Scientific Revolution Flashcards
The Contributions of Bacon, Descartes & Newton
What was the Scientific Method
The ideas of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo advanced a new way of thinking about the world.
This new approach was called the scientific method.
It is a logical process for gathering and testing ideas
It begins with a problem or question arising from an observation.
A hypothesis is then formed and tested
The results are then analyzed and interpreted to either prove or disprove the hypothesis.
Two key scientific leaders: Bacon and Descartes
Who was Frances Bacon
Was important in the 1600
s.
A writer and english statesman
He believed that by gaining practical knowledge through science it would improve people’s lives.
Created the experimental method - encouraged scientists to test their ideas logically using a set method and then draw conclusions which could the be tested by others.
Who was Rene Descartes
Developed analytical geometry which linked algebra and geometry.
Believed scientists should reject old assumptions and teachings about the world.
He relied on math and logic and believed everything should be doubted until proved by reason.
What are the differences between old and new science
Old - Scholars relied of ancient authorities, church teachings and common sense reasonings about the world.
New - Scholars used observation, experiments and science to gather knowledge and draw conclusions about the physical world
This created conflict between the old and the new.
The church didn’t want their teachings to be questioned and their beliefs challenged. Felt this would be dangerous to society.
Who was Isaac Newton
A Physicist who thought and proved that all physical objects were affected equally by the same forces.
Discovered that the same force ruled the motion of plants and all matter on earth and in space
Every object in the universe attracts another object - gravity
Wrote one of the most important books ever written in 1687,
Described the universe as a giant clock
Believed that God was the creator of the universe.
What were the 3 new instruments invented during the Scientific Revolution
The microscope - Zacharias Janssen in 1590
Mercury barometer - used to predict weather based on atomospheric pressure - Torricelli.
Thermometer using mercury in glass to measure temperature - Gabriel Fahrenheit.
Anders Celsius then created another scale for measuring temperature in 1742. Showed freezing at 0 degrees C. (Celsius was a developer as he developed on the invention of Fahrenheit.
How did these discoveries change the way people interacted?
Microscopes changed medicine through being able to study red blood cells and understand how the body worked better.
Edward Jenner invented the first vaccine for smallpox.
Galen a doctor who had only previously dissected pigs went on to study human anatomy. He had previously thought humans were the same as pigs. Proved wrong by Andreas Vesalius who influenced the scientific revolution by dissecting a human corpse and published his findings on the human body finding they were very different from pigs!
