Teacher's Guide for CALLIOPE: Galileo

Teacher guide prepared by: Nancy I. Colamussi, Elementary Education, B.S., M.A. Rocky Point School District, Long Island, New York.
Extended Response: Comprehension & Critical Thinking
The questions below can be used as written, simply answered in complete sentences, or easily transformed into longer essay (ELA) style questions, or even research topics. In any case, have the students support their answers with details from the text or use critical thinking skills to create a thorough and interesting answer. Consider the level of your students when deciding how to use the questions. The questions for each lesson can be found under the article's title below.

"The World of Galileo" p. 2-3
Math: Use the timeline on pages 2and 3 to answer the questions below.

1. How old was Galileo when he built the first 9-power telescope?
2. What did Galileo discover with the telescope?
3. What year was Galileo condemned for suspicion of heresy?
4. What was published in 1638?
5. How old was Galileo when he died?

1. Why did Galileo appear before members of the Inquisition in June 1633?
2. Explain the different theories of Copernicus and Ptolemy.
3. Why does page 8 state that 'Galileo was to some extent a victim of a political debate'?
4. What clever format did Galileo use in writing his Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems?
5. Read page 9 and explain the powers of the Roman Inquisition.

____ 1. Galileo's father wanted him to be a professional musician.

____ 2. The teachers at Vallombrosa were monks.

____ 3. Galileo was not interested in medicine because it required spending too much time dissecting animals.

____ 4. Mathematics fascinated Galileo because it seemed to offer ways of explaining almost every aspect of the natural world.

1. At first, why did Copernicus' theory appeal to Galileo?
2. What did Galileo discover after he built the 10-power telescope and how did it help support the Copernican system?
3. Why did traditional philosophers attack Galileo so fervently?
4. What was the importance of Galileo discovering that Venus went through phases?
5. Why was Galileo's visit to Rome in 1616 so important?

1. In Galileo's day, what were astronomers chiefly preoccupied with?
2. How did Galileo try to please the officials in the Venetian government?
3. How did Galileo's telescope give the military an advantage?
4. Write an essay describing how Galileo's discoveries changed the way people thought about the heavens.
5. Why did The Starry Messenger bring Galileo instant fame?
6. Compare Galileo's new theories with the contemporary beliefs of the time. Why did Saturn puzzle Galileo?
7. Explain two things that Galileo discovered about the sun.

1. Explain Galileo's quote, "Only great minds could divine that wonderful arts lie hid behind trivial and childish things."
2. What was Galileo's process for learning new principles?
3. Explain Galileo's experiment from the tower of Pisa and its significance for Isaac Newton.
4. What is the principle of inertia?
5. How did Galileo teach his students to challenge authority?
6. What was Galileo's view of nature?

____ 1. Soon after Galileo's conviction in 1633, Pope Urban sent him directly to prison.

____ 2. The Inquisition might have authority over Galileo's body, but they could not chain up his mind.

____ 3. In Galileo's book, Two New Sciences, the two new sciences concerned the right size of materials and the paths of falling and thrown objects.

____ 4. Theorems are propositions that can be proved from accepted premises and so are established as laws or principles.

____ 5. To avoid problems with the church, Galileo sent Two New Sciences to Holland to be published.

____ 6. By the time Galileo received a printed copy of his book, he was completely deaf.

____ 7. English mathematician Isaac Newton expanded on Galileo and Copernicus' work.

____ 8. Newton developed a new branch of Mathematics called algebra.

____ 9. Newton showed that the force of gravity exerted by the moon on planets and comets could be used to accurately describe their various orbits.

____10. Galileo had suffered a great deal at the hands of men and institutions of the church.

"The World of Galileo"

1. 45
2. moon of Jupiter
3. 1633
4. Dialogue Concerning Two New Sciences
5. 78

"Galileo Galilei"

1. False - doctor
2. True
3. False - studying and memorizing
4. True

"No Chains on the Mind"

1. False - allowed to go visit his good friend, Archbishop of Siena
2. True
3. False - strength
4. True
5. True
6. False - blind
7. True
8. False - calculus
9. False - sun
10. True

"The Galileo Spacecraft"

1. E
2. A
3. G
4. D
5. J
6. I
7. C
8. F
9. B
10. H

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Updated: 8/21/08 06:00 pm
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