History of Science Flashcards
What is papyrus?
Papyrus is an ancient form of paper made from the plant of the same name.
Who were Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximenes?
They were the first real scientists.
Who were Leucippus and Democritus?
They were Ancient Greek scientists who proposed that all matter is really made of little units called atoms.
What is science?
Science is the accumulation and classification of observable facts in order to formulate general laws about the natural world.
What is spontaneous generation?
Spontaneous generation is the idea that living organisms can be spontaneously formed from non-living substances.
Who was Aristotle?
Aristotle was the father of life sciences. He believed in spontaneous generation.
What did Ptolemy believe about the solar system?
Ptolemy thought that the earth was the center of the universe and the planets and stars orbited the earth in a series of circles.
What is the geocentric model?
The geocentric model is a model of the solar system in which the earth is at the center and does not move.
What is alchemy?
Alchemy was supposedly a way to turn lead into gold.
Who was Robert Grosseteste?
He was the father of the scientific method.
What is the heliocentric model?
The heliocentric model is a model of the solar system in which the sun is the center of the solar system and the planets orbit around it.
What did Nicolaus Copernicus believe about the solar system?
He believed that the sun was the center of the solar system and the planets traveled around it.
What did Johannes Kepler do to support the heliocentric view of the solar system?
Johannes Kepler used mathematical data to support the heliocentric model and found the elliptical orbits of the planets.
What did Galileo Galilei do?
Galileo Galilei compiled evidence to support the heliocentric model even though the Roman Catholic Church forced him to stop officially supporting the view.
What did Sir Isaac Newton do?
Sir Isaac Newton laid down three laws of motion and laws of gravity. He developed calculus and he showed that white light is really composed of many different colors of light. He was one of the greatest scientists of all time.
