Scientific Revolution Flashcards

The Scientific Revolution

Aim

• The Scientific Revolution aimed to understand how it changed people's view of the world and truth.

Origin

• The Scientific Revolution developed as an offshoot of the Renaissance.
• Questioning and reasoning, which fueled the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation, led scientists to question traditional beliefs of the Church and about the workings of the universe.
• It was a new way of thinking about the natural world.

The Scientific Method

1. Make an Observation
2. Ask a Question
3. Form a Hypothesis - a possible answer to the question
4. Make a Prediction
5. Test the Prediction
6. Form a Conclusion

Example: Toasting Bread

• Observation: The toaster won’t toast.
• Ask a Question: Why won’t my toaster toast?
• Form a Hypothesis: Maybe the outlet is broken.
• Make A Prediction: If I plug the toaster into a different outlet, it will toast the bread.
• Test the Prediction: Plug the toaster into a different outlet. The toaster toasted or the toaster did not toast.
• Form a Conclusion:

Nicolaus Copernicus

• Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer.
• He created the heliocentric model of the solar system.
• He suggested that Ptolemy (an Egyptian astronomer, 150 A.D.) was wrong in his geocentric model of the solar system.
• The geocentric model had been accepted and taught by the Roman Catholic Church.

Models:

• Ptolemy's Model: Earth-centered (geocentric).
• Copernican Model: Sun-centered (heliocentric).

Galileo Galilei

• Galileo is famously known for building (more so improving on) the telescope.
• He was the first man to use this tool and study the moon and planets.
• Due to his observations, he was able to confirm the work of Copernicus and his sun-centered model of the universe.

Sir Isaac Newton

• The famous tale of Isaac Newton: He was sitting under an apple tree one day when an apple fell on his head.
• He wondered why the apple had fallen straight down rather than up or sideways.
• He reasoned that the Earth had the power to draw objects to its surface; this is known as gravity.
• This marked the beginning of his creation of the Laws of Gravity and Motion.

Laws of Gravity and Motion

1. An object in motion will stay in motion until acted on by an outside force. (Newton’s Cradle)
2. The force of an object is equal to its mass times its acceleration, F=MA. (Desk)
3. Every action (force) has an equal and opposite reaction. (Balloon)

Closure

• What was the Scientific Revolution?
• How did it change people’s view of the world and truth?