DOCSLIB.ORG

Sir Isaac Newton

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Sir Isaac Newton Name__________________________ Date_________________ Sir Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton is one of the most important scientists in history. He studied how the universe works and formulated laws of physics to help people understand things like gravity, motion and light. Isaac Newton also invented the branch of mathematics known as calculus. It can be said that he used math to explain the world (or at least some things about it). Isaac Newton was born in England in 1642. His interest in science developed early. As a boy, he made sundials, model windmills, a water clock and a mechanical carriage. In 1661, Isaac went to Cambridge College, where he earned a bachelors degree. Soon after he graduated in 1665, he had already begun to develop ideas in calculus, which he called his “method of fluxions.” He had also begun to think about the law of gravity, the concept for which he is probably most famous. According to legend, the inspiration for Newton’s study of gravity came one day when he saw an apple fall from a tree. He would later develop the law of gravity, which says that all objects in the universe have an attraction to each other. Larger objects have a stronger force of attraction (or gravitational pull) than smaller ones. The strength of the attraction gets smaller as the distance between the objects gets longer. Since the largest object on Earth is the earth itself (by far), objects are attracted to the earth when they fall. Newton also reasoned that gravity keeps the moon in orbit around the earth. Gravity does not pull the moon all the way to the earth’s surface because the distance between them is great enough to prevent that from happening. Newton was also very interested in studying light. He performed experiments with a prism, which broke beams of light into bands of color. Until this time, the idea that white light consisted of bands of color had not been considered. Copyright 2007 InstructorWeb Name__________________________ Date_________________ Sir Isaac Newton (cont’d) Newton showed that colors were produced when bands of light are bent. The specific color depends on how much or how little the light bends. In 1667, Newton returned to Cambridge to study for an advanced degree. He continued his work in the field of optics (light), and in 1668, he became the first scientist to build a reflecting telescope. Newton also refined his ideas about calculus during this time. In 1672, he published a paper that contained his ideas about light. His ideas were disputed and criticized for some time by other scientists, though none of the criticisms held up and his ideas finally became universally accepted. However, Newton was very sensitive to criticism, and for a while, he did not publish any of his ideas. In 1679, Newton returned to his study of planetary orbits, which had started with his thoughts about the gravitational pull on the moon that kept in orbit around the earth. He developed the idea that planets orbit the sun based on the same principal. In other words, the force of gravity between the sun and the planets keeps the planets in orbit around the sun. Newton’s theories about planetary orbits were just part of his ideas about motion. In 1687, his first book, which contained all of his ideas about the laws of motion, was published. It was called Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Principia for short), and it was considered to be one of the most important books in the field of science. In 1705, Queen Anne knighted Newton, and he became known as Sir Isaac Newton. Toward the end of his life, a controversy developed over who was the true inventor of calculus. Copyright 2007 InstructorWeb Name__________________________ Date_________________ Sir Isaac Newton (cont’d) Another mathematician had come up with the same ideas as Newton, though most historians believe that Newton invented calculus first. Because of the way he applied mathematics to the study of the universe, Sir Isaac Newton’s has a permanent and important place in the history of science. Modern scientific theories like Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and the field of quantum physics are based on Isaac Newton’s ideas, which still hold up after more than 300 years. Copyright 2007 InstructorWeb Name__________________________ Date_________________ Sir Isaac Newton Questions 1. Isaac Newton was a a. mathematician. b. astronomer. c. physicist. d. All of these 2. Which of the following was not among the things that Newton studied? a. light b. weather c. planetary orbits d. calculus 3. Legend has it that when Newton saw an apple fall from a tree, he began to thing about a. the planets. b. the force that would later be called gravity. c. the best way to make apple pie. d. why apples are red. 4. Why doesn’t gravity cause the moon to fall to the earth? a. The moon is too small. b. The moon is too far away. c. The sun has a stronger pull on the moon than the earth does. d. Both a and b 5. Why did Newton stop publishing his ideas for a while? a. He hated to write. b. He didn’t have time to write. c. He was afraid he would be criticized. d. He was not allowed to publish his ideas. Copyright 2007 InstructorWeb Name__________________________ Date_________________ Sir Isaac Newton Questions (cont’d) 6. Isaac Newton was the first scientist to build a a. telescope. b. telephone. c. microscope. d. microphone. 7. A prism a. bends light. b. separates light into bands of color. c. Both of these d. Neither of these 8. Isaac Newton is called Sir because a. people have great respect for him. b. all English scientists are called Sir. c. he was knighted by the Queen of England. d. he was a professor at Cambridge. 9. Isaac Newton was able to explain how the universe works by using a. light. b. mathematics. c. gravity. d. his religious beliefs. 10.Explain the Law of Gravity in your own words. Copyright 2007 InstructorWeb Name__________________________ Date_________________ Sir Isaac Newton Answers 1. d 2. b 3. b 4. d 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. c 9. b 10. Answers will vary but should contain the following ideas: All objects in the universe have an attraction to each other. Larger objects have a stronger force of attraction (or gravitational pull) than smaller ones. The strength of the attraction gets smaller as the distance between the objects gets farther apart. Copyright 2007 InstructorWeb .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A MATHEMATICIAN's SURVIVAL GUIDE 1. an Algebra Teacher I
