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Chapter 15 Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
anatomy | the structure of living things |
astrolabe | an instrument that measures the angles of the stars above the horizon and helps sailors find their ship's latitude |
capitalism | an economic system based on private ownership of economic resources and the use of those resources to make a profit |
columbian exchange | the movement of living things between hemispheres |
caravel | a ship with both squares sails and triangular sails designed for long voyages |
circumnavigate | a term that means "to travel around the world" |
Copernicus | Polish astronomer who challenged Ptolemy's geocentric theory |
dissection | cutting open plants and animals to study their parts |
Galileo | Italian scientist who used findings with the telescope to support the theory that the sun was at the center of the universe |
geocentric theory | Aristotle's scientific ideas that placed Earth at the center of the universe |
harmony | Pythagora's theory that all living things combine in an agreeable way to form the universe |
heliocentric theory | theory stated that Earth, the stars, and other planets revolved around the sun, which did not move |
Johannes Kepler | German astronomer who used mathematical laws to prove that the planets move around the sun in elliptical orbits, not circular orbits |
mercantilism | economic theory based on belief that a nation's power depended on its wealth |
microscope | scientific device, built by Anton van Leeuwenhoek, that magnified an object between 250 and 300 times its original size |
rationalism | an approach in which people use reason, or logical thought to understand the world |
Spanish Armada | Spanish invasion force defeated by the English |
sugar cane | product grown in the West Indies and shipped to Europe |
sponsor | a person who gives money to support a voyage of exploration |
Sir Iaasic Newton | English scientist who developed the law of universal gravitation |
Scientific Revolution | new spirit of questioning classical ideas and Christian beliefs that arose in Europe in the 1500s |
scientific method | approach, developed by Sir Francis Bacon, that required scientists to use experimentation and observation |
triangular trade | trade pattern between Europe, Africa, and the Americas |
Treaty of Tordesillas | Set up imaginary line from north to south around the world in order to make it clear which lands Spain and Portugal could claim |
Universal Gravitation | action of gravity on all objects throughout the universe |