Which of the following best describes the scientific revolution?

•it was a minor change in thinking about the universe that synthesized church doctrine with significant classical ideas

•it was a new way of thinking about the universe that replaced church teachings with insights from classical thought

• it was a major change in thinking about the universe that reflected reforms of church teachings and classical concepts

•it was a new way of thinking about the universe that differed greatly from both classical thought and church teachings

The statement that best describes the Scientific Revolution is (b) "it was a new way of thinking about the universe that replaced church teachings with insights from classical thought".

The Scientific Revolution refers to the birth of modern science that led to considerable advances in physics, chemistry, mathematics and astronomy during the 17th century. Discoveries such as Copernicus' heliocentric theory, Kepler's laws of planetary motion, and Galilei's improvement of the telescope changed the way in which people conceived the world as well as the position they they thought to be occupying in it. Before the emergence of the Scientific Revolution, everyone believed in the Church teachings. The Church argued that the Earth was motionless and at the center of the Universe. However, when new scientific ideas that contradicted the Church teachings arose, people started to question the Church and some of the beliefs the institution spread. In that way, God was slowly replaced by science.

Furthermore, the Scientific Revolution was built upon the influence of the scientific discoveries during the Ancient Greek period. Aristotle's ideas played an important role since he was the one that believed the Earth was at the center of a spherical hierarchic cosmos. Moreover, the Ptolemaic model of planetary motion created by Claudius Ptolemy, who lived in Rome around 100 AD, also influenced different scientists during the Scientific Revolution.