The Scientific Revolution

What was the Scientific Revolution? Definition: a new way of thinking about the natural world; based on observation and willingness to question accepted beliefs. Causes of the Scientific Revolution: Renaissance Reformation Printing Press Explorers discovered new lands, people Explorers needed better instruments

The Roots of Modern Science Before 1500, scholars looked to Bible or ancient Greece/Rome for knowledge Geocentric Theory: earth-centered view of the universe Aristotle and Ptolemy’s idea Christianity taught God made Earth center of universe Heliocentric Theory: sun-centered view of the universe Nicolaus Copernicus’s idea

What was the Scientific Method? Definition: new approach to science, logical procedure for gathering and testing ideas Steps: 1. Problem/question arising from an observation 2. Hypothesis: unproven assumption 3. Experiment to test hypothesis 4. Analyze/interpret data 5. Data either confirms or disproves the hypothesis

Changing Science OLD SCIENCE NEW SCIENCE Scholars relied on ancient authorities, church teachings, common sense, and reasoning to explain the physical world. Scholars began to use observation, experimentation, and scientific reasoning to gather knowledge and draw conclusions about the physical world.

The Scientific Revolution Spreads Zacharias Janssen: 1st microscope Anton van Leeuwenhoek: observed red blood cells, bacteria Evangelista Torricelli: 1st mercury barometer Gabriel Fahrenheit: 1st thermometer w/ mercury

The Scientific Revolution Spreads Cont’d Anders Celsius: mercury thermometer w/ freezing at 0 Andreas Vesalius performed dissections: On the Structure of the Human Body Edward Jenner: smallpox vaccine Boyle’s Law: explains how the volume, temp, and pressure of gas affect each other