Directions:

Writea400wordorlongeressayexplaininghowyouthinkthehistoryofCosmology
(specifically,howweswitchedfromPtolemytoCopernicusmodel),showshowpeopledo(ordo
not)changetheirminds,andwhy.Usethelecturenotes,articlesfromBigHistory,and/orother
resources.

PASS/FAILRUBRIC

ClearIntroductionwitha
Thesisthatstatesoneor
morekeyfactorsinwhy
Ptolemysmodelwas
eventuallyreplaced

YES

NO

Citesatleastthreepiecesof
evidence.

YES

NO

Youanalyzedtheevidence

YES

NO

ThespecificexamplewevecoveredsofarhasbeenhowtheworkofCopernicus,Kepler,
Galileo,andNewtonledtoanewmodelofthesolarsystemtoreplacePtolemysearthcentered
model,soyouressayshouldfocusonusingexamplesfromthathistory.

Inyouressay,youshould
HaveaclearintroductionwithathesisthatstatesoneormorekeyfactorsinwhyPtolemys
modelwaseventuallyreplaced
Citeatleastthreepiecesofevidence,eitherfromthelecturenotes
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxmnlXt_7UBOV3Y1TldWLU5HRjA/view?usp=sharing
,orfrom
theBigHistoryarticles,orfromyourownresearch.Pleasefollowtheevidencewithacitationin
parentheses.
Example:Copernicusstillinsisted,likePtolemy,thatorbitswereperfectcircles(Lecture).

C.Makesuretoanalysetheevidence.Inotherwords,youalwayshaveasentenceexplaining
theevidencedirectlyaftertheevidenceisquoted.

TheHistoryofCosmology

PtolemysmodelwasahugesuccesswiththeCatholicchurch,beingusedasamodelfor
thousandsofyears.Althoughthismodelwaswildlysuccessfulandbelievableotherscientists
foundittobeinaccurate.Peoplechangetheirmindsbecauseofwhattheirreligionbelievestobe
right.Althoughtherewasveryclearevidencethatmajorscientifictheorieswerecorrectthe
CatholicchurchandmanyofitsfollowersrefusedtobelievethatanythingbutPtolemy'smodel
wascorrect.
ThedownfallofthismodelwasdraggedoutbecauseoftheChurch'sstrictbeliefsysteminwhat
wasacceptabletobelieve.Ittookmanyyearsandscientiststodevelopabelievableandbeautiful
modelthatwouldsatisfythechurchandscience.Ptolemysmodelwasbasedoffofthe1st
principle.The1stprinciplefocusedonbeauty,unity,andharmony.Ptolemywasinfluencedby
PlatoandAristotlewhomwerephilosophersthatdevelopedthe1stprinciple.Platoand
Aristotleheldthe1stprinciplethatweshouldlookforBeauty,Unity,andHarmonyinthe
Universe.
(
https://drive.google.com/a/animashighschool.com/file/d/0BxmnlXt_7UBOV3Y1TldWLU5HRj
A/view
)BecausePtolemysmodelwasapieceofworkthattheCatholicchurchapprovedon
becauseofsomeoftheBible'spassagesthattalkabouthowbeautyshouldbeinvolvedwith
science.TheCatholicChurchadoptedthistheoryforthousandsofyears.Amajordifferencethat
weseebetweenPtolemyandCopernicusisthefactthatCopernicusbelievedthatthesun,notthe
earthwasthecenteroftheuniverse.AlargerpartofPtolemysteachingswasthefactthatthe
earthwasthecenteroftheuniverse.AlthoughCopernicusbelievedthathistheoryshouldinclude
theFirstPrincipleshebelievedthathismodelshouldbemorescientific.Asimilaritythatwesee
isthatCopernicuswaspassionateabouttheideathatplanetsorbitinperfectcircles,which
Ptolemyalsomadeclear.
TheCopernicansystem,inwhichtheearthrevolvesonitsaxisandthesun,wasnotonly
moreaccurate,butalsomorebeautifulbecauseitcreateduniformcircularmotion.In1616
Copernicusmodelwasincludedinabook,yearslaterafteritwaspublishedtheCatholicchurch
bannedit,Itwasnotuntil1616thatthechurchbannedthebook.Thebancontinueduntil1835.

(
http://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2013/0219/CopernicusandtheChurchWhatthehistor
ybooksdontsay
)Thebanhappenedbecauseofthefollowingreasons.Copernicuscameup
withamodelthatworkedbyhavingtheearthrevolvearoundthesun.Thoughthisisthemost
accurateinterpretationpeopleresentedanddisagreedwithCopernicusmodel,thetopthree
reasonsbeingthatitwasnotacceptedbytheCatholicchurch,withoutnewtechnology
Copernicusprovinghistheorywasverydifficult,andthatPtolemysmodelcameoffasmore
accurateconcerningthepredictionofwheretheplanetswouldbe.Copernicuscameacrossa
problemthatwouldpreventhimfromprovinghisalloverprediction,thatbeingthefactthat
StellarParallaxneedstobeobserved,thetechnologytodothatwouldntbemadeupforanother
hundredyears,preventinghimfromsolvinghistheory.TheoriesofCopernicuswerepublished.
AfterthatGalileousedhisnewtechnologyofthetelescopetocollectevidencethatwould
supportCopernicustheory.Galileosoondiscoveredgroundbreakingevidencewhichwasthe
factthatmoonswererevolvingaroundJupiter.ThisfullycontradictedPtolemy'smainidea
whichwasthateverythingrevolvedaroundtheearth.Theonlymajorproblemwiththistheory
wasthefactthathedidntseeStellarParallax.ThisleadtheCatholicChurchtorejecthisidea,
GalileowentthroughmanyissueswiththeCatholicChurchafterthis.
KeplerwasabletoadjustissueswithCopernicussystemwithhisthreeLawsof
PlanetaryMotion.OneofhislawskickstartedIsaacNewtonslawofgravity.Thatlawbeing
Newton'slawofuniversalgravitationstatesthateverymassattractseveryothermassinthe
universe,andthegravitationalforcebetweentwobodiesisproportionaltotheproductoftheir
masses,andinverselyproportionaltothesquareofthedistancebetweenthem.
(
http://www.thestargarden.co.uk/Newtonstheoryofgravity.html
).Usingeachotherideasand
workthescientistswereabletocomeupwithaharmoniousanswerthatagreedwithboththe
CatholicChurchandwasscientificallycorrect.Peoplechangetheirmindsaccordingtowhat
theirbeliefsystemfollows.Afterseveralmajorscientifictheoriespeoplecontinuedtobelievein
theonethatagreedwiththeCatholicchurch,despiteevidencethatthetheorywasincorrect.