Wissenschaft und Technologie: every key term you need (+ practice quiz)
38 flashcard terms for AP German Language Unit 4, written to match the course framework. Study them here, then drill them as interactive flashcards, or test yourself with the 20-question quiz — free, no account needed.
AP theme covering scientific discoveries, ethics of technology, health care, the digital world, energy and the future of innovation in German-speaking countries.
die Energiewende
Germany's transition away from nuclear and fossil fuels toward renewables; the last three nuclear plants shut down in April 2023.
der Atomausstieg
The phase-out of nuclear power, decided after Chernobyl debates and finalized after Fukushima 2011; a defining German science-policy choice.
die erneuerbaren Energien
Renewable energies (Wind, Solar, Biomasse, Wasserkraft); by the mid-2020s they supplied over half of German electricity.
das Windrad / die Windkraftanlage
Wind turbine; northern Germany and the North Sea host large offshore wind parks.
die Solaranlage
Solar installation; the EEG (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, 2000) with its feed-in tariffs made rooftop solar common.
das Elektroauto
Electric car; German automakers (VW, BMW, Mercedes) are shifting from combustion engines under EU rules banning new petrol cars from 2035.
die Autoindustrie
Car industry, Germany's most important export sector; the Dieselskandal (2015) damaged trust and accelerated the e-mobility push.
der Dieselskandal
Volkswagen emissions scandal of 2015 in which software cheated on exhaust tests; a key case study in Technikethik.
die Digitalisierung
Digitalization; Germany is often criticized for slow broadband, fax machines in offices and paper-based bureaucracy.
der Datenschutz
Data protection; Germans are especially privacy-conscious, and the EU's DSGVO (GDPR, 2018) is heavily shaped by German law.
die DSGVO
Datenschutz-Grundverordnung, the EU General Data Protection Regulation that gives citizens control over their personal data.
die künstliche Intelligenz (KI)
Artificial intelligence; the EU AI Act (2024) and German debates about ChatGPT in schools show a cautious, rules-first approach.
die Ethik
Ethics; German discussions weigh Fortschritt (progress) against Verantwortung (responsibility), influenced by history and Kant.
der Deutsche Ethikrat
German Ethics Council that advises parliament on issues such as genetic engineering, organ donation and vaccination.
die Gentechnik
Genetic engineering; Germany largely rejects genetically modified food, and CRISPR debates are ongoing.
die Stammzellenforschung
Stem-cell research, tightly regulated by the Embryonenschutzgesetz of 1990.
die Organspende
Organ donation; Germany uses an opt-in system (Entscheidungslösung), unlike Austria's opt-out model.