A LEARNING RESOURCE PACK FOR FLEXIBLE LEARNING

School Year 2020-2021

TARLAC AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

Malacampa, Camiling, Tarlac
 UNIT I
CHAPTER II

History of Science and Technology in the World

Target Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:

1. Organize and present different historical antecedents in the development of science and technology in
the world; and
2. Demonstrate broad knowledge of historical events and periods and their significance.

Abstraction

The following discussions will disclose the different events in the development of Science and Technology
in the world starting from the first human discoveries and inventions. However, to clearly understand the
development of S&T, let us define some concepts first.

Inquiry – an act of asking for information.

Discovery – the recognition and careful observation of new natural objects and phenomena. (e.g.
discovery of planets, fire, and gravity)

Invention – a process in which various discoveries and observation are combined and utilized to create
new tools or processes. (e.g. inventions of the light bulb, telephone, and printing press)

Innovation – a new or improved tool or process that differs significantly from the previous.

These are four core concepts guiding the development and improvement of Science and Technology in
the world. All technology that we know of today have undergone these processes. Without inquiry and curiosity,
we will not be able to discover new things and how they work. On the other hand, without discoveries we won’t be
able invent and innovate new technologies.

Ancient Period – (through ca. 599 B.C.)

In the ancient times, humankind started the journey of developing of science through simple discoveries
and inventions. Early scientific discoveries and inventions can be divided into three ages: Stone, Bronze, and Iron.

1. Stone Age

• The first tools were of stone, and the earliest stone tools were pebbles already pre-shaped by
nature and simply picked up from a riverbed.
• Stone tools were first used by our direct ancestors the Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis.
• Stone tools have been the first recognized technology.
• Very slowly man learned to shape stones by striking.
• Early stone tools improved by flaking were first made by Homo ergaster and Homo erectus.
• Stone tools were used for hunting animals and foraging of plants.
• Discovery and use of fire.
• Early humans cooked food on top of heated stones and in glowing embers.
• Rise of agricultural farms.
• Pottery and weaving were developed
• Rafts were made for any transport on water.
• Discovery and beginning of the usage of metal (beginning of mining).

2. Bronze Age

• Man discovered and collected metals (copper, gold, and silver).

• Expeditions were done to obtain copper and copper ores.
• Bronze tools became the improvement of stone tools.

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 • People were also skilled in textile making. (wool products)
• Pottery and other ceramics, along with glass were dominant.
• Agricultural irrigations were discovered and operated.
• Permanent settlements arose and led to early forms of buildings.

3. Iron Age

• Civilization began to arise (manufacturing, trading, rulers, etc.)

• In the Iron Age there was an abrupt transition from a clan to a money economy.

Antiquity Period – (ca. 599–529 B.C.)

Antiquity in the ancient past is the period of transition to the middle ages which includes the linking of two
major civilizations (Greeks and Romans) in terms of how these societies flourished and exerted great influence
throughout the different parts of the world.

• Antiquity started with the rise of Greek civilization.

• Greeks developed institutions such as the Academy and Lyceum and Museum.
• This period is characterized by war between religion and science.
• Science was aimed at such practical goals as establishing a reliable calendar or determining
how to cure a variety of illnesses.
• Natural philosophy was introduced.

Natural Philosophy – the philosophical study of nature and the physical universe that was
dominant before the development of modern science.

• The works of early philosophers like Aristotle, Archimedes, Hippocrates, Ptolemy, Euclid, and
others were spread throughout the world.

Medieval Period – (ca. 529 B.C.–1452)

The Medieval Period also known as the Middle Ages is the period in the timeline of history between
classical antiquity and the renaissance period. This era is generally believed to have started with the fall of the
Roman Empire which has caused it to be known as the Dark Ages due to economic and population decline from
civilization wars.

• Scholars concentrated their intellectual activities mainly on the Christian faith during the start of
the middle ages.
• Emergence of scientific thinking and methodology because of Plato and Aristotle.
• Technological revolution took place which resulted to great improvements in communication
and transportation.
• The decline of science in Europe has resulted to the following:
o Use of currency was replaced by barter
o Trade ceased entirely
o Poverty was endemic and people suffered from wars, piracy, famine, and epidemics.
• The depletion of the population of Europe (also known as Black Death) motivated smaller
communities to find new ways to function.
• Discovery of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg.

Renaissance Period – (ca. 1453–1659)

Renaissance Period is period in Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries when there was a surge of
interest in and production of art and literature. It connects the middle ages to modern history.

• Printed books became the means to spread technological developments.

• Many artists, like Leonardo da Vinci, became architects and technologists.
• Time of colonization, adventure, and exploration.
• Started with the publication of Nicolaus Copernicus’s heliocentric theory and Andreas Vesalius’s
anatomy but was later on opposed by religious organizations and publications were banned.

