The Scientific Revolution

Ancient Greece and Rome  Mathematics, astronomy, and medicine were three of the earliest sciences.  The Greeks developed theories, or explanations of why something happens, to understand nature.  Aristotle observed nature and classified information about animals and plants. pages 515–517

 Ptolemy believed the Earth was the center of the universe. pages Geocentric Theory

Science During the Middle Ages  During the Middle Ages, people were more interested in the study of God than in science.  The Islamic Empires preserved much of the science of the Greeks and Romans.  Jewish and Arabic scientists made advances in some areas. Europeans brought Islamic works to Europe and translated them into Latin and Greek. pp

 European universities were important to the growth of science.  Exploration in the 1400s added to Europe’s scientific knowledge.

A Revolution in Astronomy  Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) was a Polish mathematician who believed the sun was the center of the universe (Heliocentric Theory.) pages 517–519  The first science to be affected by the Scientific Revolution was astronomy.

 Tycho Brahe (1546–1601) was a Danish astronomer whose highly accurate observations were used by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler in formulating his three famous laws of planetary motion. combined Copernican Theory with Ptolemaic Theory. He believed the Earth was stationary and the other planets orbited the Sun. Tycho combined Copernican Theory with Ptolemaic Theory. He believed the Earth was stationary and the other planets orbited the Sun.

  Johannes Kepler ( ) believed in Copernicus’s idea, but he also believed that the planets move in ellipses, or oval paths. Page 518

  Galileo was an Italian scientist who determined that objects of different weights fall at the same speed. He improved scientific instruments, such as the telescope, and was important in the development of new instruments. The Roman Catholic Church condemned Galileo’s ideas and tried him for heresy. Page 519 Galileo's telescope

 Isaac Newton developed the Universal Law of Gravitation. Motion and Forces Page

Medicine and Chemistry  In the 1500s, Andreas Vasalius dissected human bodies. He published On the Structure of the Human Body in Page 520

  Using a microscope, Robert Hooke discovered cells. Page 520

 Important advances were made in chemistry. Robert Boyle discovered that all substances were made up of basic elements, and Antoine Lavoisier determined that oxygen is required for objects to burn. The Phlogiston Theory, in chemistry, was an early explanation concerning combustion c material such as coal or wood was rich in a material substance he called phlogiston, from a Greek word meaning "to set on fire." The actual process of combustion involved a loss of phlogiston to the air. What remained after combustion was without phlogiston and could no longer burn. Thus wood possessed phlogiston but ash did not.

The Triumph of Reason  Rene Descartes is the founder of modern rationalism. This is the belief that reason is the chief source of knowledge.  To Descartes, one fact seemed to be beyond doubt—his own existence.  Descartes clarified this idea by the phrase, “I think, therefore I am” or “Cogito ergo sum.”

The Scientific Method  Francis Bacon developed the modern scientific method, an orderly way of collecting and analyzing evidence.