SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY

Name: Micah Elaine M. Maaba

Course, Year, and Section: BSTMOUMN 1-C

Activity name and number: Activity 2 - Module 1B & 2A

Module 1B: Historical antecedents in which social considerations changed the course of
science and technology (world)

Complete a table like the one below by writing examples for each part of the timeline. (14
points) 

Point in history  Belief/idea that did not persist to Belief/idea that persisted to present-
present-time time

Ancient Times to 600 - The use of papyrus and clay tablets - An open wound covered with moldy
B.C. as writing materials for information bread would heal quickly and cleanly.
transmission. - Poppy seeds can relieve a patient’s
- A potter’s wheel is used in pottery pain.
making by Mesopotamians. - Traveling with a compass.
Greek Science - Anaximander believes that all life - Thales’s prediction of the "short-
(600 B.C. to 500 A.D.) began in the sea and that, at one term disappearance of the sun" and
time, humans were actually some the event of the solar eclipse.
sort of fish. - Leucippus’s proposal that all matter
- Anaximene’s belief that air is the is composed of little units called
most basic substance in nature and "atoms".
that all things were constructed of - Archimedes’ demonstration of how
air. closely mathematics and science are
- Aristotle’s belief that certain living linked. He was also the first to show
organisms spontaneously formed how you could predict whether or not
from non-living substances, also an object would float in a liquid.
called "spontaneous generation."
“Dark Ages” - The baptismal font is where the - Practices such as fortune telling,
(500 A.D. to 1000 A.D.) accused would be thrown, and if making charms, talismans, spells, and
they floated to the top, they were incantations.
guilty, and if they sank, they were - The belief in fairies, spirits, and
innocent. ghosts.
“Golden Age” of - Blaise Pascal demonstrated that the - The accurate illustration of the
Science (1500 A.D. to
1660 A.D.) air we breathe puts pressure on organs, muscles, and skeleton of the
everything. human body by Vesalius.
- Nicolaus Copernicus believed that
the sun was at the center of
everything and assumed that the
planets traveled around the sun,
which is referred to as the
"heliocentric system."
- Blaise Pascal demonstrated a law
that we now call "Pascal’s law".
Era of Newton - Scientists in Newton’s day thought - Newton’s three laws of motion.
(1660 A.D. to 1735 that the explanation of why an item - Newton’s linkage between science
A.D.)
falls when dropped was because of and math.
one actual interaction, while the - Newton detailed mathematical
reason the planets moved in the sky equations that described gravity.
was due to a completely different - Newton laid down his universal law
process.  of gravitation.
- Newton’s theories added details to
our understanding of the motion of
fluids.
- Robert Boyle’s many experiments
with gases, formulating laws.
- Leeuwenhoek’s invention of the
microscope revolutionized the study
of life.
Industrial Revolution - Almost everything was made - Lavoisier was the first to analyze
(1735 A.D. to 1820 mostly by hand. Increased scientific chemical reactions in a systematic
A.D.)
knowledge, however, led to the way, and he was the first to realize
invention of many devices that that matter cannot be created or
turned hours of manual labor into destroyed; it can only change forms.
just a few minutes of work. - Lavoisier was also the first to
properly explain combustion, which
is the process of burning.
- John Dalton’s Atomic Theory
Modern Science - The proposed idea of Plank is that - Albert Einstein's explanation of the
(1900 A.D. to the energy comes in tiny packets. photoelectric effect.
Present) 
- Quantum mechanics as a guiding - Quantum mechanics does not really
principle in science. contradict Newton’s laws.
- Picture of the Atom by Niels Bohr.
Module 2A: Intellectual revolutions that defined society: Copernicus 

A. Complete a table like the one below by writing five ancient beliefs/practices in
Astronomy, and their modern-day theory or explanation. An italicized example is
provided below. (10 points) 

Ancient beliefs and practices in Modern-day theory or explanation

Astronomy

E.g. Planets revolve around the All planets, including Earth, revolve around the sun. 
Earth. 

1. Planets orbit around the sun. The gravity of the sun keeps the planets in their orbits.
2. Tycho Brahe proposed a "geo- Heliocentrism is the most widely accepted model of the
heliocentric" system in which the sun universe.
and moon orbited the earth while the
other planets orbited the sun. 

3. Aristotle believed that all heavenly Aristotle believed that all heavenly bodies, including the
bodies, including the moon, were moon, were perfect spheres and that the earth was the only
perfect spheres and that the earth source of imperfection in the universe.
was the only source of imperfection
in the universe.

4. Objections too Copernicus said Astronomers estimate the distance of nearby objects in space
that if the earth orbits, parallax by using a method called stellar parallax or trigonometric
should have been observed, but parallax. It measures the star’s apparent movement against the
Galileo responded that it was background of more distant stars as the earth revolves around
negligible because the stars were so the sun. According to Mark Reid, parallax is "the best way to
distant.
get distance in astronomy".
5. Complete or partial obscuring of a From the perspective of a person on Earth, the sun is eclipsed
celestial body by another. when the moon comes between it and Earth, and the moon is
eclipsed when it moves into the shadow of Earth cast by the
sun.

B. Choose ONE of the questions below and explain within 100-150 words. Please do
not forget to COPY the question you have chosen. (10 points)
3. How were the people behind heliocentrism able to convince the public about it?

- Personally, in my opinion, I believe that personal experience and scientific

proof lead people to believe in evolution. Your ideas on what is right and
wrong will change as you go through life, grow as a person, improve in
your education, and go through different stages of your life. But before
convincing the public about heliocentrism, Conpernicu’s work was not
acknowledged right away after he finished it. One of the reasons is that
his work was rejected by the Catholic Church. Even though he had the
right idea, he had very little information to support his work. However, his
work was gradually becoming more acceptable after a compilation of
different pieces of evidence, and the Roman Catholic Church accepted
his work before a wave of protestant opposition led the church to ban
Copernican views in the 17th century. His friend and fellow theologian
Andreas Osiander said that his work does not relate to the narrow realm
of astronomy but is instead a tool with clearer and more accurate
calculations. Johannes Kepler, responsible for Kepler’s Law of Planetary
Motion, made his theory substantially correct and accurate.