    A MATHEMATICIAN’S SURVIVAL GUIDE PETER G. CASAZZA 1. An Algebra Teacher I could Understand Emmy award-winning journalist and bestselling author Cokie Roberts once said: As long as algebra is taught in school, there will be prayer in school. 1.1. An Object of Pride. Mathematician’s relationship with the general public most closely resembles “bipolar” disorder - at the same time they admire us and hate us. Almost everyone has had at least one bad experience with mathematics during some part of their education. Get into any taxi and tell the driver you are a mathematician and the response is predictable. First, there is silence while the driver relives his greatest nightmare - taking algebra. Next, you will hear the immortal words: “I was never any good at mathematics.” My response is: “I was never any good at being a taxi driver so I went into mathematics.” You can learn a lot from taxi drivers if you just don’t tell them you are a mathematician. Why get started on the wrong foot? The mathematician David Mumford put it: “I am accustomed, as a professional mathematician, to living in a sort of vacuum, surrounded by people who declare with an odd sort of pride that they are mathematically illiterate.” 1.2. A Balancing Act. The other most common response we get from the public is: “I can’t even balance my checkbook.” This reflects the fact that the public thinks that mathematics is basically just adding numbers. They have no idea what we really do. Because of the textbooks they studied, they think that all needed mathematics has already been discovered.
    [Show full text]
  • The "Greatest European Mathematician of the Middle Ages"
    Who was Fibonacci? The "greatest European mathematician of the middle ages", his full name was Leonardo of Pisa, or Leonardo Pisano in Italian since he was born in Pisa (Italy), the city with the famous Leaning Tower, about 1175 AD. Pisa was an important commercial town in its day and had links with many Mediterranean ports. Leonardo's father, Guglielmo Bonacci, was a kind of customs officer in the North African town of Bugia now called Bougie where wax candles were exported to France. They are still called "bougies" in French, but the town is a ruin today says D E Smith (see below). So Leonardo grew up with a North African education under the Moors and later travelled extensively around the Mediterranean coast. He would have met with many merchants and learned of their systems of doing arithmetic. He soon realised the many advantages of the "Hindu-Arabic" system over all the others. D E Smith points out that another famous Italian - St Francis of Assisi (a nearby Italian town) - was also alive at the same time as Fibonacci: St Francis was born about 1182 (after Fibonacci's around 1175) and died in 1226 (before Fibonacci's death commonly assumed to be around 1250). By the way, don't confuse Leonardo of Pisa with Leonardo da Vinci! Vinci was just a few miles from Pisa on the way to Florence, but Leonardo da Vinci was born in Vinci in 1452, about 200 years after the death of Leonardo of Pisa (Fibonacci). His names Fibonacci Leonardo of Pisa is now known as Fibonacci [pronounced fib-on-arch-ee] short for filius Bonacci.
    [Show full text]
  • The Astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler
    Ice Core Records – From Volcanoes to Supernovas The Astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler Tycho Brahe (1546-1601, shown at left) was a nobleman from Denmark who made astronomy his life's work because he was so impressed when, as a boy, he saw an eclipse of the Sun take place at exactly the time it was predicted. Tycho's life's work in astronomy consisted of measuring the positions of the stars, planets, Moon, and Sun, every night and day possible, and carefully recording these measurements, year after year. Johannes Kepler (1571-1630, below right) came from a poor German family. He did not have it easy growing Tycho Brahe up. His father was a soldier, who was killed in a war, and his mother (who was once accused of witchcraft) did not treat him well. Kepler was taken out of school when he was a boy so that he could make money for the family by working as a waiter in an inn. As a young man Kepler studied theology and science, and discovered that he liked science better. He became an accomplished mathematician and a persistent and determined calculator. He was driven to find an explanation for order in the universe. He was convinced that the order of the planets and their movement through the sky could be explained through mathematical calculation and careful thinking. Johannes Kepler Tycho wanted to study science so that he could learn how to predict eclipses. He studied mathematics and astronomy in Germany. Then, in 1571, when he was 25, Tycho built his own observatory on an island (the King of Denmark gave him the island and some additional money just for that purpose).
