Scientific Revolution

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Multiple Choice

Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

The series of events that led to the birth of modern science is called

a.	Renaissance humanism.	c.	Greek rationalism.
b.	the Scientific Revolution.	d.	the scientific method.

Which of the following best describes the method of gaining scientific knowledge?

a.	logic, humanism, alchemy	c.	struggle, revolution, achievement
b.	art, observation, education	d.	observations, facts, theories

What is a theory?

a.	a way of looking at the world	c.	a collection of facts
b.	a statement from an authority	d.	an explanation based on facts

If repeated experiments show that a theory is incorrect, a scientist would most likely

a.	design a new experiment.	c.	keep the theory.
b.	develop a new theory.	d.	take new measurements.

Ancient Greek thinkers emphasized

a.	the use of observation and logic.	c.	art and beauty.
b.	religious authority.	d.	exploration and mapmaking.

Who was an ancient astronomer and mapmaker?

a.	Aristotle	c.	Thomas Aquinas
b.	Maimonides	d.	Ptolemy

Alchemy helped bring about the Scientific Revolution because it showed that

a.	there was a way to change metals into gold.
b.	experimentation could help people learn about the world.
c.	chemistry was an important branch of science.
d.	religious faith was more important than rationalism.

What role did Muslims play in the Scientific Revolution?

a.	They developed rationalism.
b.	They taught Greek ideas in Europe’s universities.
c.	Their translations of ancient Greek writings preserved ancient knowledge.
d.	Their artwork and literature inspired European thinkers.

What event first caused Renaissance scholars to doubt ancient Greek thought?

a.	Columbus’s discovery of the Americas
b.	advances in astronomy
c.	Columbus’s discovery of Asia
d.	Sir Isaac Newton’s publication of his laws

10.

The discovery of North America stunned Europeans because

a.	it proved that there was no way to sail to Asia.
b.	North America did not appear on ancient Greek maps.
c.	Aristotle had shown North America was in a different location.
d.	Christopher Columbus had not known he had reached North America.

11.

Which of the following best explains how exploration contributed to the Scientific Revolution?

a.	Exploration led scholars to create more accurate maps.
b.	Exploration led scholars to focus on the planets and sun.
c.	Exploration led Greek rationalists to focus on the powers of observation.
d.	Exploration led scholars to challenge the thoughts of the ancient Greeks.

12.

Nicolaus Copernicus did not want to publish his book because he

a.	was afraid of religious persecution.
b.	did not use science to come up with his theory.
c.	did not think his ideas were significant.
d.	did not want to challenge the ideas of religious authority.

13.

Copernicus’s ideas were

a.	stunning because he confirmed the findings of Ptolemy.
b.	based on new technology to gather information.
c.	not ever published.
d.	revolutionary because he theorized that the planets orbited the sun.

14.

Careful and detailed recording of information is important in science because

a.	it supports a scientist’s theory.
b.	it is the only way to develop new theories.
c.	other scientists can use what has been previously learned.
d.	records are easily lost.

15.

Which astronomer is known for proving that planets move in elliptical orbits?

a.	Nicolaus Copernicus	c.	Johannes Kepler
b.	Tycho Brahe	d.	Galileo Galilei

16.

Galileo Galilei is known as the father of experimental science because

a.	he was the first person to routinely use experiments to test theories.
b.	he experimented with light.
c.	he proved that Copernicus was wrong about planets’ orbits.
d.	his theories became laws.

17.

The novelty [newness] of these things, as well as some consequences which followed from them in contradiction [contrast] to the physical notions [ideas] commonly held among academic philosophers, stirred up against me no small number of professors.

In this passage, Galileo Galilei is talking about how

a.	his discoveries made people upset.
b.	people supported and encouraged his ideas.
c.	his ideas agreed with other people’s ideas.
d.	other people’s ideas influenced his own.

18.

How did Sir Isaac Newton’s work change the way people thought about light?

a.	He showed that light is white.
b.	He showed that light is made up of all the colors of the rainbow.
c.	He showed that light can travel through a telescope.
d.	He showed that light is not affected by gravity.

19.

Which of the following is one of Newton’s ideas?

a.	the microscope	c.	the law of mathematics
b.	the barometer	d.	the law of gravity

20.

Newton’s laws of motion describe how

a.	light moves.	c.	objects move in space.
b.	calculus works.	d.	air moves and affects the weather.

21.

Why were Newton’s laws important to modern science?

a.	The laws explained how to use calculus.
b.	The laws explained how the physical world worked.
c.	The laws were proven using a telescope.
d.	The laws were published in Principia Mathematica.

