History of Scientific Discovery Flashcards
What was the key idea of the Copernican Revolution?
The heliocentric model, which proposed that the Sun is at the center of the solar system.
Fill in the blank: Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is based on the mechanism of _____ selection.
natural
True or False: Quantum mechanics was a major part of the 20th-century scientific revolution.
True
What did Watson, Crick, and Franklin discover?
The double-helix structure of DNA.
What was the result of the Michelson-Morley experiment?
It provided a null result, challenging the concept of ‘aether’ and paving the way for Einstein’s theory of relativity.
What principle did Mendel’s pea plant experiments establish?
The principles of inheritance, including dominant and recessive traits.
What was the significance of Newton’s prism experiment?
It demonstrated that white light is composed of multiple colors.
True or False: Galileo’s inclined plane experiment supported Aristotelian physics.
False (It challenged Aristotelian physics and supported classical mechanics).
Who was the first person to mathematically describe gravity?
Isaac Newton.
Fill in the blank: Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity replaced Newton’s deterministic framework with _____ spacetime.
curved
What is a paradigm shift?
A major change in scientific frameworks or dominant theories.
Provide an example of a paradigm shift in biology.
The shift from Mendelian genetics to molecular genetics (DNA-based biology).
Who coined the term ‘paradigm shift’?
Thomas Kuhn.
True or False: The double-slit experiment demonstrated wave-particle duality.
True
What was the significance of the Cavendish experiment?
It measured the gravitational constant (G) and enabled the calculation of Earth’s mass.