    [Show full text]
  • Newton.Indd | Sander Pinkse Boekproductie | 16-11-12 / 14:45 | Pag
    omslag Newton.indd | Sander Pinkse Boekproductie | 16-11-12 / 14:45 | Pag. 1 e Dutch Republic proved ‘A new light on several to be extremely receptive to major gures involved in the groundbreaking ideas of Newton Isaac Newton (–). the reception of Newton’s Dutch scholars such as Willem work.’ and the Netherlands Jacob ’s Gravesande and Petrus Prof. Bert Theunissen, Newton the Netherlands and van Musschenbroek played a Utrecht University crucial role in the adaption and How Isaac Newton was Fashioned dissemination of Newton’s work, ‘is book provides an in the Dutch Republic not only in the Netherlands important contribution to but also in the rest of Europe. EDITED BY ERIC JORINK In the course of the eighteenth the study of the European AND AD MAAS century, Newton’s ideas (in Enlightenment with new dierent guises and interpre- insights in the circulation tations) became a veritable hype in Dutch society. In Newton of knowledge.’ and the Netherlands Newton’s Prof. Frans van Lunteren, sudden success is analyzed in Leiden University great depth and put into a new perspective. Ad Maas is curator at the Museum Boerhaave, Leiden, the Netherlands. Eric Jorink is researcher at the Huygens Institute for Netherlands History (Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences). / www.lup.nl LUP Newton and the Netherlands.indd | Sander Pinkse Boekproductie | 16-11-12 / 16:47 | Pag. 1 Newton and the Netherlands Newton and the Netherlands.indd | Sander Pinkse Boekproductie | 16-11-12 / 16:47 | Pag. 2 Newton and the Netherlands.indd | Sander Pinkse Boekproductie | 16-11-12 / 16:47 | Pag.
    [Show full text]
  • Famous Mathematicians Key
    Infinite Secrets AIRING SEPTEMBER 30, 2003 Learning More Dzielska, Maria. Famous Mathematicians Hypatia of Alexandria. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University The history of mathematics spans thousands of years and touches all parts of the Press, 1996. world. Likewise, the notable mathematicians of the past and present are equally Provides a biography of Hypatia based diverse.The following are brief biographies of three mathematicians who stand out on several sources,including the letters for their contributions to the fields of geometry and calculus. of Hypatia’s student Synesius. Hypatia of Alexandria Bhaskara wrote numerous papers and Biographies of Women Mathematicians books on such topics as plane and spherical (c. A.D. 370–415 ) www.agnesscott.edu/lriddle/women/ Born in Alexandria, trigonometry, algebra, and the mathematics women.htm of planetary motion. His most famous work, Contains biographical essays and Egypt, around A.D. 370, Siddhanta Siromani, was written in A.D. comments on woman mathematicians, Hypatia was the first 1150. It is divided into four parts: “Lilavati” including Hypatia. Also includes documented female (arithmetic), “Bijaganita” (algebra), resources for further study. mathematician. She was ✷ ✷ ✷ the daughter of Theon, “Goladhyaya” (celestial globe), and a mathematician who “Grahaganita” (mathematics of the planets). Patwardhan, K. S., S. A. Naimpally, taught at the school at the Alexandrine Like Archimedes, Bhaskara discovered and S. L. Singh. Library. She studied astronomy, astrology, several principles of what is now calculus Lilavati of Bhaskaracharya. centuries before it was invented. Also like Delhi, India:Motilal Banarsidass, 2001. and mathematics under the guidance of her Archimedes, Bhaskara was fascinated by the Explains the definitions, formulae, father.She became head of the Platonist concepts of infinity and square roots.