22.

Which of the following describes the order in which instruments of the Scientific Revolution were invented?

a.	the microscope, the telescope, and the thermometer
b.	the telescope, the barometer, and the microscope
c.	the thermometer, the barometer, and the telescope
d.	the microscope, the thermometer, and the telescope

23.

What did Galileo use to study astronomy?

a.	a barometer	c.	a telescope
b.	a microscope	d.	a thermometer

24.

Which of the following explains the advancements in theories about the universe?

a.	Planets move in oval orbits. The sun is the center of the universe. The sun orbits the earth.
b.	Planets orbit the earth. Planets move in circular orbits. The sun orbits the earth.
c.	The earth is the center of the universe. Planets orbit the sun. Planets move in oval orbits.
d.	The sun moves in circular orbits. The sun is the center of the universe. The sun orbits the earth.

25.

A barometer is an instrument for

a.	measuring air pressure.	c.	measuring temperature.
b.	calculating distances.	d.	magnifying objects.

26.

After the Scientific Revolution, people learned about the natural world by

a.	making observations and conducting experiments.
b.	relying on the past discoveries of scientists.
c.	listening to government officials.
d.	following church doctrine.

27.

Why did Francis Bacon request money for scientific research from the king of England?

a.	He did not support the methods of previous scientists.
b.	He wanted to publish other scientists’ research.
c.	He argued for an organized pursuit of knowledge.
d.	He wanted to encourage scholars to challenge the beliefs of government.

28.

Unlike most European scholars, René Descartes argued that knowledge begins with

a.	experiments.	c.	faith.
b.	the senses.	d.	doubt.

29.

The scientific method is

a.	a conclusion based on recording and analyzing.
b.	the pursuit of knowledge using observation and experimentation.
c.	a logical way of forming principles and hypotheses.
d.	an experiment that other scientists can replicate.

30.

In the scientific method, a hypothesis is different than a theory because a hypothesis

a.	has been proven true.	c.	is based on observations.
b.	has not been tested.	d.	is not published.

31.

What effect did the Scientific Revolution have on people’s ideas about society?

a.	People thought that only scientists should hold government office.
b.	People thought that science disproved religion.
c.	People thought that science could improve their lives and society.
d.	People thought that science could destroy democracy.

32.

Which of the following best describes how science influenced ideas about government?

a.	Scientific discoveries supported the goals of a monarchy.
b.	Science changed the role of religion in society.
c.	Reason and science could help improve society.
d.	Science could help improve monarchies.

33.

Which of the following explains why the Church and science came into conflict?

a.	Scientific ideas improved people’s lives. This weakened the Church’s power.
b.	Science contradicted Church teachings. This weakened the Church’s power.
c.	Galileo did not follow the Church. His teachings opposed the Church.
d.	Copernicus, Newton, and Bacon were not religious. They only believed in reason.

34.

Which of the following happens first in the scientific method?

a.	The problem is stated.	c.	Information is recorded and analyzed.
b.	A conclusion is made from the data.	d.	A hypothesis is formed.

35.

Why was Galileo put on trial?

a.	for directly criticizing the Church
b.	for publishing his ideas about the planets orbiting the sun
c.	for not being Catholic
d.	for publishing a book about the scientific method

36.

What did Church officials try to get Galileo to admit?

a.	that the earth was flat
b.	that everything in the Bible was true
c.	that the earth was the center of the universe
d.	that the planets followed a circular order

37.

For the scientists of the Scientific Revolution, science and religious beliefs could exist at the same time.

Which of the following supports the above statement?

a.	Galileo broke with the Catholic Church.
b.	Copernicus was a religious person.
c.	Bacon stated that science could disprove religion.
d.	Newton believed that nature and God could not exist together.

38.

Rationalists are people who

a.	look at the world in a reasonable and logical way.
b.	do not believe in God.
c.	study philosophy.
d.	base their ideas about the world on faith.

39.

Religious scholars like Maimonides and Thomas Aquinas helped preserve Greek ideas by

a.	believing in Greek gods.
b.	visiting Greece and giving lectures there.
c.	trying to unite Greek ideas with religious beliefs.
d.	founding universities in Greece.

40.

During the Renaissance, European scholars believed in the ideas of Greek rationalists because

a.	the Greeks had held the same religious beliefs as the European scholars.
b.	the Greeks’ maps of the world matched their own.
c.	the European scholars had successfully tried out the Greeks’ experiments.
d.	the Greek rationalists were considered authorities.