The chief figure of the scientific revolution of the seventeenth century was sir isaac newton. he was a physicist and mathematician who laid the foundations of calculus, extended the understanding of color and light, studied the mechanics of planetary motion, and discovered the law of gravitation. isaac newton's supreme scientific work was his system of universal gravitation. he went to his farm in 1665 to avoid the plague, and during this time he worked out the law of gravity and its consequences for the solar system. this law arose from newton's question: what keeps the moon in its regular path around the earth? he concluded that only their attraction for each other could account for it. he later remarked to a friend that he got the idea while watching an apple fall from a tree in his orchard. every particle of matter in the universe, he wrote, attracts every other particle with a force varying in inverse proportion to the square of the distance between them, and is directly proportional to the product of their masses. 1. the word "law" in line 4 most nearly means a principle. b rule. c legislation. d decree. 2. which of the following was not a contribution made by newton? a laying the foundation of calculus. b. discovering the law of gravitation c establishing the theory of relativity. d extending the understanding of color and light 3. the word "revolution" in line 1 most nearly means a uprising. b rotation. c battle. d upheaval. 4. the word "supreme" in line 4 most nearly means a god-like. b ideal. c greatest. d dominating. 5. which of the following scientific fields benefited the most from newton's work? a biology b chemistry c geology d astronomy 6. in the text, the phrase "every particle of matter attracts every other particle" means that every particle a repels other particles. b seeks other particles. c draws other particles to itself. d evades other particles. 7. according to the passage, the system of universal gravitation is newton's a least important scientific work. b most disputed scientific work. c most misunderstood scientific work. d most important scientific work. 8. isaac newton can best be described as a a biologist. b geologist. c physicist. d physician. 9. newton discovered the system of universal gravitation in the a sixteenth century b seventeenth century c eighteenth century d nineteenth century