    [Show full text]
  • Professor Shiing Shen CHERN Citation
    ~~____~__~~Doctor_~______ of Science honoris cau5a _-___ ____ Professor Shiing Shen CHERN Citation “Not willing to yield to the saints of ancient mathematics. In his own words, his objective is and modem times / He alone ascends the towering to bring about a situation in which “Chinese height.” This verse, written by Professor Wu-zhi mathematics is placed on a par with Western Yang, the father of Nobel Laureate in Physics mathematics and is independent of the latter. That Professor Chen-Ning Yang, to Professor Shiing Shen is, Chinese mathematics must be on the same level CHERN, fully reflects the high achievements as its Western counterpart, though not necessarily attained by Professor Chern during a career that bending its efforts in the same direction.” has spanned over 70 years. Professor Chern was born in Jiaxing, Zhejiang Professor Chern has dedicated his life to the Province in 1911, and displayed considerable study of mathematics. In his early thirties, he mathematical talent even as a child. In 1930, after realized the importance of fiber bundle structure. graduating from the Department of Mathematics From an entirely new perspective, he provided a at Nankai University, he was admitted to the simple intrinsic proof of the Gauss-Bonnet Formula graduate school of Tsinghua University. In 1934, 24 and constructed the “Chern Characteristic Classes”, he received funding to study in Hamburg under thus laying a solid foundation for the study of global the great master of geometry Professor W Blaschke, differential geometry as a whole. and completed his doctoral dissertation in less than a year.
    [Show full text]
  • An Outstanding Mathematician Sergei Ivanovich Adian Passed Away on May 5, 2020 in Moscow at the Age of 89
    An outstanding mathematician Sergei Ivanovich Adian passed away on May 5, 2020 in Moscow at the age of 89. He was the head of the Department of Mathematical Logic at Steklov Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (since 1975) and Professor of the Department of Mathematical Logic and Theory of Algorithms at the Mathematics and Mechanics Faculty of Moscow M.V. Lomonosov State University (since 1965). Sergei Adian is famous for his work in the area of computational problems in algebra and mathematical logic. Among his numerous contributions two major results stand out. The first one is the Adian—Rabin Theorem (1955) on algorithmic unrecognizability of a wide class of group-theoretic properties when the group is given by finitely many generators and relators. Natural properties covered by this theorem include those of a group being trivial, finite, periodic, and many others. A simpler proof of the same result was obtained by Michael Rabin in 1958. Another seminal contribution of Sergei Adian is his solution, together with his teacher Petr Novikov, of the famous Burnside problem on periodic groups posed in 1902. The deluding simplicity of its formulation fascinated and attracted minds of mathematicians for decades. Is every finitely generated periodic group of a fixed exponent n necessarily finite? Novikov—Adian Theorem (1968) states that for sufficiently large odd numbers n this is not the case. By a heroic effort, in 1968 Sergei Adian finished the solution of Burnside problem initiated by his teacher Novikov, having overcome in its course exceptional technical difficulties. Their proof was arguably one of the most difficult proofs in the whole history of Mathematics.
    [Show full text]
  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Papers, 1646-1716
    http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt2779p48t No online items Finding Aid for the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Papers, 1646-1716 Processed by David MacGill; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé © 2003 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Finding Aid for the Gottfried 503 1 Wilhelm Leibniz Papers, 1646-1716 Finding Aid for the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Papers, 1646-1716 Collection number: 503 UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Manuscripts Division Los Angeles, CA Processed by: David MacGill, November 1992 Encoded by: Caroline Cubé Online finding aid edited by: Josh Fiala, October 2003 © 2003 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Descriptive Summary Title: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Papers, Date (inclusive): 1646-1716 Collection number: 503 Creator: Leibniz, Gottfried Wilhelm, Freiherr von, 1646-1716 Extent: 6 oversize boxes Repository: University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Dept. of Special Collections. Los Angeles, California 90095-1575 Abstract: Leibniz (1646-1716) was a philosopher, mathematician, and political advisor. He invented differential and integral calculus. His major writings include New physical hypothesis (1671), Discourse on metaphysics (1686), On the ultimate origin of things (1697), and On nature itself (1698). The collection consists of 35 reels of positive microfilm of more than 100,000 handwritten pages of manuscripts and letters. Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Language: English. Restrictions on Use and Reproduction Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections.
    [Show full text]
  • A Mathematician's Lament
    A Mathematician’s Lament by Paul Lockhart musician wakes from a terrible nightmare. In his dream he finds himself in a society where A music education has been made mandatory. “We are helping our students become more competitive in an increasingly sound-filled world.” Educators, school systems, and the state are put in charge of this vital project. Studies are commissioned, committees are formed, and decisions are made— all without the advice or participation of a single working musician or composer. Since musicians are known to set down their ideas in the form of sheet music, these curious black dots and lines must constitute the “language of music.” It is imperative that students become fluent in this language if they are to attain any degree of musical competence; indeed, it would be ludicrous to expect a child to sing a song or play an instrument without having a thorough grounding in music notation and theory. Playing and listening to music, let alone composing an original piece, are considered very advanced topics and are generally put off until college, and more often graduate school. As for the primary and secondary schools, their mission is to train students to use this language— to jiggle symbols around according to a fixed set of rules: “Music class is where we take out our staff paper, our teacher puts some notes on the board, and we copy them or transpose them into a different key. We have to make sure to get the clefs and key signatures right, and our teacher is very picky about making sure we fill in our quarter-notes completely.
