Beginning of Science

By Tom McGowen

A description of the beginnings of science for middle grade readers. Dealing briefly with ancient primitive people and their use of magic, fire, counting, writing, and their observations of the sky, the manuscript moves on to ancient Greece. Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Democritus, Aristotle, Ptolemy, and Galen are discussed. The work of these early thinkers was largely forgotten in the Dark Ages, following the collapse of the Roman Empire. Long lost writings of Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers were rediscovered in the seventh century, and thus science was rediscovered. Building on the knowledge of the past, tremendous advances were made in mathematics, alchemy/chemistry, astronomy, and medicine. By the sixteenth century, great thinkers like Copernicus, Brahe, and Galileo began to challenge the wisdom of the ancients. These were the world's first true scientists. They challenged ideas by using what we now call the scientific method, firmly establishing the foundations of science as we know it today.

• Format: Library Binding
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076133016X
• ISBN13: 9780761330165
• Release Date: April 1998
• Publisher: Twenty-First Century Books (CT)
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.3" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 10 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 8