Question

1. what problem was garrett morgan trying to solve with his traffic signal, and why did he hide his identity at times?

Explanation:

Garrett Morgan developed his traffic signal to address the growing danger of collisions between motor vehicles, pedestrians, and horse-drawn carriages as urban areas and traffic increased in the early 1900s; existing traffic control was limited and ineffective. He hid his identity at times because he was an African American, and racial prejudice in the U.S. during that era meant white businesses and officials were less likely to do business with or accept innovations from Black inventors, so he used a white proxy to avoid discrimination and ensure his invention was taken seriously.

Answer:

1. Garrett Morgan's traffic signal was designed to solve the problem of frequent, dangerous traffic collisions in urban areas caused by the lack of effective, automated traffic control as motorized traffic grew.
2. He hid his identity at times due to widespread racial prejudice in the early 20th-century United States; as a Black inventor, he faced discrimination that would have prevented white businesses and authorities from adopting or engaging with his invention, so he used a white representative to bypass this bias.