Deck 16: The New Science of the Seventeenth Century

Question 1

Which of the following best describes Johannes Kepler's intellectual foundations?

A) mysticism, astrology, and mathematics
B) humanism, Augustinianism, and Cartesians
C) Aristotelians, Cartesians, and mathematics
D) mysticism, empiricism, and Augustinians
E) mysticism, Cartesians, and Augustinians

Answer 1

mysticism, astrology, and mathematics

Question 2

Many Roman Catholic churchmen viewed the "New Science," especially as typified by Copernican theory:

A) as completely compatible with Church doctrine.
B) with some skepticism but as being overall acceptable.
C) as a valuable tool, as long as the scientists were Catholic.
D) as a direct threat to Church doctrine.
E) with great suspicion, even though they could find nothing specific that challenged Catholic doctrine.

Answer 2

as a direct threat to Church doctrine.

Question 3

The term heliocentric meAnswer:

A) god-centered.
B) sky-centered.
C) gas-centered.
D) sun-centered.
E) human-centered.

Answer 3

sun-centered.

Question 4

Nicholas Copernicus hesitated to publish his De Revolutionibus because:

A) the implications of his theory of heliocentricity greatly troubled him.
B) he feared a Lutheran reaction would produce social unrest in Poland.
C) he had been ordered by the Inquisition not to express his theories in any form.
D) he was a slow worker who was never satisfied with his writings.
E) he was a methodical researcher who was always looking for more data.

Question 5

Copernicus's work on the problem of the Ptolemaic system was commissioned by:

A) the Polish royal family.
B) Tycho Brahe's observatory.
C) the Roman Catholic Church.
D) Galileo Galilei and the University of Padua.
E) the tsar of Russia.

Question 6

Europeans believed,generally,in the geocentric theory of the universe,even though this model was contradicted by empirical evidence discovered over three hundred years earlier by:

A) Aristarchus.
B) Ptolemy.
C) Archimedes.
D) Aristotle.
E) Plato.

Question 7

Tycho Brahe differed from Copernicus in that:

A) he openly opposed the Church.
B) he believed theory, not observation, was the tool to unlock the secrets of the universe.
C) he did not believe the earth orbited the sun.
D) he had powerful patrons.
E) his work was sponsored by the Church.

Question 8

Copernicus calculated the earth to be _________miles from the sun.

A) 6 million
B) 16 million
C) 60 million
D) 90 million
E) 160 million

Question 9

The dispersal of ancient texts by the humanists of the late Renaissance that served to encourage study and debate was facilitated by:

A) new translations from the Islamic world.
B) the discovery in the late sixteenth century of the complete works of Plato.
C) the removal of the works of Aristotle from the Index of Forbidden Works.
D) the widespread use of the printing press.
E) all of these

Question 10

Galileo hoped for support from his friend Maffeo Barberini who became:

A) the doge of Venice.
B) the head of the Medici family.
C) pope.
D) the king of France.
E) the Holy Roman Emperor.

Question 11

Galileo Galilei set forth his conviction about religion and science in a 1615 letter to:

A) Queen Nor.
B) the grand duchess of Fenwick.
C) Empress Elizabeth.
D) Maffeo Barberini.
E) Grand Duchess Christina.

Question 12

Kepler believed _________ was God's language.

A) science
B) astronomy
C) mathematics
D) music
E) poetry

Question 13

Johannes Kepler built on the work of his mentor,Tycho Brahe,to:

A) discover the undreamed galaxy.
B) become the first court astrologer to Christiana of Sweden.
C) become the first court astronomer to the Holy Roman Emperor.
D) correct two of Copernicus's assumptions concerning planetary motion.
E) correct Galileo's first law of motion.

Question 14

The _________ argued that nature was the way in which God revealed himself to humanity.

A) humanists
B) Neoplatonists
C) Copernicans
D) Baconists
E) Galileans

Question 15

_________ made the first challenge to the Ptolemaic conception of the universe.

A) Isaac Newton
B) Johannes Kepler
C) Tycho Brahe
D) Galileo Galilei
E) Nicholas Copernicus

Question 16

Throughout the Middle Ages,the most important classical authorities on natural philosophy were _________ and _________.

A) Plato; Aristotle
B) Plato; Ptolemy
C) Aristotle; Galen
D) Aristotle; Ptolemy
E) Galen; Ptolemy

Question 17

_________ was the "new scientist" whose work laid the foundation for Sir Isaac Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation.

A) Johannes Kepler
B) Johannes Muller
C) Robert Hooke
D) Robert Boyle
E) Tycho Brahe

Question 18

In 1616,Galileo Galilei was urged by his supporters to stop promulgating Copernican ideas,when the Catholic Church:

A) placed Copernicus's work on the Index of Forbidden Books.
B) commissioned him to found the Knights of Columbus.
C) inducted him into the Knights of Malta.
D) named his good friend, Cardinal Barberini, as Pope Urban VIII.
E) established the Vatican observatory under Jesuit control.

Question 19

Although logic and geometry had played a role in the medieval worldview,_________ would assume a much more central role in the "New Science."

