Deck 16: The New Science of the Seventeenth Century

Question 1

Europeans believed,generally,in the geocentric theory of the universe,even though this model was contradicted well over a thousand years before Copernicus by:

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

Answer 1

Aristarchus.

Question 2

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.

Answer 2

pope.

Question 3

Kepler believed _________ was God's language.

A) Science
B) Astronomy
C) Mathematics
D) Music
E) Poetry

Answer 3

Mathematics

Question 4

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 of the New World.
C) the discovery in the late sixteenth century of the complete works of Plato.
D) the removal of the works of Aristotle from the Index of Forbidden Books.
E) the widespread use of the printing press.

Question 5

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 6

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 7

In 1616,Galileo Galilei was warned to stop promulgating Copernican ideas,when the Catholic Church:

A) placed Copernicus's work on the Index of Prohibited Books.
B) threatened him with excommunication.
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 8

"Science" entails all of the following EXCEPT:

A) a body of knowledge.
B) a community of practitioners.
C) a system of inquiry.
D) institutions to support the practitioners.
E) an adoption of a secular rather than religious worldview.

Question 9

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

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

Question 10

Copernicus thought his heliocentric model appealing for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

A) it seemed simpler and more orderly.
B) it made Aristotelian physics obsolete.
C) it did not contradict the authority of the Church.
D) it helped to reveal God's design of the cosmos.
E) it possessed a mathematical rigor.

Question 11

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 12

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 13

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 14

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.

Question 15

The term heliocentric means:

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

Question 16

_________ 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 17

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 18

Galileo concluded that the Copernican hypothesis was correct after observing:

A) the rings of Saturn.
B) the phases of the Moon.
C) irregular, dark markings on Mars.
D) the moons of Jupiter.
E) a comet.

Question 19

_________ 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 20

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

Question 21

The primary target of Descartes's philosophical method was:

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

Question 22

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 23

Science undermined a belief in God through:

A) the use of microscopes and telescopes, which revealed useless worlds far beyond the range of human senses, irrelevant to humanity, the supposed culmination of God's Creation.
B) mechanical philosophy, which eliminated a need for divine action in the universe.
C) the revelation of the needless complexity of objects and systems, which seemed incompatible with the design of an intelligent Creator.
D) an application of geometry and ethics to prove the single substance of the universe that was nature.
E) There is no evidence to suggest that scientific discoveries in the seventeenth century actually undermined religious faith. For many, these discoveries provided new evidence of God's existence.

Question 24

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 25

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 26

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 27

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 28

One result of Galileo's trial was that:

A) the Church accepted his findings on mechanics but refused to accept Copernicanism.
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) scientists in Italy publicly rallied to Galileo's cause.

Question 29

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 30

The trial of Galileo by the Inquisition resulted in all of the following EXCEPT:

A) the cessation of his scientific work.
B) the spread of a "new philosophy" based on Galileo's work in northwest Europe.
C) his imprisonment.
D) his work being placed on the Index.
E) a rift between religion and science that he had wanted to avoid.

Question 31

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 32

The phrase "knowledge is power," which conveys a new optimism about the potential of human thinking and discovery,is associated with:

A) Johannes Kepler.
B) Baruch Spinoza.
C) Rene Descartes.
D) Francis Bacon.
E) Galileo Galilei.

Question 33

The deductive method of inquiry was formulated by:

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

Question 34

The new scientific societies did all of the following EXCEPT:

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) challenged the mystical basis of monarchical authority.

Question 35

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 36

All of the following contributed greatly to the development of astronomy during the Scientific Revolution EXCEPT:

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

Question 37

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 38

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 39

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 40

All of the following can be said about mechanism EXCEPT:

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

Question 41

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

Question 42

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

Question 43

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 44

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 45

Galileo had made improvements on the lens developed by the Dutch for use in telescopes,but the inventor of a new type of telescope employing a curved mirror instead of a lens was:

A) Isaac Newton.
B) Christian Huygens.
C) Robert Hooke.
D) John Locke.
E) David Hume.

Question 46

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

Question 47

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

Question 48

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 49

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 50

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 51

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

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

Question 52

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

Question 53

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

Question 54

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 55

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 56

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

Question 57

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 58

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 59

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

Question 60

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 61

What changes did the scientific revolution entail?

Question 62

What were Newton's contributions to the scientific revolution?

Question 63

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

Question 64

What did the scientific revolution owe to the Middle Ages?

Question 65

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

Question 66

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

Question 67

Was the scientific revolution a revolution?

Question 68

What was the role of women in the scientific revolution?

Question 69

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

Question 70

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 71

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

Question 72

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 73

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

Question 74

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

Question 75

Why were Galileo's ideas considered so dangerous?