The Scientific Revolution

What was it? Between 1500 and 1700 modern science emerged as a new way of understanding the natural world. Scientists began to challenge traditional teachings about nature. They asked questions and figured out the answers. Their observations revealed errors in the accepted ideas of the physical/natural world.

What was it? For example, the scientific method that we still use today started during this time. The ancient philosopher Aristotle had said that heavier objects will hit the ground first. Galileo questioned this and performed an experiment. Galileo dropped two balls of different weights from the Leaning Tower of Pisa – the two balls landed at the same time! A perfect example of the scientific method.

Key Players Copernicus : People originally believed that Earth was the center of the Universe. Copernicus used observations and mathematics and came up with the heliocentric theory – Earth and the other planets actually revolve around the sun and Earth turned on its own axis every 24 hours!

Key Players Galileo: Improved the telescope and began to study the heavens – he saw things for the first time like the surface of the moon, the moons of Jupiter, and the planet Venus. Because of his observations through the telescope he further proved Copernican Theory.

Key Players Galileo’s opposition: The Catholic Church did not agree with Galileo. The Church believed that Copernicus and Galileo were wrong. Also this theory went directly against what the church had been teaching. In 1616 the Church told Galileo not to teach the Copernican theory – he refused. However, the Church put him on trial. The accused him of heresy and forced him to say that the geocentric theory was true and forbid him to ever write about the Copernican theory again!

Key Players Galileo’s Influence: It was too late – many were already reading Galileo’s works. His ideas advanced the Scientific Revolution. He used observation and mathematics to solve scientific problems. His theory of motion described how objects moved on Earth.

Key Players Isaac Newton: He was born in 1642 – which is the same year that Galileo died! He was a brilliant scientist and mathematician. His greatest discovery was the law of gravity! His law of gravity and 3 laws of motion provided a physical explanation for what earlier scientists had discovered.

The Scientific Method A key outcome of the Scientific Revolution Key players in development were Francis Bacon (English) and Rene Descartes (French). Five basic steps: State a question or problem Form a hypothesis Conduct an experiment to test the hypothesis Measure the data and record results Analyze data and prove or disprove hypothesis The scientific method caused people to break away from traditional views of the physical world.

Key Inventions The telescope The microscope The barometer The thermometer