1. The Scientific Revolution

2. During the Medieval period, from where did natural philosophers (early versions of scientists) get their scientific knowledge?
Ancient writers, namely Aristotle
2. Unlike modern scientists, medieval thinkers did not, for the most part, do what?
Systematically observe the world

3. 3. How did the Renaissance shake up medieval views on science?
Renaissance scholars discovered other ancient writers that did NOT agree with Aristotle
4. How did technology help launch a European scientific revolution?
New technologies and methods made the world more measurable and observable

4. 5. What were some examples of these new technologies that came before and during the Scientific Revolution?
Telescopes
Microscopes
Printing Presses
New mathematical techniques

5. 6. The ancient Roman-Era thinker, Ptolemy (c. 90 AD to c
6. The ancient Roman-Era thinker, Ptolemy (c. 90 AD to c. 168 AD) argued that the center of the universe was what?
The Earth
7. Thus, in Ptolemy’s view, the universe was what?
Geocentric (Earth-centered)

6. 8. Under the Ptolemaic view, what revolves around the Earth?
The Planets, Sun, and moon
9. Under the Ptolemaic view, what do the stars do?
They are fixed in place, and are unmoving orbs of pure light

7. 10. Under the Ptolemaic system, the structure of the universe seems to reflect what?
Simple common sense
11. How does the Ptolemaic universe seem to reflect simple common sense?
Well…the sun SEEMS to rise in the east, move across the sky each day, and sets in the west.
The Earth SEEMS to sit still while the daytime sun moves across the sky as do the night-time planets

8. 12. In the night-time sky, what do the stars appear to do?
They SEEM to be sitting still
13. In the Ptolemaic view of the universe, what existed beyond the Stars?
Heaven

9. 14. In the Ptolemaic universe, what SEEMED to be at the center of the universe besides the Earth?
God’s signature creation: Human Beings
15. The Ptolemaic view of the universe SEEMED to be the perfect complement to whose view of the universe?
The Catholic Church’s…and some of the later Protestants

10. 16. In his 1543 book, what did Nicholas Copernicus (a Polish amateur astronomer) argue about the structure of the universe?
He argued that the universe was Heliocentric (Sun-Centered) and NOT Geocentric (Earth-Centered)
17. In Copernicus’s view, what sat at the center of the universe?
The Sun

11. 18. In the Copernican universe, what revolved around the Sun?
The Earth and the Planets
19. On what matter did Copernicus still agree with Ptolemy?
He still believed that the stars were fixed in place

12. 20. In addition to its revolving around the sun, what else did Copernicus argue about the movement of the Earth?
Copernicus argued that the Earth rotated on its axis, thus creating the illusion that Sun was moving around the earth.
Thus the 24 hour complete rotation of the Earth created the alternating phenomena of day and night.

13. 21. Basically the Ptolemaic universe was dead what?
Wrong
22. On what matters was Copernicus correct?
The Earth revolves around the Sun
The nearby planets revolve around the Sun
The Earth rotates on its axis

14. 23. On what matters was Copernicus wrong?
Our Sun is the center of our solar system, not the entire universe
The stars are NOT fixed in place
The Earth and the nearby planets revolve in irregularly shaped orbits, instead of the perfect circles as thought by Copernicus

15. 24. OK…Even though Copernicus got a few things wrong, what is more important?
Of greater importance is what he got right!
Copernicus discovered that much of what Christendom thought about the structure of the physical universe was just plain wrong.
He demonstrated that the universe was a much more complicated place than had been taught by the ancients…and by The Church

16. 25. Who confirmed Copernicus’s basic views on the structure of the universe?
Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician
26. What did Kepler demonstrate about planetary orbits?
He showed that planetary orbits were elliptical (kind of oval) instead of perfectly circular

17. 27. Who also confirmed Copernicus?
Galileo Galilei
28. What did Galileo use to observe the planets, moon, and stars?
A Telescope

18. 29. Using his telescope, what did Galileo discover about the moon?
He discovered that the moon had mountains and was thus, not a perfect sphere
30. What did Galileo discover about Jupiter?
That Jupiter had multiple moons

19. 31. What did Galileo observe about stars?
They are not pure orbs of light, but are instead made of material
32. In 1610, with whom did Galileo find disfavor?
The Catholic Church, because his teachings on the Heliocentric universe contradicted Church teachings

20. 33. What did the Catholic Church order Galileo to do?
Renounce his support of the Copernican view
34. Why did the Catholic Church (and some Protestants) dislike the Copernican Revolution?
It SEEMED to challenge the idea that our world was a special place created by God

21. 35. By the 1630s and 1640s, what theory of the universe did most astronomers accept?
Heliocentric Theory
The Copernican Revolution lived on
36. What were the major theories put forward by Englishman Isaac Newton ( ) put forward in his book, Principia?
His Three Laws of Motion and his Universal Law of Gravitation

22. 37. What is a short description of Newton’s theory of gravity?
In short, every object in the universe is attracted to every other object by a force called gravity
38. In many ways, Newton’s universe worked according to natural laws with a predictability akin to a what?
A mechanical clock

23. 39. In the 1900s, who would disprove some of Newton’s ideas about time and space?
Albert Einstein
40. In 1543, what did Andreas Vesalius provide?
A more accurate picture of human anatomy

24. 41. In the late 1620s, what did William Harvey provide?
A more accurate explanation of the human circulatory system
42. What did the Frenchman Antione Lavoisier provide?
A system of naming chemical elements, and he is regarded by many as the father of modern chemistry

25. 43. What became of Antoine Lavoisier during the French Revolution?
He was executed by beheading, due to his perceived crimes as a tax collector
44. What did the French philosopher, Rene Descartes ( ) said, “I think; therefore, I am,” what did he mean?
All that I see, touch, taste, smell, etc., could be an illusion…or a dream…or a demonic apparition
BUT…I am thinking…therefore… I EXIST!

26. 45. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) is considered the father of what school of philosophy?
Rationalism
46. What is the Scientific Method?
A systematic method of observing, collecting, analyzing, and communicating evidence from which conclusions about the physical world can be drawn