The Scientific Revolution42a - explain the scientific

contributions of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Newton and how these ideas changed the European world

view

The Scientific Revolution

The Scientific Revolution occurred at the same time as the Renaissance and Reformation in Europe.

People began to challenge accepted theories about the universe and nature.

Turn to a neighbor…

Discuss why people would begin questioning these accepted theories.

Astronomy In the Middle Ages

people thought the Earth was at the center of the universe. (idea came from Ptolemy & Aristotle)

According to this theory, the sun, planets, and moon all moved around earth in circular orbits.

This is called the geocentric model of the universe.

(geo = earth; centric = center)

Stop and Think

Why do you think this theory was accepted for so long?

Nicolaus Copernicus Polish astronomer Said geocentric

model didn’t explain movements of the sun, moon, and planets.

After studying this problem for 30 years, he proposed a new model for the universe – the heliocentric model.

Nicolaus Copernicus In the heliocentric

model, the sun is in the center of the universe. (helio = sun; centric = center)

This was the first new model of the universe in 2000 years!!

Copernicus’ work angered religious leaders in the Catholic and Protestant churches.

Turn to a neighbor

Discuss why the religious leaders were upset with Copernicus.

Johannes Kepler

His observations proved the heliocentric model of the universe was true.

Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler Kepler also proposed

three laws of planetary motion based upon his observations:

1. Planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun.

2. Planets move more rapidly as their orbits approach the sun.

3. The time it takes a planet to orbit the sun is proportional to its distance from the sun.

Turn to a Neighbor

Discuss how awesome Kepler’s contributions are to our bank of knowledge today.

Scientific Method During the Scientific Revolution, people began to use the

scientific method. The scientific method is an organized way of solving

problems:1.Observe nature and formulate a problem or

question.2.Make a hypothesis (a guess about the answer to

the problem/question).3.Design an experiment to test the hypothesis.4.Analyze the data collected.5.Draw a conclusion – the hypothesis will either be

proved true or false.

Stop and Think

Which Greek philosopher contributed to the development of the Scientific Method?

Galileo Galilei Galileo was an Italian math

professor who set out to prove many of Aristotle’s theories about nature wrong. Tested Aristotle’s ideas about

pendulums and found them wrong. Found objects accelerate at a

predictable and fixed rate Proved that heavy objects fall at

the same rate as lighter ones. Galileo made improvements to the

telescope and was one of the first to improve it enough to use it to observe the sky.

Galileo Galilei Galileo used the telescope to

study sunspots, the moon’s surface, and Jupiter’s moons.

The four moons of Jupiter that Galileo discovered, Io, Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa are called the Galilean moons in his honor.

Galileo’s Telescope

Galileo and the Catholic Church The church did not agree with

Galileo’s research. They wanted him to stop working.

Galileo refused to stop his research. Finally, when the church threatened to

torture Galileo, he signed a confession stating that the heliocentric model was heresy and therefore untrue.

He was kept locked in his house until he died (house arrest).

Turn to a Neighbor

Discuss why Galileo’s contributions were so important.

Isaac Newton & the Law of Gravity Law of universal gravitation:

every object in the universe attracts every other object

Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy: universe was like a giant clock; all its parts worked together perfectly in ways that could be expressed mathematically; believed God was the creator of this orderly universe (the clockmaker)

Other Scientific Advancements

Anatomy and Medicine Circulation of blood

Tools Microscope Thermometer Barometer

Turn to a Neighbor

Do you think gravity existed before Newton? If you said yes, explain why people really didn’t think about it

before.