Unit 4 explores how science and technology shape daily life in Spanish-speaking communities, from emerging innovations and personal devices to the societal impact of scientific and technological change.
The College Board's recommended instructional contexts for this theme.
Core Context
Innovations and Emerging Technologies · Innovaciones y tecnologías emergentes
New inventions and breakthroughs that are changing science, industry, and daily life.
Core Context
Personal Technology and Communication · Tecnología personal y comunicación
Smartphones, social media, and other personal devices, and how they shape how people connect.
Core Context
Science in Everyday Life · La ciencia en la vida diaria
How scientific understanding shows up in ordinary routines, from health to household technology.
Core Context
Societal Impacts of Science and Technology · El impacto de la ciencia y la tecnología en la sociedad
How scientific and technological change creates both new opportunities and new challenges for communities.
About Unit 4
Unit 4, La ciencia y la tecnología (Science and Technology), asks what factors drive innovation, how technology enhances global communication, and what impact scientific advancement has on society. This unit uses more complex academic vocabulary than earlier units, since sources often discuss research, data, and technical topics.
Because the exam is not weighted by unit, Unit 4's content is tested throughout the year rather than on one exam day. This unit also connects naturally back to Unit 2's Spanish in the World context: technology is one of the biggest forces currently reshaping how the Spanish-speaking world communicates across borders.
Unit 4 applies the 3 P's framework to science and technology:
Product
A smartphone app, a medical device, a piece of research
Practice
Using social media to stay in touch, relying on telemedicine in rural areas
Perspective
Whether a community sees new technology as opportunity, risk, or both