Astronomy
Source 7
Q
page 26
“[in the astrolabe’s] simplest form, it was a ring
or disk with the degrees of a circle marked on it
and pointing arms that could be aimed at two
difference places to measure the angle between
them.”
TG
Astronomy
Source 7
P
40
Al-Biruni was able to explain how near the
poles there could be many days without sun and
many without the sun ever going down. Hearing
stories of this from travelers, he figured out that
the earth’s tilt on its axis must cause the sun to
strike at certain angles. This would be so
extreme in the poles that there would be
nightless summers and dayless winters.
TG
Astronomy
Source 7
P
page 26
The astrolabe allowed astronomers to find
the angle of a sun or star above the horizon. It
also helped navigators to find their locations. AlBattani was able to figure out “astronomical
constants,” or regular intervals of movement
that occur in heavenly bodies, by use of the
astrolabe.
TG
Astronomy
Source 2
Q
page 2
“The 13th century Persian astronomer Nasir alDin al-Tusi, the auther of one of the yellowing
Arabic-language texts, upended the geocentric
Greek views of the universe”
TG
Astronomy
Source 7
Q
page 29
“Al-Battani put these and other astronomical
constants into a Zijj and wrote about how he
arrived at his figures so that others could use
there methods in their work. In doing this, AlBattani was helping to establish a procedure
that has become an important part of modern
science. This method of faithfully reporting
one’s observations and experiments allows
others to check them for accuracy.”
TG
Astronomy
Source 7
S
24
• Ptolemy was an ancient Greek astronomer who
believed that the Earth was the center of the
universe.
• Muslim astronomers corrected mistakes in
Ptolemy’s system.
• A zijj is an astronomical table used to calculate
the position of the stars/planets.
• Al-Khwarizmi created a Zijj
• Al-Farghani created a detailed Zijj that was used
for the next 700 years.
TG
Astronomy
Source 7
S
pages 29-31
• Omar ibn al-khayyami devised one of the most
accurate calendars ever
• Had error of only 1 day every 5000 years (a
more accurate calendar than ours).
• Calendar not used because people were unused to it.
• Calendars were created through careful
observation of sun, moon, and stars.
TG
Background
Source 7
Q
page 26
“The urge to [learn]… came from Mohammed
himself, because the Prophet taught his
followers to seek knowledge wherever they
went. ‘Look for learning,’ he told them, ‘even if
this search takes you as far afield as China,’ the
most distance place that anyone could imagine
in those days. ‘He who travels in search of
knowledge travels along Allah’s path to
paradise,’ the Prophet added.”
TG
Background
Source 10
P
N/A
The Muslims’ great achievements in
science were largely kick-started by assimilation
of past cultures’ discoveries. Hindu mathematics
inspired the study of Geometry. Greek medicine,
astronomy and astrology, mathematics, and
philosophy were all assimilated by the Islamic
empire and then branched off of for altogether
new discoveries.
TG
Background
Source 7
Q
55
“Aristotle concentrated on knowledge that can
be found by searching outside ourselves and
examining the world around us. He stressed the
importance of experience and experimentation
as the way to discover truths about nature.”
TG
Background
Source 7
P
11
Muhammad encouraged his followers to search
for knowledge- he told them that seeking
knowledge was seeking God. The Muslims
created centers of learned and collected
information about conquered civilizations.
TG
Learning
Source 7
S
pages 55-56
• Islamic scientists primarily followed Plato’s or
Aristotle’s philosophy
• Plato believed in looking within oneself to find
meaning to life, while aristotle believe in
observation/experimentation to find answers to
the universe.
• Al-kindi, Al-Razi, Ibn Sina attempted to combine
both philosophies.
• Ibn-Rushd whole-heartedly supported Aristotle
• Islamic science largely favored Aristotle’s views
– Experimental methods are used in modern science.
TG
Learning
Source 7
Q
62
“The second great heritage of Islam was the
emphasis placed on the use of experimental
methods… They applied modern scientific
methods… to ancient lore they inherited from
other civilizations… [and] thus provided a bridge
between the older cultures and the modern
world.”
TG
Learning
Source 7
Q
61
“[Islamic culture enabled the] preservation of
ancient scientific lore developed by the
philosophers of Greece, India, Persia, and other
civilizations that were crumbling in the seventh
century.”
TG
Learning
Source 7
Q
37
“the use of experimental methods, together
with the practice of making careful
measurements of natural things, was the
beginning of a major transformation in the way
scientists studied the world of nature… In
writing about this experiments… Ibn al-Haytham
explained this new approach to science… that
provided a starting point for scholars of the
western Renaissance.”
