B.Drives straight forward
    3. C.Spins in place
    4. D.Stays still

    Answer Why?

  3. What happens with left 0.5 and right -0.5 (one wheel forward, one backward)?

    1. A.Drives straight
    2. B.Spins in place
    3. C.Drives backward
    4. D.Curves gently

    Answer Why?

  4. You set both motors to effort 0.5 and drive across a smooth floor, then across a thick carpet. What happens?

    1. A.The robot travels at the same speed on both — effort sets the speed
    2. B.It is slower on the carpet: effort is how hard the motors try, and the carpet fights back
    3. C.It goes faster on the carpet
    4. D.The robot refuses to move on carpet

    Answer Why?

  5. A robot is asked to hold a steady speed as it drives up and over a hill. What does its effort do?

    1. A.Stays at one fixed value the whole way
    2. B.Rises going uphill and drops going downhill, to keep the speed the same
    3. C.Drops going uphill
    4. D.Goes to zero at the top

    Answer Why?

  6. What's the difference between what Straight does and what Set effort does?

    1. A.Straight drives its distance and then stops the motors; Set effort starts the motors and leaves them running
    2. B.They do the same thing — Set effort is just the Python version
    3. C.Straight leaves the motors running; Set effort stops them when it finishes
    4. D.Set effort can only drive backward

    Answer Why?

  7. Why is 'Set effort 0.5, Sleep 3 seconds' a poor way to travel a set distance?

    1. A.Sleep blocks are slower than Straight blocks
    2. B.Effort is not speed — the same 3 seconds covers different distances depending on battery, surface, and load
    3. C.Sleep stops the motors, so the robot never gets anywhere
    4. D.The robot cannot run Set effort and Sleep in the same program

    Answer Why?

  8. When is the Arcade block a better choice than Set effort?

    1. A.When you need smooth, intuitive steering like a game controller
    2. B.When you need to control each wheel to an exact effort
    3. C.When you want precise, measured distances
    4. D.Arcade and Set effort are exactly the same

    Answer Why?