A) semantics
B) optics
C) the dialectic
D) mathematics
E) theology

Question 20

"Science" entails:

A) a body of knowledge.
B) a community of practitioners.
C) a system of inquiry.
D) institutions to support the practitioners.
E) all of these

Question 21

All of the following contributed greatly to the development of sixteenth-century astronomy EXCEPT:

A) Tycho Brahe.
B) Robert Boyle.
C) Johannes Kepler.
D) Galileo Galilei.
E) Nicholas Copernicus.

Question 22

The deductive method of inquiry was formulated by:

A) René Descartes.
B) Francis Bacon.
C) Isaac Newton.
D) Blaise Pascal.
E) Baruch Spinoza.

Question 23

Science reinforced a belief in God through:

A) the use of microscopes to reveal God's wisdom.
B) mechanical philosophy, which revealed God to be the master mechanic behind creation.
C) the revelation of the complexity of objects and systems, which could not be the product of chance.
D) an application of geometry and ethics to prove the single substance of the universe was both God and nature.
E) all of these

Question 24

René Descartes believed he had proven the existence of God through his use of systematic doubt in his book:

A) Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.
B) The Discourse on Method.
C) Novum Organum.
D) The New Atlantis.
E) Two New Sciences.

Question 25

The first woman to receive a doctorate degree in philosophy in Italy was:

A) Maria Winkelmann.
B) Margaret Cavendish.
C) Elena Cornaro Piscopia.
D) Maria Sibylla Merian.
E) Laura Bassi.

Question 26

Galileo Galilei was brought to trial by the Inquisition because he:

A) failed to prove Copernican ideas to Cardinal Baronius.
B) promoted Copernican ideas and had insulted his old patron, Cardinal Barberini, who was now Pope Urban VIII.
C) refused to accept the truth of Christianity; he remained an avowed Muslim.
D) made too good an impression on his Medici patrons.
E) refused to publish the results of his observations refuting Copernicus.

Question 27

The bulk of the philosophy of René Descartes may be summed up by which statement?

A) "But still, it moves!"
B) "I think, therefore I am."
C) "Tell us how to go to heaven, not how heaven goes."
D) "I frame no hypotheses."
E) "Dare to think!"

Question 28

Which English natural philosopher discovered the cellular structure of plants?

A) William Harvey
B) Isaac Newton
C) Edmund Halley
D) Robert Hooke
E) Robert Boyle

Question 29

One result of Galileo's trial was that:

A) the Church accepted his findings on mechanics but refused to accept Copernicans.
B) De Revolutionibus was removed from the Index of Forbidden Books.
C) he left Italy for England and became a member of the Royal Society.
D) the New Science flourished in northwest Europe.
E) all of these

Question 30

The view that progress may be made only through cooperative effort,without regard to established dogma or national boundaries,was made by Francis Bacon in his book:

A) Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems.
B) The Discourse on Method.
C) Novum Organum.
D) The New Atlantis.
E) Two New Sciences.

Question 31

Although René Descartes believed he had proven the existence of God,_________ believed he had proven that the universe was a single substance that was both God and nature.

A) Christian Huygens
B) Baruch Spinoza
C) Blaise Pascal
D) Galileo Galilei
E) Isaac Newton

Question 32

Although science during this period was primarily the domain of men,many women also made their mark,such as the astronomer Maria Winkelmann and the entomologist:

A) Margaret Cavendish.
B) Margaret Tudor.
C) Maria Sibylla Merian.
D) Maria von Weber.
E) Elizabeth Stuart.

Question 33

The primary target of Descartes's philosophical method was:

A) Neoplatonism.
B) Catholicism.
C) skepticism.
D) existentialism.
E) systematic doubt.

Question 34

The second national scholarly academy to be established by the reigning monarch was in:

A) England.
B) Scotland.
C) Italy.
D) France.
E) Spain.

Question 35

Mechanism:

A) was a view of the universe shared by Descartes, Bacon, and Galileo.
B) considered nature as a machine.
C) rejected Aristotelian distinctions between the works of man and those of God.
D) taught that the works of nature were of a higher order than those of humans.
E) all of these

Question 36

In European states,the New Science:

A) was not discovered outside of Poland and Italy until the eighteenth century.
B) was encouraged in England and other countries through the establishment of royal societies.
C) triggered a rebirth of faith throughout the continent.
D) was suppressed in all Catholic countries, especially in France.
E) was privately welcomed but not supported by any national state.

Question 37

The trial of Galileo by the Inquisition resulted in:

A) putting him off his work.
B) a "new philosophy" based on Galileo's work in northwest Europe.
C) his imprisonment.
D) his work being placed on the Index
E) all of these

Question 38

One of the founders of modern chemistry was the Englishman:

A) William Harvey.
B) Francis Bacon.
C) Robert Hooke.
D) Robert Boyle.
E) John Locke.

Question 39

A method of reasoning that goes from the specific to the general was developed by:

A) René Descartes.
B) Francis Bacon.
C) Isaac Newton.
D) Blaise Pascal.
E) Baruch Spinoza.