Heliocentric Theory – astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the
Sun at the center of the Solar System.

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 Anatomy – study concerning the bodily structure of humans, animals, and other living
organisms.

• Galileo Galilei introduced experimentation into science.

Early Modern Period – (ca. 1660–1734)

The following events contributed to the development of science and technology during the early modern
era:

• Newton’s work became the basis of the scientific method used in the study of natural
phenomena.
o Theories were formulated from observations.
o Natural phenomena were explained by mathematical laws.
• Separation of physics and metaphysics took place.

Physics – science that deals with the structure of matter and the interactions between the
fundamental constituents of the observable universe. (Concrete)

Metaphysics – philosophical study whose object is to determine the real nature of things—the
meaning, structure, and principles. (Abstract)

• Science became a shared activity.

• Societies and journals became the means of communication.
• Scientists recorded phenomena in terms of numbers.

The Enlightenment – (ca. 1735–1819)

The Age of Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of
ideas in Europe during the 18th century which emphasized reasoning and science.

• Emphasizing order through the Linnaean scheme for classifying organisms (Taxonomy).
• Emergence of Mechanical Philosophy.

Mechanical Philosophy – a form of natural philosophy which compares the universe to a

large-scale mechanism.

• Two approaches to philosophy emerged:

Empiricism – the theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience.

Rationalism – theory that opinions and actions should be based on reason and knowledge
rather than on religious belief or emotional response.

The Industrial Revolution – (18th Century)

Industrial Revolution is defined as the phenomenal process in the transfer of doing work by human hands
and feet to the use of machines. The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th century, when agricultural societies
became more industrialized and urban.

• Development of machines that would make work faster or more efficient.

• Skilled workers were set aside because of machine operation.
• Invention of the steam engine which improved our ways of transportation.
• Steamboat was also invented using the steam engine.
• Encyclopedias were the new form of publication.
• The profession of Engineer was one of the great inventions during this period.
• Light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison.
• Telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell.

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Science and Technology in the 19th Century

The following are significant events in the development of science and technology during the 19th century:

• Dmitri Mendeleev formulated the Periodic Table.

• Henry Becquerel discovered radioactivity.
• Marie Curie and Pierre Curie discovered radium.
• Joseph Thompson discovered the electron.
• Michael Faraday showed that a magnet can produce electricity.
• Samuel Morse invented the electric telegraph.
• Occupation of science became a paid profession.
• Scientific thought was much more generally known by the public.

Science and Technology in the 20th Century

The following are significant events in the development of science and technology during the 19th century:

• Larger number of scientists.

• Science became much more of a communal effort.
• Science became highly successful in explaining the nature of matter, mechanisms of chemical
reactions, fundamental processes of life, and the general structure of the universe.
• Enormous growth of automobile industry.
• Electricity revolutionized technology.
• Discoveries and inventions reached practical applications as a result of World War 2 (synthetic
rubber, radar, fusion and fission bombs, jet powered aircraft, helicopter, ballistic missiles,
nuclear weapons, and the electronic digital computer)
• Automation allowed many manufacturing processes to be done by less skilled workers.

Utilization of Learning

Applying Understanding: Answer the following questions. You can use a separate sheet of paper if your
answer won’t fit on the space provided.

1. What period do you think has the greatest success in Science and Technology? Explain your answer.

2. If you will be an inventor that will contribute to S&T, what product will you make and why?

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Activity: Drawing Technology
Choose one major achievement from any of the discussed periods and draw/sketch it on a short bond paper.
Write the achievement as the title of your work in the upper part of the front page and write the corresponding
period in the lower part. At the back of the paper, write a short report on how it works and what pushed it to be
invented or achieved.

Supplementary Materials

[qedcon] (2013, April 15). A Brief History of Science (2013) [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbKH35MqOJc
[Quill & Ink History] (2019, July 2). Medieval astronomy | Medieval Science History part 3. [Video File]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzwC6Wr9SQo
[Quill & Ink History] (2020, October 1). Medieval Medicine | Medieval Science History part 4. [Video File].
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg1R0M7AdaU
[Quill & Ink History] (2019, February 19). Science in the Dark Ages | Medieval Science History part 1. [Video
File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZLmr2IdrJc
[Quill & Ink History] (2019, June 9). The Twelfth century renaissance | Medieval Science History part 2. [Video
File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGTfpPy4f_E
The Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages. (2020). Essential Humanities. Retrieved from http://www.essential-
humanities.net/history-overview/stone-bronze-iron-ages/
[WatchMojo.com] (2014, May 22). Top 10 Influential Figures in Science and Technology [Video File]. Retrieved
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bhq5c6LoZo

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