    [Show full text]
  • Brochure on Careers in Applied Mathematics
    careers in applied mathematics Options for STEM Majors society for industrial and applied mathematics 2 / careers in applied mathematics Mathematics and computational science are utilized in almost every discipline of science, engineering, industry, and technology. New application areas are WHERE CAN YOU WHAT KINDS OF PROBLEMS MIGHT YOU WORK ON? constantly being discovered MAKE AN IMPACT? While careers in mathematics may differ widely by discipline while established techniques Many different types and job title, one thing remains constant among them— are being applied in new of organizations hire problem solving. Some potential problems that someone with ways and in emerging fields. mathematicians and mathematical training might encounter are described below. Consequently, a wide variety computational scientists. Which of them do you find most intriguing, and why? of career opportunities You can easily search the • How can an airline use smarter scheduling to reduce costs of are open to people with websites of organizations and aircraft parking and engine maintenance? Or smarter pricing mathematical talent and corporations that interest to maximize profit? training. you to learn more about their • How can one design a detailed plan for a clinical trial? Building such a plan requires advanced statistical skills and In this guide, you will find answers to sophisticated knowledge of the design of experiments. questions about careers in applied mathematics • Is ethanol a viable solution for the world’s dependence and computational science, and profiles on fossil fuels? Can biofuel production be optimized to of professionals working in a variety of combat negative implications on the world’s economy and environment? environments for which a strong background • How do we use major advances in computing power to in mathematics is necessary for success.
    [Show full text]
  • Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716)
    Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646-1716) • His father, a professor of Philosophy, died when he was small, and he was brought up by his mother. • He learnt Latin at school in Leipzig, but taught himself much more and also taught himself some Greek, possibly because he wanted to read his father’s books. • He studied law and logic at Leipzig University from the age of fourteen – which was not exceptionally young for that time. • His Ph D thesis “De Arte Combinatoria” was completed in 1666 at the University of Altdorf. He was offered a chair there but turned it down. • He then met, and worked for, Baron von Boineburg (at one stage prime minister in the government of Mainz), as a secretary, librarian and lawyer – and was also a personal friend. • Over the years he earned his living mainly as a lawyer and diplomat, working at different times for the states of Mainz, Hanover and Brandenburg. • But he is famous as a mathematician and philosopher. • By his own account, his interest in mathematics developed quite late. • An early interest was mechanics. – He was interested in the works of Huygens and Wren on collisions. – He published Hypothesis Physica Nova in 1671. The hypothesis was that motion depends on the action of a spirit ( a hypothesis shared by Kepler– but not Newton). – At this stage he was already communicating with scientists in London and in Paris. (Over his life he had around 600 scientific correspondents, all over the world.) – He met Huygens in Paris in 1672, while on a political mission, and started working with him.
    [Show full text]
  • I Want to Be a Mathematician: a Conversation with Paul Halmos
    I Want to Be a Mathematician: A Conversation with Paul Halmos Reviewed by John Ewing I Want to Be a Mathematician: A Conversation social, professional, with Paul Halmos family, friends, and A film by George Csicsery travel. Mathematical Association of America, 2009 In a bygone DVD: US$39.95 List; $29.95 Member of MAA age, this was not ISBN-978-0-88385-909-4 unusual. Some decades ago, the annual meeting of the American I spent most of a lifetime trying to be a Mathematical So- mathematician—and what did I learn? ciety was held in What does it take to be one? I think I the period between know the answer: you have to be born Christmas and New right, you must continually strive to Year’s. Stories tell become perfect, you must love math- of mathematicians ematics more than anything else, you who packed up their must work at it hard and without stop, families and drove halfway across the country to and you must never give up. attend that meeting as a perfectly ordinary way to celebrate the holidays. Decades later, summer —Paul Halmos, I Want to Be a Math- meetings of the AMS/MAA (and then only the ematician: An Automathography in MAA) were events to which families tagged along Three Parts, Mathematical Association to join up with other mathematical families for of America, Washington, 1988, p. 400 a summer vacation…at a mathematics meeting! Social life in mathematics departments revolved What does it mean to be a mathematician? That’s around colloquia and seminar dinners, as well as not a fashionable question these days.
    [Show full text]