General Science, module 1

Question 1

Define “Papyrus”.

Answer 1

An ancient form of paper, made from a plant of the same name.

Question 2

Define “Spontaneous Generation”.

Answer 2

The idea that living organisms can be spontaneously formed from non-living substances.

Question 3

Define “Science”.

Answer 3

An endeavour dedicated to the accumulation and classification of observable facts in order to formulate general laws about the natural world.

Question 4

What are 3 lessons we can learn from the history of science?

Answer 4

1- No scientist’s work should be supported just because the scientist was great.
2- Scientific progress depends on government and culture.
3- Science progresses by building on the work of previous scientists.

Question 5

Who was Imhotep?

Answer 5

Imhotep was an Egyptian doctor renowned for his knowledge of medicine.

Question 6

Why do we not consider the ancient Egyptians to be scientists?

Answer 6

Because they used trial and error to invent useful medical practices rather than trying to explain the world around them.

Question 7

Who were Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes?

Answer 7

They are considered the first scientists, because they tried to formulate laws that explain why things happen the way they do.

Question 8

Leucippus and Democritus are remembered for what idea?

Answer 8

The idea that everything is composed of atoms.

Question 9

Who championed the idea of spontaneous generation and is responsible for it being believed for so long?

Answer 9

Aristotle.

Question 10

Who came up with the classification scheme for living creatures that we use today?

Answer 10

Carolus Linnaeus

Question 11

What is the main difference between the Geocentric system and the Heliocentric system?

Answer 11

The Geocentric system puts the earth at the centre of the solar system, while the Heliocentric system has the sun in the centre.

Question 12

What was the main goal of the alchemists?

Answer 12

To turn lead into gold.

Question 13

Why don’t we consider the alchemists to be scientists?

Answer 13

Because they simply looked for useful substances instead of trying to explain the world around them.

Question 14

What was the main reason science progressed near the end of the dark ages?

Answer 14

Because the Romans, who thought that the world could not be explained in any consistent manner, had fallen out of influence and been replaced by the Christian church.

Question 15

Who is considered the first modern scientist and why?

Answer 15

Robert Grosseteste, because he taught that scientists should make observations and then come up with explanations for why things happen.

Question 16

What two great works were published in 1543 and who were their authors?

Answer 16

Nicolaus Copernicus published a book about the Heliocentric system.
Andreas Vesalius published a book about the human body

Question 17

Why was Galileo forced to publicly reject his data that he collected in support of the heliocentric system?

Answer 17

Because the Roman Catholic Church liked the geocentric system and forced him to agree with it.

Question 18

Name three of Sir Isaac Newton’s greatest accomplishments.

Answer 18

Sir Isaac Newton laid down three laws of motion, designed calculus, and discovered that white light is really composed of many different colours of light.

Question 19

What was Lavoisier’s greatest contribution to science?

Answer 19

Lavoisier proved that matter cannot be destroyed, but can only change forms.

Question 20

What is John Dalton remembered for?

Answer 20

John Dalton is remembered as the father of atomic theory, because of his ideas about atoms.

Question 21

What is Gregor Mendel remembered for?

Answer 21

Mendel is remembered for his work with genetics.

Question 22

James Clerk Maxwell is known as the father of modern _____.

Answer 22

Physics.

Question 23

What law did James Joule demonstrate to be true?

Answer 23

The First Law of Thermodynamics, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed.

Question 24

What is the fundamental assumption behind quantum mechanics? Who first proposed it?

Answer 24

Max Planck proposed that energy exists in tiny ‘packets’.

Question 25

What two ideas are Albert Einstein famous for?

Answer 25

The special and general theories of relativity, which explain how matter is another form of energy, and describe how gravity works.