Changing Views of the Universe
Audio
Until the mid-1500s, Europeans’ view of the universe was shaped by the theories of the ancient writers Ptolemy and Aristotle. More than 1,000 years before the Renaissance, they had taught that Earth was the center of the universe. Not only did this view seem to agree with common sense, it was accepted by the Church. In the 1500s and 1600s, however, people began to question this view.
Copernicus Challenges Ancient Astronomy
In 1543, Polish scholar Nicolaus Copernicus (koh pur nih kus) published On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. In it, he proposed a heliocentric, or sun-centered, model of the universe. The sun, he said, stands at the center of the universe. Earth is just one of several planets that revolve around the sun.
Most experts rejected this revolutionary theory. In Europe at the time, all scientific knowledge and many religious teachings were based on the arguments developed by classical thinkers. If Ptolemy’s reasoning about the planets was wrong, people believed, then the whole system of human knowledge might be called into question. But in the late 1500s, the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (tee koh brah uh) provided evidence that supported Copernicus’s theory. Brahe set up an astronomical observatory. Every night for years, he carefully observed the sky, accumulating data about the movement of the heavenly bodies.
After Brahe’s death, his assistant, the brilliant German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler, used Brahe’s data to calculate the orbits of the planets revolving around the sun. His calculations supported Copernicus’s heliocentric view. At the same time, however, they showed that each planet does not move in a perfect circle, as both Ptolemy and Copernicus believed, but in an oval-shaped orbit called an ellipse.
Galileo’s “Heresies”
Scientists from many different lands built on the foundations laid by Copernicus and Kepler. In Italy, Galileo Galilei assembled an astronomical telescope. As you have read, he observed that the four moons of Jupiter move slowly around that planet—exactly, he realized, the way Copernicus said that Earth moves around the sun.
Views of the Moon
Galileo sketched the views of the moon he saw through his telescope in 1609. Pictures of the moon taken through a modern telescope look remarkably similar.
Galileo’s discoveries caused an uproar. Other scholars attacked him because his observations contradicted ancient views about the world. The Church condemned him because his ideas challenged the Christian teaching that the heavens were fixed in position to Earth, and perfect.
Vocabulary Builder
In 1633, Galileo was tried before the Inquisition, and for a year afterward he was kept under house arrest. Threatened with death unless he withdrew his “heresies,” Galileo agreed to state publicly in court that Earth stands motionless at the center of the universe. Legend has it that as he left the court he muttered, “And yet it moves.”
We will move back to today's lesson plan: WH 16 September 2009.
G. Mick Smith, PhD, Senior Educational Technology Executive: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmicksmith/
Monday, September 14, 2009
AP Economics: 15 September 2009
Prayer
Current events:
Economist and two time president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Klaus, addresses the global economy.
How much coverage by the major news media did this story attract?
Total words about the Van Jones controversy in the New York Times: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy in the Washington Post: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy on NBC Nightly News: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy on ABC World News: 0.
Total words about the Van Jones controversy on CBS Evening News: 0.
Not surprisingly, press accuracy rating has hit a two decade low, according to a study just released entitled: "Public Evaluations of the News Media: 1985-2009."
I hope young people are active and contacting their representatives.
Links to representatives:
The State Senator who represents the 19th District, which includes Downingtown? State Senator . . . ?
The two U.S. Senators who represent Pennsylvania are?
The Junior Senator and the Senior Senator.
What about the WhiteHouse.gov site?
I have provided no link. Why?
Web 2.0 technologies are used on the WhiteHouse.gov site. A White House decision permitted the use of persistent Internet cookies, for some applications that ran on the WhiteHouse.gov site. The policy is being reviewed currently and a bill is in Congress as well. Some applications may employ third-party cookies to be placed on the site which is a deviation from established executive-branch policy, first set down in June 2000, that leaves site visitors open to being tracked and profiled without their knowledge. Some have questioned this policy and object to tracing (such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Digital Democracy). Some privacy advocates are concerned.
Privacy advocates said visitors to federal Web sites should be able to view official government information without fear of being tracked either by the government or by third parties such as YouTube or Google Inc.
A review of the research done by Greg Conti, Googling Security: How Much Does Google Know About You? states:
Conti addresses the genuine need to educate Google users. How much does Google know about you? Most users would conclude that the company knows more than it should. Inviting a popular search engine into our homes via computer is similar to the initial TV era, when people blissfully introduced the new media into their homes. In the privacy of their own homes or by using extremely useful business tools, many users are unaware of the pernicious aspects of the information displayed, tracked, and fed into the ubiquitous black hole of Google. Users need to know the price of Google’s utility.Cf. Computing Reviews, Dr. G. Mick Smith
Government sites may replicate, by employing third-party vendors, the extensive data collection already done by companies such as Google. On the other hand, the 4th Amendment states:
Amendment 4 - Search and Seizure
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Review:
Quarter Grades
60% = Tests & Papers
25% = Assignments (class work & homework)
15% = Quizzes (announced & unannounced)
Semester Grade
40% of each quarter grade and 20% of the semester exam grade (Assessment)
Final Year Grade
Average of the first and second semester grades.
Email procedure:
Who got a chance to view the "Broken Window Fallacy?"
Discussion: What is your reaction? What does Dr. Williams have to say about the "Broken Windows Fallacy"?
