World History - Unit 1: The Scientific Revolution & Enlightenment Era

Scientific Revolution

Emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries (1500s & 1600s), it challenged long-held beliefs on faith. Scholars began thinking logically based on the "power of reason."

Scientific Method

Developed during the Scientific Revolution, this was a systematic pursuit of knowledge through observation and testing.

Enlightenment Era

Also known as the "Age of Reason," it was sparked by the Scientific Revolution and occurred in the 17th and 18th centuries (1600s and 1700s)

Natural Laws

Unchanging principles discovered through reason.

Science vs. Religious Authority

Enlightenment thinkers started to stress science and natural law over religious law. This often conflicted with religious authority.

Nicholaus Copernicus

(1473-1543) Polish astronomer and mathematician who developed the heliocentric model of the solar system

Heliocentric Model

Placed the sun at the center of the solar system with the planets orbiting around it.

Geocentric Model

Placed the Earth at the center of the solar system with the sun and other planets orbiting around it.

Tycho Brahe

(1546-1601) Danish astronomer who set up an observatory and produced the most accurate measurements and location of stars before the use of a telescope.

Johannes Kepler

(1571-1630) German astronomer; After the death of Tycho Brahe, he continued his work providing evidence supporting Copernicus' heliocentric theory. Data showed that each planet orbits the sun in an elliptical orbit, not a perfect circle.

Galileo Galilei

(1564-1727) Italian physicist, mathematician, and astronomer who improved the telescope and made important astronomical observations. He supported the heliocentric model and discovered 4 moons of Jupiter.

Sir Isaac Newton

English physicist and mathematician who developed the laws of motion and universal gravitation.

First law of motion

An object at rest stays at rest, and an object in motion stays in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.

Second law of motion

Force=mass x acceleration

Third law of motion

For every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction.