Legacy of the Scientific Revolution Questions · Legacy of the Scientific Revolution %...

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Quaestio:  _________________________________________________________________________________  

Nunc  Agenda:  Read  the  document  below  and  answer  the  questions  that  follow.  

Source:  Peter  Amey,  Scientific  Revolution,  Greenhaven  Press  

1. According  to  the  document,  how  did  the  invention  of  the  printing  press  influence  the  development  of  the  Scientific  Revolution?  Explain  in  detail.  

2. Based  on  this  document,  what  were  two  changes  resulting  from  the  Scientific  Revolution?  

3. Isaac  Newtown  said,  “If  I  have  seen  further  than  other  men,  it  is  because  I  have  stood  on  the  shoulders  of  giants.”  Explain  this  quote  and  hypothesize  whether  he  could  have  made  this  statement  without  the  invention  of  the  printing  press.  

…Gradually  scientists  came  to  challenge  more  and  more  what  the  ancients  [past  civilizations]  taught.  They  came  to  develop  new,  better  methods  of  finding  out  how  things  worked.  Mathematical  knowledge  increased  and  helped  them  to  reason.  They  began  to  think  up  experiments  to  check  on  their  ideas  in  a  methodical  way.  The  scientific  revolution  had  begun.  Many  men  were  needed  to  bring  this  about.  These  men  came  from  every  part  of  Europe.  They  wrote  books  to  explain  their  ideas.  The  printing  press  made  it  possible  to  produce  thousands  of  copies,  which  found  their  way  all  over  Europe.  Scientists  were  able  to  learn  from  one  another  and  give  one  another  new  ideas.  So  the  Scientific  Revolution  was  not  the  work  of  Englishmen,  or  Frenchmen,  or  Italians  alone.  It  was  the  work  of  Europeans.  And,  as  we  have  seen,  even  they  did  not  do  it  all  by  themselves.  The  Chinese,  the  Indians,  the  Persians,  and  the  Arabs  all  gave  something  before  it  came  about.  Today  this  is  not  hard  to  understand,  because  men  and  women  from  all  over  the  world  add  to  scientific  knowledge  and  so  help  one  another…  

 Legacy of the Scientific RevolutionDirections:  Read  about  three  influential  figures  of  the  Scientific  Revolution  and  answer  the  questions  as  a  group.  Then,  

working  as  a  group,  create  three  trading  cards  for  the  three  scientists  discussed  in  the  reading.   1. What  are  the  steps  of  the  Scientific  Method?  

2. What  problems  did  Francis  Bacon  have  with  Medieval  and  Ancient  Greek  scientists?  

3. Do  you  think  Bacon’s  “Empirical  Method”  was  an  improvement  from  the  previous  methods?  Explain.  

4. How  was  René  Descartes’  approach  to  science  different  from  Bacon’s?  

5. Read  the  quote  by  René  Descartes.  How  was  Descartes  able  to  prove  his  existence  through  reason  alone?  Explain  his  thought  process  in  your  own  words.  

6. Did  Newton  reject  religion  in  favor  of  science?  Explain.  

7. According  to  the  quote  by  Newton,  why  is  the  Scientific  Method  important