History of Science 1

Which of these is not true about the Song Renaissance in China (950 – 1280 CE)?

• There was a publishing boom

• The Song emperors wanted to rediscover the classical past

• The civil service examinations were expanded

• Scientists began to specialise in particular fields

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The most famous scientists of the Song dynasty, Su Song and Shen Kuo, both worked for the Song Emperor.

• True

• False

The Song dynasty had the world’s first national library:

• True

• False

All four of China’s four great inventions (paper marking, the magnetic compass, gunpowder and movable type printing) were invented in the Song Golden Age?

• True

• False

Which reason for the Song dynasty decline was given by the lecturer?

• The Song Empire became too big and unmanageable

• The Song scholars’ thinking became too abstract and philosophical

• The Song were invaded by the Mongols

• The Song were too isolated from other cultures

Which of these is not true about the Islamic Golden Age

• Islam promotes scholarship

• The Islamic Empire created scientific journals and scientific societies to discuss, critique and spread knowledge

• The Islamic Empire had a vibrant translation movement and excellent libraries

• The Islamic Empire needed technology and know-how to run a vast empire

Which Islamic Golden Age scientist conducted rigorous experiments which are similar to the modern scientific method:

• Al-Biruni

• Al-Haytham

• Al-Khwarizmi

• Al-Tusi

Which of these medical innovations was not discovered in the Islamic Golden Age?

• The discovery of pulmonary circulation

• The discovery that tuberculosis was infectious

• The first operation to remove cataracts from the eye

• The use of ether to anesthetise patients undergoing surgery

Al-Biruni climbed up a mountain in Pakistan with an astrolabe to…

• Map the stars in the Milky Way

• Map the topography of the region

• Calculate the age of the earth

• Calculate the circumference of the earth

Which of these is not a reason for the decline of the Islamic Golden Age in the 13^th to 16^th century?

• Religious conservatism

• Invasions from outside the empire

• The Ottoman Empire was more interested in religion, the military, building and economic wealth than science

• They did not have libraries to preserve and disseminate their knowledge