Question 40

The new scientific societies:

A) gave natural philosophers a common sense of purpose.
B) provided a system to reach agreement and establish "matters of fact."
C) separated scientific research from politics and religion.
D) helped restore a sense of order and consensus in society.
E) all of these

Question 41

Tycho Brahe's greatest contribution to astronomy was his building of the first observatory on a small island granted to him by the Danish king.

Question 42

As a leader of the "scientific revolution," Isaac Newton was:

A) an affable, public figure who enjoyed London society.
B) a recluse who spent his time in Cambridge.
C) a public figure who gave open lectures at Oxford.
D) a recluse who spent his time at Oxford.
E) a public figure who took an active role in the scientific community of the Continent.

Question 43

"Simplicio" (Simpleton)was a character in Galileo's Dialogue who represented the new science.

Question 44

One effect of the work of Isaac Newton was to:

A) demonstrate the value of persistent, dogged work toward a single goal.
B) show that even someone from a poor family could, with ability, rise to the heights of political life.
C) show the value of religious belief when pursuing a career in science.
D) demonstrate the ability of mathematics to explain the workings of the universe.
E) show the value of meditation and prayer in solving the most persistent scientific problems.

Question 45

Galileo's work apparently had no support from within the Catholic Church.

Question 46

Sir Isaac Newton published Principia Mathematica to answer critiques of his theories coming primarily from:

A) Robert Hooke.
B) John Locke.
C) Edmund Halley.
D) the Church.
E) Robert Boyle.

Question 47

One of the leading German astronomers of the seventeenth century was:

A) Maria Winkelmann.
B) Gottfried Leibniz.
C) Franz Kirch.
D) Hildegard von Bingen.
E) Christian Huygens.

Question 48

Galileo's work was smuggled out of Italy and published in England.

Question 49

While many men and women wrote during the seventeenth century concerning the ability of women to fully participate in the scientific realm,none wrote quite so passionately as _________,who wrote of the " 'tyrannical government' of men over women."

A) Maria Winkelmann
B) Margaret Cavendish
C) Maria Sibylla Merian
D) Elena Cornaro Piscopia
E) Laura Bassi

Question 50

From the seventeenth century on,there existed a fundamental shift in the view of the world by the Western world: to be considered "modern," one now approached the world through:

A) philosophy.
B) mysticism.
C) religion.
D) science.
E) the humanities.

Question 51

Descartes introduced a new method for understanding called deductive reasoning,which relied on proceeding logically from one certainty to another.

Question 52

Isaac Newton's best-known work today was his research conducted on:

A) light.
B) gravity.
C) mathematics.
D) refraction.
E) electricity.

Question 53

The scientific revolution stood apart from other social,religious,and cultural transformations.

Question 54

The "Ptolemaic system" was the first system to question whether planets moved in a circular path around a stationary earth.

Question 55

Galileo had made improvements on the lens developed by the Dutch for use in telescopes,but some of the earliest work on the nature of how humans see was done by:

A) Isaac Newton.
B) Christian Huygens.
C) Galileo Galilei.
D) John Locke.
E) David Hume.

Question 56

Although it was the norm with European academic societies to not admit women,one exception to this was:

A) Maria Winkelmann.
B) Elena Cornaro Piscopia.
C) Maria Sibylla Merian.
D) Margaret Cavendish.
E) Laura Bassi.

Question 57

The "prime mover" was the force that put into place the motions of the celestial bodies and was interpreted as being the Christian God.

Question 58

Galileo's works were widely translated and widely read and raised awareness of changes in natural philosophy across Europe.

Question 59

Which of the following best describes Sir Isaac Newton's attitude toward Christianity?

A) Religion is nothing more than the "opiate of the masses."
B) All religions must be rejected because they are contrary to human reason.
C) All worldly concerns must be rejected in order for the soul to be saved.
D) Science and faith are compatible and mutually supporting.
E) Christianity is a superstition that ought to be rejected when tested by science.

Question 60

Galileo argued that one could not be both a sincere Copernican and a Catholic.

Question 61

What changes did the scientific revolution entail?

Question 62

In what ways did Bacon and his followers aid the separation of scientific investigation from philosophical argument?

Question 63

Why were Galileo's ideas considered so dangerous?

Question 64

What were Newton's contributions to the scientific revolution?

Question 65

Baruch Spinoza applied geometry to ethics and deduced that the universe was made of a single substance that was both God and nature in one.

Question 66

What was the role of women in the scientific revolution?

Question 67

Was the scientific revolution a revolution?

Question 68

Why was Copernicus chosen by the Church as an astronomer,and how were his findings understood by the Church?

Question 69

What did the scientific revolution owe to the Middle Ages?

Question 70

Science was slow to work its way into people's understanding because it undermined religion,which was the foundation block of Western society.

Question 71

Newton realized his work was groundbreaking,but he proved to be an egotistical recluse who did not credit his predecessors' work in laying a foundation for his own,bringing upon himself the censure of his peers.

Question 72

For Newton,science,if properly conducted,could always uncover the causes of phenomena.

Question 73

While the French scholastic societies reserved science as "a gentlemanly pursuit," English societies freely admitted women.

Question 74

What impact did the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration have on the scientific revolution?

Question 75

How did Kepler's work differ from that of other astronomers?