The Scientific Revolution
Instructions
Watch the Youtube video and read the passages below, use them to fill out the graphic organizer
found on the last page
Watch -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w70BkCqgyyI <- Watch
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish astronomer known as the father of modern astronomy. He was the
first modern European scientist to propose that Earth and other planets revolve around the sun, or the
Heliocentric Theory of the universe.
Prior to the publication of his major astronomical work, “Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the
Heavenly Orbs,” in 1543, European astronomers argued that Earth lay at the center of the universe,
the view also held by most ancient philosophers and biblical writers. In addition to correctly
postulating the order of the known planets, including Earth, from the sun, and estimating their orbital
periods relatively accurately, Copernicus argued that Earth turned daily on its axis and that gradual
shifts of this axis accounted for the changing seasons.
Bacon and Descartes
The scientific method did not develop overnight. The work of two important thinkers of the 1600s,
Francis Bacon and René Descartes (day•KAHRT), helped to advance the new approach.
Francis Bacon, an English statesman and writer, had a passionate interest in science. He believed
that by better understanding the world, scientists would generate practical knowledge that would
improve people’s lives. In his writings, Bacon attacked medieval scholars for relying too heavily on the
conclusions of Aristotle and other ancient thinkers. Instead of reasoning from abstract theories, he
urged scientists to experiment and then draw conclusions. This approach is called empiricism, or the
experimental method.
Like Bacon, Descartes believed that scientists needed to reject old assumptions and teachings. As a
mathematician, however, he approached gaining knowledge differently than Bacon. Rather than
using experimentation, Descartes relied on mathematics and logic. He believed that everything
should be doubted until proved by reason. The only thing he knew for certain was that he existed—
because, as he wrote, “I think, therefore I am.” From this starting point, he followed a train of strict
reasoning to arrive at other basic truths.
Modern scientific methods are based on the ideas of Bacon and Descartes. Scientists have shown
that observation and experimentation, together with general laws that can be expressed
mathematically, can lead people to a better understanding of the natural world.
Galileo Galilei
An Italian scientist named Galileo Galilei built on the new theories about astronomy. As a young man,
Galileo learned that a Dutch lens maker had built an instrument that could enlarge far-off objects.
Galileo built his own telescope and used it to study the heavens in 1609.
Then, in 1610, he published a small book called Starry Messenger, which described his astonishing
observations. Galileo announced that Jupiter had four moons and that the sun had dark spots. He
also noted that the earth’s moon had a rough, uneven surface. This shattered Aristotle’s theory that
the moon and stars were made of a pure, perfect substance. Galileo’s observations, as well as his
laws of motion, also clearly supported the theories of Copernicus.
His flair for self-promotion earned him powerful friends among Italy’s ruling elite and enemies among
the Catholic Church’s leaders. Galileo’s advocacy of a heliocentric universe brought him before
religious authorities in 1616 and again in 1633, when he was forced to recant and placed under
house arrest for the rest of his life.
Newton Explains the Law of Gravity
Isaac Newton studied mathematics and physics at Cambridge University. By the time he was 26,
Newton was certain that all physical objects were affected equally by the same forces. Newton’s great
discovery was that the same force ruled motion of the planets and all matter on earth and in space.
The key idea that linked motion in the heavens with motion on the earth was the law of universal
gravitation. According to this law, every object in the universe attracts every other object. The
degree of attraction depends on the mass of the objects and the distance between them.
In 1687, Newton published his ideas in a work called The Mathematical Principles of Natural
Philosophy. It was one of the most important scientific books ever written. The universe he described
was like a giant clock. Its parts all worked together perfectly in ways that could be expressed
mathematically. Newton believed that God was the creator of this orderly universe, the clockmaker
who had set everything in motion
What major theory or concept did How did this impact the scientific
this person discover revolution
Nicolaus Copernicus
Galileo Galilei
Francis Bacon and
René Descartes
Isaac Newton
