Vocab and Scientist

Question 1

Geocentric Theory

Answer 1

Belief that the earth is the center of the universe

Question 2

Heliocentric Theory

Answer 2

Belief that the sun is the center of the universe

Question 3

Scientific Revolution

Answer 3

Transformation in European thought in the 1500s and 1600s that called for scientific observation, experimentation, and the questioning of traditional opinions.

Question 4

Scientific Method

Answer 4

A method of doing science that promotes correcting on mistakes, building upon prior knowledge, experimenting, observing, and sharing.

Question 5

René Descrates

Answer 5

French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist; his belief that all things should be doubted until they could be proved by reason became one of the features of the scientific method.

Question 6

Nicolaus Copernicus

Answer 6

Polish astronomer; he proposed the heliocentric theory of the universe

Question 7

Galileo Galilei

Answer 7

Italian astronomer, mathematician, and physicist; his discoveries put him into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church

Question 8

Issac Newton

Answer 8

English mathematician and natural philosopher; he discovered the law of gravity as well as laws on the physics of objects

Question 9

Enlightenment

Answer 9

A time of optimism and possibility from the late 1600s to the late 1700s; also called the Age of Reason

Question 10

Salons

Answer 10

Gatherings in which intellectual and political ideas were exchanged during the Enlightenment

Question 11

Social Contract

Answer 11

An agreement between a people and their government, stating that people would give up some of their freedom and in return, their government would provide them with peace, security, and order

Question 12

John Locke

Answer 12

English philosopher; he developed political and economic theories during the Enlightenment including Two Treatises on Government in which he declared that people have a right to rebel against governments that do not protect their rights.

Question 13

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Answer 13

Swiss-French political philosopher; he valued the social contract and addressed the nature of man in his work, On the Origin of Inequality

Question 14

Baron de Montesquieu

Answer 14

French jurist and political philosopher; he explored democratic theories of government. He proposed government divided into three branches and greatly influenced the United States Constitution

Question 15

Philosophes

Answer 15

Philosophers of the Enlightenment

Question 16

Voltaire

Answer 16

French Philosopher and author; supporter of Deism, the idea that God was no longer

Question 17

Enlightened despots

Answer 17

The absolute monarchs in 18th-Century Europe who ruled according to the principles of the Enlightenment

Question 18

Tycho Brake

Answer 18

Influenced by Copernicus. Built observatory and collected data on the location of stars and planets for over 20 years. His limited knowledge of mathematics prevented him from making much sense out of the data. He also proved that comets orbit beyond the path of the moon

Question 19

Kepler

Answer 19

Assistant to Brake, used Brake’s data to prove that the earth moved in an elliptical, not circular, orbit. Wrote 3 laws of planetary motion based on mechanical relationships and accuretly