AP European History AMSCO Guided Notes
4.2: The Scientific Revolution
AMSCO Guided Notes
AP European History Guided Notes
AMSCO 4.2 - The Scientific Revolution
Essential Questions
- How did understanding of the natural world develop and change during the Scientific Revolution?
A. The Scientific Method
1. What is the scientific method and what are its core components?
1. Two Types of Reasoning
1. How does inductive reasoning differ from deductive reasoning, and what did Francis Bacon and René Descartes each advocate?
2. What did Francis Bacon believe scholars should do to build valid knowledge about the natural world?
2. Developing the Scientific Method
1. How did Isaac Newton combine inductive and deductive reasoning to develop the scientific method?
2. What are natural laws and how did European encounters with the Western Hemisphere contribute to their formulation?
B. Observation-Based Science
1. How did Renaissance humanism and art contribute to the development of new scientific ideas and methods?
2. What role did mathematics and observation play in establishing new methods for studying the natural world?
C. New Ideas in Astronomy
1. Medieval Worldview
1. What was the geocentric model of the universe and how did Aristotle and Ptolemy describe it?
2. How did medieval scholastic philosophers incorporate the geocentric model into their Christian worldview?
2. Copernicus's New System
1. What was Copernicus's heliocentric model and how did he use mathematics to support it?
2. Why did Copernicus delay publishing his work on the heliocentric system?
3. Building on Copernicus
1. How did Johannes Kepler's discovery of elliptical planetary orbits support and advance Copernicus's heliocentric model?
2. What new observations did Galileo make with the telescope and how did they challenge existing beliefs about the planets?
3. How did the Catholic Church respond to Galileo's work and what effect did this have on scientific development in Italy?
4. A New Worldview
1. What was Newton's universal law of gravitation and how did it unify the ideas of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo?
2. How did Newton view the relationship between God and the universe in his model of gravity?
3. Why did Newton's ideas gain acceptance more quickly in England than on the continent of Europe?
D. Anatomical and Medical Discoveries
1. Traditional Theory of Medicine
1. What was Galen's humoral theory and how did it explain disease in the medieval period?
2. Why were Galen's ideas about human anatomy often incorrect despite his influence for over 1,400 years?
2. Challenges to Galen's Ideas
1. How did Paracelsus challenge Galen's theories and what new approach to disease did he develop?
2. What did Andreas Vesalius contribute to the study of human anatomy and why was his work significant?
3. How did William Harvey's description of the circulatory system correct Galen's ideas and what is his lasting impact?
E. Persistence of Traditional Views
1. What is epistemology and how did the new scientific method represent a change in how people acquired knowledge?
2. Why did most scientists of the 16th and 17th centuries not see conflict between their scientific work and religious belief?
3. What were alchemy and astrology, and why did these traditional ideas continue to appeal to some natural philosophers?
Key Terms
Scientific Revolution
mathematics
Galen
scientific method
astronomy
Paracelsus
Francis Bacon
cosmology
Andreas Vesalius
inductive reasoning
Nicolaus Copernicus
William Harvey
deductive reasoning
heliocentric
alchemy
René Descartes
Johannes Kepler
astrology
Isaac Newton
Galileo Galilei
natural law
telescope