Activity Introduction:
During and after the Renaissance, generations of men and women began to look at theworld around them with a renewed inquisitiveness. No longer willing to accept the
conclusions of classical scholars or the teachings of the church, individual scientists
pursued problems in mathematics, astronomy, physics, biology, medicine, and chemistry.
Through careful observation and experimentation, these researchers amassed a body of
sound, empirically proven knowledge that forms the basis of modern science. In this web quest,
you will study a collection of primary sources related to Nicolaus Copernicus.
Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Poland in 1473, then educated in Poland and Germany.
He read widely in Latin, studying contemporary and classical mathematics, astronomy,
and also medicine. Unlike many of the sciences, astronomy is a science that is conducted
primarily through observation, not experimentation. Copernicus was a careful observer
who spent many hours studying the night sky from his observatory in Frauenburg,
Germany. Copernicus became convinced that the earth was not fixed and stationary at the
center of the universe, but instead revolved around the sun. In this web quest, you will study
Copernicus's writings and examine the way he drew his scientific conclusions.
Directions:
Visit the link below and answer the corresponding questions.
Nicolaus Copernicus: From The Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, 1543
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1543copernicus2.html
1. Read the first paragraph. On what basis did Copernicus conclude that the form of the sphere "belongs to the heavenly bodies"?
2. Summarize three reasons why Copernicus concluded that the earth was spherical.
3. According to Copernicus, what did "the great majority of authors" think about the place of the earth in the universe?
Visit the link below and answer the corresponding questions.
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/copernicus.html
4. What did Copernicus mean when he wrote, "I ascribe certain motions to the terrestrial globe"?
5. Why did Copernicus debate with himself for many years over whether or not to publish his book?
6. What did the "scorn" which Copernicus "had reason to fear" almost lead him to do?
7. What did the "confusion in the astronomical traditions" lead Copernicus to do?
8. What did Copernicus find "by long and intense study"?
9. Copernicus anticipated that some people might badly distort some "pages of Scripture" in their efforts to refute his theory (prove it wrong). What did Copernicus mean by this?
Visit the link below and answer the corresponding questions.
Thomas Digges: A Perfit Description of the Coelestiall Orbes
http://eee.uci.edu/clients/bjbecker/ExploringtheCosmos/week4a.html
Scroll down to the hand-drawn image near the bottom of the page. This is the work of Thomas Digges, a follower of Copernicus.
10. Describe what you see.
11. The view of the solar system, as described by Copernicus and sketched by Digges, was a radical challenge to people who firmly believed that the earth was the center of the universe and that it was fixed and stationary in the sky. Hypothesize how such individuals might have reacted to Copernicus's and Digges's new astronomical theory.
Visit the link below and answer the corresponding questions.
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Kepler.html
12. Who was Johannes Kepler?
13. What contributions did he make to mathematics and astronomy? How did he build on the work
of Copernicus?