TG
Learning
Source 2
Q
6
“Arab science succeeded as much in pragmatic
applications as it did in theoretical concepts…
Islamic scholars distinguished themselves from
their Greek predecessors, who were more
inventive in ideas than in practical matters.”
TG
Learning
Source 7
S
20
• In 830, Muslim ruler Al-Ma’mum built the
House of Wisdom
• Built in Baghdad
• Held collections of scientific manuscripts from
all the around the world collected by Muslim
scholars.
TG
Learning
Source 2
P
6
Alhasan ibn al-Haitham (Alhazen)
introduced the idea of experimental proof, and
the idea that theories had to be verified through
practice. This was a key idea that the Greeks had
not developed. It plays a large role in modern
science as well.
TG
Learning
Source 2
Q
5
“Unlike Arabic, however, which was understood
by all classes and gave ordinary Muslims access
to scholarly knowledge, Latin was used
principally by academics and clergy, fencing
science in as the preserve of an educated elite.”
TG
Optics
Source 7
S
36-37
• Al-Farisi was a Persian follower of Ibn alAlaytham
• He explained rainbows by observing sunlight
pass thru round containers of water.
• Stated that raindrops both reflect/refract light,
separating colors of light.
TG
Optics
Source 7
Q
36
“Ibn Al-Haytham developed the idea that light is
emitted by all radiant sources; that it travels in
straight lines; and that it falls on objects and is
reflected back to the eye, making sight possible.
This was the beginning of the modern view
about light and vision.”
TG
Optics
Source 7
P
34
A Greek physician named Galen (late
second century) rejected popular beliefs about
vision supported by Ptolemy and theorized that
the lens of the eye enabled sight, and that
nerves connected the eye to the brain.
TG
Optics
Source 7
S
36-37
• Ibn al-Haythem was able to explain light
refraction.
• Explained that light speed is different through
different mediums.
• Discovered that light travels in straight lines by
using camera obscura effect.
• Came close to inventing the first lens.
TG
Optics
Source 2
P
6
Alhasan ibn al-Haytham correctly figured out
how light reflects off of certain objects, which
enabled him to create the first rudementary
camera obscura. He also established that light
emanates in straight lines.
TG
People
Source 7
S
41-45
• Al-Biruni was born in 973
• At 17 he built a ring that he used to determine the latitude
of a town (Kath).
• Observed/measured an eclipse of the moon.
• Was able to compare data on lunar eclipse with another
scientist’s to compute their difference in longitude.
• Followed Sultan Mahmud in his conquests of India to
record details of the land and people that were later used
to create maps.
• Wrote 146 works in all.
• Major surviving work is 700 page book written on India’s
landmarks/people.
TG
People
Source 7
Q
45
“These works show the great scope of AlBiruni’s life and work, which is so broad that
modern scholars consider this man who once
explained the midnight sun to the sultan to be
one of the wisest people that Islam ever
produced.”
TG
People
Source 7
S
17-18
•
•
•
•
Al-Khwarizmi/Algorithmi (780-850)
Recommended Indian # system and helped spread it.
Wrote “Al-Khwarizmi on the Numerals of the Indians”
Developed/refined algebra from similar
Greek/Egyptian concepts to modern algebra.
• Introduced the name of Algebra, “Aljabr,” meaning
“restitution.”
• Al-Khwarizmi made one of the first Islamic atlases,
called “Book on the Form of the Earth.”
• Al-Khwarizmi created a Zijj, used to calculate the
position of stars and planets.
TG
Mathematics
Source 7
S
16-17
• The Islamic took the Babylonian number
system and used/spread it.
• They used symbols that represented 1, 5, and
10
• Did not have zero, which made the placing
confusing.
TG
Mathematics
Source 7
P
18
Al-Battani (850-829) made major
contributions to trigonometry, a branch of math
used to find sides and angles of right triangles.
Al-battani created tables listing ratios and
between sides and sides and between sides and
angles of right triangles. This branch of
mathematics became important to surveyors
and astronomers.
TG
Mathematics
Source 7
P
18
Al-Khwarizmi refined Algebra from the
Greeks into the algebra we know today,
developing it into the math that is used when
some information is known about the problem
while other information is not. He gave it its
name through the Arabic world “al-jabr”,
meaning restitution, which explains the
substitution of symbols for unknown
information in algebraic equations.
TG
Mathematics
Source 7
S
20
• Greek astronomer Posidonius of Apamea used
the angle of the sun and horizon to measure the
circumference of the earth. He measured
incorrectly.
• Islamic scholars worked together in the House of
Wisdom and used similar methods to come to a
number.
• The number they arrived at, however, was
incorrect due to flawed measurements and
supported Posidonius’ measurements.
TG