GENERAL EDUCATION – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: Core Vocabulary

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards summarizing essential terms, people, laws, and concepts from the Science & Technology lecture notes.

Ancient Three-Age System

Archaeological classification dividing pre-history into the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages based on prevailing tool materials.

Stone Age

Earliest known period when humans fashioned tools primarily from stone, wood, or bone.

Paleolithic Period

Old Stone Age (2.5 MYA – 10 000 B.C.); nomadic hunters-gatherers using basic stone tools and controlled fire.

Mesolithic Period

Middle Stone Age (10 000 – 8 000 B.C.); villagers near rivers, small polished tools, fishing, and early agriculture.

Neolithic Period

New Stone Age (8 000 – 3 000 B.C.); settled farming communities, animal domestication, polished axes, advanced crafts.

Bronze Age

Era (3 000 – 1 300 B.C.) when copper-tin alloys were smelted for stronger weapons; rise of early kingdoms.

Smelting

Heating and melting ores to extract metals such as copper, bronze, or iron.

Iron Age

Period (≈1200 – 600 B.C.) marked by large-scale forging of iron and steel, revolutionizing warfare and tools.

Hittites

Anatolian people who first produced steel by heating iron with carbon.

Antiquity

Classical era (600 B.C. – 529 C.E.) highlighted by Greek civilization and the first natural philosophers.

Natural Philosopher

Early thinker who sought explanations of nature through reason rather than myth; precursor to scientists.

Pre-Socratic Philosophers

Greek thinkers before Socrates who proposed natural explanations of the cosmos.

Thales

Pre-Socratic who believed Earth floated on water; considered first Western scientist.

Anaximander

Proposed a natural origin and evolution of life from the ‘apeiron’ (boundless).

Anaximenes

Suggested that air is the primary substance of the universe.

Heraclitus

Asserted that change is fundamental and fire plays a central cosmic role.

Leucippus

Introduced the concept of the atom as indivisible matter.

Democritus

Expanded atomic theory; atoms are solid, indestructible particles separated by void.

Pythagoras

Greek who recognized Earth as spherical; founded numerical view of the universe.

Hippocrates

“Father of Medicine”; authored the ethical Hippocratic Oath separating medicine from religion.

Socratic Philosophers

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle—thinkers using dialogue, ideal forms, and observation.

Socratic Method

Teaching style using questioning to stimulate critical thinking, attributed to Socrates.

Plato

Coined ‘element’, founded the Academy, favored geometric models over experiments.

Academy (Plato)

First higher-learning institution in the West, founded by Plato in Athens.

Aristotle

Father of Biology; proposed four terrestrial elements plus aether; developed inductive reasoning.

Lyceum

School founded by Aristotle focusing on empirical study and classification.

Aether

Aristotle’s proposed fifth element filling heavenly spheres.

Inductive Method

Reasoning from specific observations to general principles; championed by Aristotle.

Aristarchus

Greek who originally advanced the heliocentric (Sun-centered) model.

Geocentrism

Earth-centered cosmology formalized by Ptolemy and dominant until the Renaissance.

Heliocentrism

Sun-centered model of the solar system, revived by Copernicus.

Claudius Ptolemy

Calculated Earth-Moon distances; authored the geocentric Almagest.

Herophilus

“Father of Anatomy”; performed early human dissections.

Erasistratus

Founder of Physiology; studied circulatory and nervous systems.

Euclid

“Father of Modern Geometry”; wrote the Elements.

Archimedes

Greek polymath dubbed “Father of Mathematics”; principle of buoyancy, levers, and pulleys.

Middle Ages

Medieval era (476 – 1450 A.D.) between Roman fall and Renaissance, with varied scientific progress.

Dark Ages

Early Medieval period of slow European science; church dominance but Islamic innovation.

Heavy Plough

Medieval agricultural tool that improved Northern European farming efficiency.

Horse Collar

Harness allowing horses to pull heavy loads without choking, boosting transport and ploughing.

Gunpowder

Explosive mixture invented in China; transformed warfare.

Compass

Magnetized-needle navigation device developed in China for reliable seafaring.

Toledan Tables

Medieval Arabic astronomical tables predicting planetary movements.

High Middle Ages

Period (1000 – 1450 A.D.) of European scholastic revival and technological advance.

Scholasticism

Medieval philosophy reconciling classical knowledge with Christian theology; led by Aquinas.

St. Thomas Aquinas

Founding scholastic who integrated Aristotle with Christian doctrine.

Roger Bacon

Medieval English scholar who emphasized experimentation for knowledge.

