ABOUT SIR ISAAC NEWTON
Have you ever wondered why an apple falls straight down to the ground? Or perhaps you've wondered why a rainbow has seven different colors? If you have, you're in good company. Sir Isaac Newton wondered about these things also. In fact, because of his curiosity, we understand the theory of gravity, the laws of motion and even color!
Sir Isaac Newton was born in Lincolnshire, England in the year 1643. He was a multifaceted person, which means he had many talents. He was a scientist, an inventor, a writer, a scholar, a mathematician and more. Although many of his contributions to the world are notable, one of his most known contributions is related to gravity and motion.
Newton’s Laws of Motion (of which there are three), were published in a book he wrote called the Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica) in 1687. The ideas in this book have helped to shape the way we understand the world today. They also serve as a foundation for many of the sciences, such as Physics.
The Color Wheel
Another one of Newton's important discoveries is related to color. If you've ever seen a color wheel or heard of primary colors, then you are familiar with one of Newton's discoveries. Newton studied the colors of the rainbow and light using prisms. These visible colors, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, which can be remembered as "ROY G BIV," form the color wheel. Check out the Light reflection & Color unit for more information.
These are just a couple of Newton's notable accomplishments. He made many other discoveries and contributed to the world we know today in profound ways.
***Note for Teachers: You can access more information about this website and find other resources for science inquiry on the ISP Tutor website.
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The TED project was funded in part by the Institute of Education Science (IES), Grant R305H060034, and in part by the National Science Foundation, Grant SBE035442. The ISP Tutor project was funded by IES, Grant R305A170176.
The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305A170176 to Carnegie Mellon University (Klahr Lab). The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.