The Scientific Revolution sprang from the Renaissance. The "Scientific
Revolution" refers to historical changes in thought and belief that unfolded in
Europe between approximately 1543 and 1700. The scientists of the seventeenth
century had the enormous weight of centuries of thought resting on their
shoulders. They were faced with the long-accepted “truths” revealed by such
authorities as Aristotle, Galen, Ptolemy, and the Bible. The teachings of Aristotle,
supported by the church, began to fall by the wayside as new scientific discoveries
and new ways of thinking challenged the traditional teachings of the church.
There was a movement away from a belief in a geocentric (earth-centred)
universe toward a belief in a heliocentric (sun-centred) universe. It began with
Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543), who asserted a heliocentric cosmos and ended
with Isaac Newton (1642-1727), who proposed universal laws. A new worldview
based on science emerged, sweeping away the one endorsed by the church.
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge that emphasizes experience, especially
that gained by experiments and observations. Using empirical methods, the 17th
century scientific revolutionaries came to challenge (sometimes reluctantly)
traditional beliefs. They not only criticized, but eventually replaced the Medieval
worldview with their own. The motto of the Royal Society of London (founded
1660) was: “Nullius in Verba”, roughly translated, “Accept nothing on the basis of
words (or someone else's authority).” These new thinkers moved away from the
deductive method (a thesis looking for evidence) of acquiring knowledge to the
inductive method (evidence leading to a thesis). The new scientific method utilized
systematic scepticism, experimentation, and reasoning based on observed facts and
mathematical laws to discover new knowledge.
The Scientific Revolution was accomplished by using the roots of science
found in the Middle Ages, the classical age of Greece and Rome, as well as the
important refinements made by Islamic scholars. The revolution of the 17th
century created a new outlook on the cosmos and the natural world. It often led to
a more secular view of the world, and as such, at times, presented a counterpoint
to the religious views of the Roman Catholic Church.
Your mission is to plot out the Scientific Revolution that took place:
 Create a CHART that plots the development of the Scientific Revolution.
 List and explain the major contributions to our knowledge of the world (and
their significance) made by:
 Nicolaus Copernicus
 Francis Bacon
 Tycho Brahe
 René Descartes
 Galileo Galilei
 Isaac Newton
 Johannes Kepler
 William Harvey
 Give the dates that each of these people lived and where they lived as well.
 List the assumptions that each man challenged as well. In other words, explain
what the theories of Ptolemy and Aristotle and the teachings of the Roman
Catholic Church were on the structure of the universe. And what were the
teachings of Andreas Vesalius that were rejected by William Harvey?
 Your chart headings should look like this:
Scientist,
Time Period
& Location
Major Contributions
(What was discovered & method used)
Traditional Assumptions
Challenged
& Consequences
After your chart answer the following questions in paragraph form:
 Explain how Copernicus’ theory of the heavens invalidated Aristotle, and the
implications of this for the commonsense observation of nature.
 How did people arrive at logical explanations about how the world worked
before the use of the scientific method? What is the scientific method?
 How did the ideas of the Renaissance contribute to the scientific revolution?
 Finally, describe the response of the church toward the new scientific
discoveries and theories, especially to the ideas of Copernicus and Galileo, and
why it took the position it did. What were the traditional views about how the
universe worked? Why they were accepted for so long? Include in your
explanation the terms heretic and heresy and explain what they mean.
 Put a Title Page at the beginning of your assignment.
 The assignment must be TYPED and IN YOUR OWN WORDS!!!!!. However,
since it is in a chart form, it does not have to be double-spaced, although any
parts you write that are not in the chart must be double-spaced.
 You will be marked according to the school-wide Communication Rubric.
4.Wamogo Communication Rubric
Learning Standard: The students will effectively communicate orally, visually, and in writing by addressing purpose, using evidence, employing organization, and
following the standards of the assigning discipline.
4- EXEMPLARY
3- PROFICIENT
2 -DEVELOPING
1-UNSATISFACTORY
a. Position
The student clearly addresses
task, purpose, and audience
(has a strong thesis statement
that they prove)
The student addresses task,
purpose, and/or audience
(Has a thesis statement that is
debatable)
The student weakly addresses task,
purpose, and/or audience.
(Has a weak thesis statement)
The student fails to address task,
purpose, or audience.
(No thesis statement or no clear
direction)
b.Evidence and
Support
The position in the response is
richly supported with
information from a source(s)
material.The supporting ideas
in the response are well
developed;
information is accurate and
relevant.
The position in the response
contains some support using
information from a source(s)
material.The supporting ideas in
the response are generally
developed; information is
accurate and relevant.
The position in response contains
limited support or may not use
information from source materials.
The supporting ideas in the
response are not thoroughly or
only somewhat developed;
some information may be
inaccurate or irrelevant.
The response offers weak or no
support from source materials OR
the
support provided is copied
verbatim.The response may be
poorly developed and/or illogical
and inconsistent; supporting
ideas are emotional, inaccurate,
or irrelevant.
c.Organization
The response is unified and
focused and contains one or
more controlling
ideas; organization and
control are sustained
throughout
The response is organized
contains one or more controlling
ideas; digressions, if present, are
not disruptive.
The response may lack focus. The
student chooses
formats/platforms to
communicate clearly; the students
and a controlling idea; there may
be digressions or abrupt shifts that
interfere with meaning.
The response lacks focus and a
controlling idea; little or no
organization is present and
frequent digressions and/or
abrupt shifts in the response
interfere with meaning.
d.Composition
Clearly meets the
standards required in the
discipline. The student
chooses appropriate
formats/platforms to
communicate.
The student chooses appropriate
formats/platforms to
communicate.
The student response meets most
of the standards required in the
discipline.
The student may choose
inappropriate formats/platforms
to communicate.
The student response is limited in
meeting the standards required in
the discipline.
The student chooses
inappropriate formats.
The student response does not
meet the standards required in
the discipline.
When to use: Any product with a written, visual, or audio component that is created by students.
student
teacher