History 3020: Newton-Darwin
According to Professor Quay, Newton's epiphany regarding gravity was that:
"Just as the apple falls to the Earth, the Moon falls to the Earth."
Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle was scheduled to last two years but actually lasted:
5 years.
What does Newton's First Law state?
A body at rest tends to stay at rest, a body in motion tends to stay in motion, until acted upon by an outside force
Darwin's religious beliefs at the time of his death can best be described as:
Agnostic.
What does Newton's Law of Gravitation state?
Any particle of matter in the universe attracts any other with a force varying directly as the product of the masses and inversely as the square of the distance between them.
Who said, "The mystery of the beginning of all things is insoluble by us; and I for one must be content to remain an agnostic", and "With such moderate abilities as I possess, it is truly surprising that I should have influenced to a considerable extent the belief of scientific men"?
Charles Darwin
An object would have less mass on the Moon than if it was on the Earth. T/F?
False.
Charles Darwin was an renowned Biologist before sailing on the HMS Beagle. T/F?
False.
Charles Darwin's first career choice was to be a Minister. T/F?
False.
Darwin immediately recognized that the birds he collected on the Galapagos were all finches in spite of their wide variations in beaks. T/F?
False.
Jean Baptiste Lamarck was well respected by fellow scientists in his day for his ideas on evolution. T/F?
False.
Newton was forced to delay his graduate program in 1665 when his mother falls ill. T/F?
False.
Newton was sent to attend a school which was a large distance away from the family farm since he was a never ending source of trouble for his mother. T/F?
False.
Newton's Laws are universal and are true for all applications in Physics. T/F?
False.
A letter from Alfred Russell Wallace criticizing the idea of natural selection contributed to Darwin's delay in publishing "Origin of the Species". T/F?
False. The letter was in support of Darwin's studies and convinced Darwin to finally publish his work.
What does Newton's Third Law state?
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction (forces occur in pairs).
Newton's 2nd Law of Motion gives a connection between these two distinct concepts in Physics for the first time:
Force and Mass.
What does Newton's Second Law state?
Force is equal to an objects mass times its acceleration.
Which of the following was not one of Newton's accomplishments?
Formulating the equation for kinetic energy.
Out of the following pick the fact that had the most direct impact on Darwin's success.
His inherited wealth.
Who said, "I seem to have been only like a boy, playing on the seashore... while the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me"?
Isaac Newton
Which of following is an advantage of the reflecting telescope over a refracting telescope?
It eliminates chromatic aberration. Its possible to manufacture larger mirrors than lenses. It allows for larger apertures.
Newton's 1st Law can be considered redundant since:
It is a special case of Newton's 2nd Law.
What did Newton empirically prove using his 2nd Law of Motion and Law of Gravitation?
Planetary orbits are elliptical, just as Kepler predicted.
Which of the following was not considered as evidence for evolution by Darwin?
Similarities in DNA.
What did Newton believe light to be made of?
Small, discrete particles called "corpuscles".
Which of the following was not an idea put forth by Jean Baptiste Lamarck in his theory of evolution.
Survival of the Fittest.
Many consider Darwin's illness to have been the result of a nervous condition. What other possibility did we explore in class?
That he may have had Chaga's Disease.
"The force of attraction or repulsion between two electrically charged particles is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them." This statement is an example of this important scientific law that Newton used in his Law of Gravitation.
The Inverse Square Law.
This event changed Darwin's view of both religion and nature in a profound manner.
The early death of his daughter Annie.
Which of the following is not a accomplishment of Newton's in his "Miracle Year of 1666"?
The invention of the telescope.
As a young boy Newton fantasized about burning his mother and stepfather to death in their beds as they slept. T/F?
True.
Newton believed that he had found his own name (coded) in the Bible and that he had been chosen by God to reveal certain truths to mankind. T/F?
True.
Newton's quote, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.", was meant as a way to ridicule Robert Hooke for his lack of physical stature and imply that he lacked intellectual stature as well. T/F?
True.
One of the reasons that Darwin waited so long to publish his book on evolution was because he was concerned about the effects it would have on his wife Emma. T/F?
True.
The Gravitational constant (G) in Newton's Law of Gravitation was not accurately measured until 71 years after Newton's death. T/F?
True.
There is strong evidence to support the idea Newton's odd behaviors and his nervous breakdown of 1692 could have been caused by Mercury poisoning. T/F?
True.
What must be present in order for natural selection to be effective?
Variations in the gene pool.
Our best source of information about the personal thoughts of Newton is from:
a list that Newton made of all the sins that he had committed.
Isaac Newton was traumatized at a very young age as a result of:
being abandoned by his mother.
Newton waited 39 years to publish his book on Optics because:
he didn't want to give others in the scientific community a chance to criticize him.
According to your text (Five Equations), a turning point occurred in Newton's life when:
he fought back against a bully.
Darwin credited the work of Charles Lyell as having been a great influence since:
it explained that the Earth had been present for a much longer time period than previously thought.
