Scientific Revolution

Began in the 1500s Scholars challenged the ideas of ancient thinkers and the Church Began to use observation to think about the natural world

Old Way of Thinking New Way of Thinking Accept what others said (ancient scholars, the Church) Observe, experiment, use human reasoning to draw conclusions

Scientists began to use the Scientific Method. They would come up with a question based on observation, run an experiment to prove or disprove their hypothesis.

Example: The Solar System It had been taught for generations that the Earth was at the center of the solar system. The Church said that God put the Earth at the center of the universe.

Scientists (first Copernicus, then Galileo) watched planetary movements for decades, then claimed that the sun was at the center of the solar system. The planets revolved around the sun.

The Church was angered at this The Church was angered at this. If people learned the Church was wrong about the solar system, they might question other things the Church said.

Isaac Newton discovers the laws of gravity Isaac Newton discovers the laws of gravity. He said that the force of gravity affects all objects on Earth and in Space. He said everything attracts every other thing (how much depends on its mass and the distance between them).

Scientific Instruments were also created (to help make accurate observations of the world) These include the microscope, the barometer, and the thermometer.

Human anatomy and medicine also had huge advances. By dissecting humans, scientists better learned how the body works.

Eventually, scientists learned so much that they were able to create vaccines for horrible diseases (Smallpox).

In chemistry, Robert Boyle used the scientific method to prove that there were more than just 4 elements in the world. People used to believe that everything on the planet was made up of earth, air, fire, and water.

Boyle proposed that all matter was made up of much smaller particles that could join together in different ways to make different things.

By using the scientific method and human reasoning, scientists gained a lot of knowledge about the world and the people living on it.