Name _________________________________________________ Date _____________ Period ____ Class ________
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