Reading Assignment #2
pgs. 210-219

1) Explain why Boyle is called both the first and last alchemist?

Boyle spent years of searching for the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life. He doesn't reject alchemy but he doesn't swallow everything everyone tells him.


2) Of what practical use was Boyle's earlier works employed?

They were used to test to see if the metals presented were silver or gold.

3) Explain Boyle's law.

If you want to fit gas into a smaller space then you need to increase the amount of pressure on it.

4) What is the real significance of Boyle's Law to the development of modern scientific thought?

It inspired Isaac Newton who defined Volume, Mass, and Density. Which we still use today.

5) Based on this chapter, create a list of what the Greeks(notably Aristotle) seemed to have correctly theorized and a list of their disproved theories.

Approved

• air has mass and can exert pressure(Galileo)
• air in the atmosphere has a slightly different pressure at different times(Torricelli)
• the atmosphere is heavier at sea level than on the top of a mountain(Pascal)

Disproved

• air has no weight(Aristotle)