The in-class material from yesterday, "The Story of Money," and, "The Story of Inflation" (hand-outs), are now posted on the Shanawiki page: "The Story of Money and the Story of Inflation." We can take a look at that page.
If not covered in class review the following material.
Material on scarcity is available online, e.g., on scarcity:
http://www.fte.org/teachers/programs/rightstart/curriculum/scarcityandopportunitycost.html
For HW I asked you to print out and bring to class your own copy of "Identifying Needs," "Identifying Needs – Again," and "ADAM and EVE: In the beginning there was a production possibility frontier" (or, bear in mind this is also referred to the production possibility curve, they mean the same thing).
Review the post, "Every Graph You Need To Know."
In our textbook, Core Economics, Gerard W. Stone, read "Production Possibilities," pp. 33-36, up to but not including "Economic Growth," on p. 36.
HW (you can email the answers to me (gmsmith@shanahan.org).
1. What could you be doing instead of being in class for a session of AP Economics? (List your alternatives)
2. What is your opportunity cost for being here for the next hour?
3. How do economists use the concept of opportunity cost to explain a person making a mistake?
4. What is the Opportunity Cost for a high school student to study one hour for Economics?
AP Economics: Grading
Grading
Grades:
Quarter Grades
60% = Tests & Papers
The format, multiple choice & free response questions, will be similar to the AP Macroeconomics exam you will take in May. You must be able to apply the information from lecture notes, visual materials, and assignments (reading & written). Class materials should be reviewed on a nightly basis. Tests will be announced and posted in advance of the test date.
Papers will be assigned periodically and they will count as test grades. Each quarter you will submit an Article Analysis Report; it will count as a test grade.
25% = Assignments (class work & homework)
Since this course is modeled after a college course, you will be required to complete readings and answer content related questions, define terms, solve problems, write papers, perform projects, and participate in class simulation exercises. It is your responsibility to keep up with the work load in this class and to ensure that all assignments are completed and submitted on the assigned due date. Assignments will be posted by their due dates.
All assignments that are collected and graded will be checked for complete, fully detailed, and accurate answers.
Reading Assignments: you will be assigned reading to cover in preparation for discussion of the material in class. You must complete the reading by the assigned due date. You should be prepared for a quiz on the terms and reading material at any time; the quiz may or may not be announced.
Reading Questions & Terms: To complete these assignments, you must use the information from the reading to answer the questions and define the terms to post on the AP Economics Shanawiki page.
Practice Problems: All practice problems will be completed on the worksheets or loose leaf paper in blue or black ink; write out all formulas, show all work, and properly label all graphs. No graph paper or computer generated graphs will be accepted; draw all graphs on loose leaf paper.
Class Simulations: we will complete some class simulations during the school year. At the conclusion of these activities, or in-class lessons, you may be required to complete review questions or answer questions. If you are absent on a simulation day, you will be expected to make up the simulation in order to earn a grade for the follow up assignment; failure to make up the assignment will result in a zero.
Format for typed assignments (or emailed)
Heading:
Include your name, period, title of the assignment, AP Macro, and due date
15% = Quizzes (announced & unannounced)
Quizzes will check your comprehension of smaller portions of class content. The format will vary. Questions will require you to demonstrate comprehension of class notes, facts from video presentations, class simulations or lesson plans, reading and written assignments. Some questions will make you apply the material learned and use the facts to solve problems. They can be announced or unannounced.
Semester Grade
40% of each quarter grade and 20% of the semester exam grade
Final Year Grade
Average of the first and second semester grades.
WH 2: Grading
Grading:
Quarter Grades
60% = Tests & Papers
The format may include a variety of question types such as multiple choice & free response questions. You must be able to apply the information from lecture notes, visual materials, and assignments (reading & written). Class materials should be reviewed on a nightly basis. Tests will be announced and posted in advance of the test date.
Papers will be assigned periodically and they will count as test grades.
25% = Assignments (class work & homework)
You will be required to complete readings and answer content related questions, define terms, solve problems, write papers, perform projects, and participate in class. It is your responsibility to keep up with the work load in this class and to ensure that all assignments are completed and submitted on the assigned due date. Assignments will be posted by their due dates.
All assignments that are collected and graded will be checked for complete, fully detailed, and accurate answers.
Reading Assignments: you will be assigned reading to cover in preparation for discussion of the material in class. You must complete the reading by the assigned due date. You should be prepared for a quiz on the terms and reading material at any time; the quiz may or may not be announced.
Reading Questions & Terms: To complete these assignments, you must use the information from the reading to answer the questions and define the terms to post on the Shanawiki page.
Class Activities: we will cover activities, simulations, and other work during the school year. At the conclusion of these activities, or in-class lessons, you may be required to complete review questions or answer questions. If you are absent on a simulation day, you will be expected to make up the simulation in order to earn a grade for the follow up assignment; failure to make up the assignment will result in a zero.
Format for typed assignments (or emailed)
Heading:
Include your name, period, title of the assignment, WH 2, and due date
15% = Quizzes (announced & unannounced)
Quizzes will check your comprehension of smaller portions of class content. The format will vary. Questions will require you to demonstrate comprehension of class notes, facts from video presentations, class simulations or lesson plans, reading and written assignments. Some questions will make you apply the material learned and use the facts to solve problems. They can be announced or unannounced.
Semester Grade
40% of each quarter grade and 20% of the semester exam grade
Final Year Grade
Average of the first and second semester grades.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)