Water Wheel

Primary Northern European mechanical power source in the Middle Ages.

Black Death

14th-century bubonic plague pandemic caused by Yersinia pestis.

Renaissance

Rebirth period (≈1453 – 1600) marked by humanism and experimental science.

Scientific Method

Systematic process of observation, hypothesis, experiment; popularized by Francis Bacon.

Printing Press

Movable-type machine introduced by Johannes Gutenberg; mass-produced books.

Paracelsus

Renaissance physician who created laudanum and advanced medical chemistry.

Pascal’s Triangle

Arithmetic triangle of binomial coefficients described by Tartaglia and Pascal.

Leonardo da Vinci

Renaissance polymath; engineered canal locks, war machines, and sketched helicopters.

Scientific Revolution

16th-17th-century shift to modern science through mathematics and experimentation.

Copernican Heliocentric Theory

Model placing the Sun at the center of the solar system, proposed by Nicolaus Copernicus.

Johannes Kepler

Formulated three laws describing elliptical planetary orbits and variable speeds.

Galileo Galilei

“First scientist” of Scientific Revolution; telescope observations validated heliocentrism.

Dialogue on Two New Sciences

Galileo’s final work covering kinematics and material strength.

Tycho Brahe

Danish astronomer who recorded precise star positions and described the 1572 supernova.

John Ray

Naturalist who defined ‘species’ as a basic classification unit.

Binomial Nomenclature

Two-word Latin naming system for species devised by Carolus Linnaeus.

Andreas Vesalius

“Father of Modern Anatomy”; published detailed human anatomical drawings.

William Harvey

Discovered full blood circulation in humans.

Capillaries

Smallest blood vessels connecting arteries and veins, discovered by Marcello Malpighi.

Blaise Pascal

Invented the Pascaline, an early gear-driven mechanical calculator.

Pascaline

First mechanical adding machine using interlocking gears (1642).

Evangelista Torricelli

Created the mercury barometer and demonstrated atmospheric pressure.

Barometer

Instrument measuring atmospheric pressure; enabled study of vacuums.

Enlightenment

18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, and progress.

Isaac Newton

Formulated laws of motion, universal gravitation, and pioneered calculus.

Universal Gravitation

Newton’s law stating every mass attracts every other mass proportionally.

James Watt

Improved steam engine, fueling Industrial Revolution.

Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck

Proposed early evolution theory of acquired characteristics (Transformation).

Charles Darwin

“Father of Evolution”; natural selection theory in On the Origin of Species.

Natural Selection

Process where heritable traits that enhance survival become more common.

Sigmund Freud

Founded psychoanalysis; id-ego-superego and psychosexual development.

Alan Turing

Developed abstract Turing Machine and proposed the Turing Test for AI.

Turing Test

Criterion for machine intelligence based on indistinguishable conversation.

Caracoa

Large pre-colonial Filipino war and trade boat.

Manila Observatory

Jesuit-founded Philippine center for meteorology; issued first typhoon warnings.

PAGASA

Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration for weather and space sciences.

Science Act of 1958 (RA 2067)

Law integrating and funding Philippine scientific research and invention.

National Science Development Board

Body coordinating Philippine R&D, created under the Science Act.

Magna Carta for Scientists (RA 8439)

Provides benefits and incentives to government S&T personnel.

Clean Air Act (RA 8749)

Philippine law to control air pollution and protect environmental quality.

Electronic Commerce Act (RA 8792)

Legalizes electronic transactions and penalizes computer hacking in the Philippines.

Biofuels Act (RA 9637)

Mandates biofuel use and establishes a Philippine biofuel program.

Science and Technology Master Plan (STMP)

Blueprint (1991-2000) for making the Philippines a Newly Industrialized Country through S&T.

PCAARRD

Council steering Philippine agriculture, aquatic, and natural resources R&D.

PCHRD

Council coordinating Philippine health research and development.

PCIEERD

Council for industry, energy, and emerging technology R&D in the Philippines.

ASTI

Advanced Science and Technology Institute focusing on ICT and microelectronics.

PHIVOLCS

Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology monitoring geologic hazards.

NIBRA

National Integrated Basic Research Agenda (2022-2028) directing Philippine basic research priorities.

Science for Change Program (S4CP)

DOST initiative to accelerate Philippine R&D through funding and collaboration.

Balik Scientist Program (RA 11035)

Incentivizes Filipino experts abroad to return and share expertise.

Eudaimonia

Aristotelian concept of human flourishing or ultimate happiness through virtue.

Human Flourishing

Achievement of one’s potential and well-being; central goal of philosophy.