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WEEK 1

GUIDELINES IN DISTINGUISHING AMONG THE SOME EXAMPLES OF MOLECULES AND THEIR

THREE TYPES OF BLONDS RESPECTIVE GEOMETRICAL SHAPES ARE THE
Type of Band Description of Difference in FOLLOWING:
Bond Electronegativity
pure covalent neutral atom 0.5 or lower HO is an AB, molecule with a bent geometry. Water is
band held together (generally polar.
by equally considered
CO, is an AB, molecule with a linear geometry. The
shared nonpolar]
bonds in CO, are polar, but the molecule is nonpolar.
electrons
polar covalent partially In between 0.5 NH, is an AB, molecule with a trigonal pyramidal
bond charged atoms and 20 bond by geometry.
held together (generally
unequally considered BF, is an AB, molecule with a trigonal planar
shared polar) geometry.
electrons
ionic bond oppositely 2.0 or higher
charged ions (generally
held together considered ionic]
by
electrostatic
attraction

POLARITY TO PROPERTIES OF MOLECULES

Molecular polarity is one of the most important

consequences of molecular geometry. It influences
the physical, chemical, and biological behavior of
substances. Molecular structure affects the properties
of a substance and how it interacts with other
chemical substances. This is greatly considered by
chemists in designing drugs. Chemists can design
drugs that could inhibit the action of some pathogenic
viruses and bacteria. An example of this is the
antiviral drug Tamiflu. It prevents the reproductive
budding of the influenza virus by binding effectively in
the active site of an important enzyme.

THESE ARE SEVERAL GEOMETRIC SHAPES OF

MOLECULES
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WEEK 2

Observation and description of motions of different Another motion observed by the early people was the
objects on Earth, in the sky, in the atmosphere, and in one called annual motion. Annual motion refers to
the universe, preoccupied early people. They noticed the events or phenomena that come annually or once
the movements of the moon, the sun, and various a year. Specifically, it refers to the motion of the Earth
objects in the sky. They noticed the rising of the sun in in its orbit around the sun because it takes a year to
the east and its setting in the west. They observed complete one revolution. The changing of the seasons
that the moon rises and sets in the same direction. was attributed to the revolution of the Earth around
They also saw how the moon changes in shape. These the sun.
motions gave them the basic division of day and night.
Early Greeks also observed another motion called
The idea of the Greeks regarding terrestrial motion precession of the equinoxes. This refers to the
was highly influenced by the thoughts of Aristotle. His gradual shift in the orientation of the Earth's axis of
philosophy was far more speculative than rotation. This is just like a wobbling top tracing out a
experimental. In Aristotle's world, everything on Earth pair of cones joined at their apices in a cycle which is
has its appointed place and function. Every object in approximately 26 000 years. Earth's precession is
this world could be categorized under the four referred to as the precession of the equinoxes. This
following elements: earth, water, air, and fire. so-called precession moves westward along the
Consider for example a rock. A rock is made mostly of ecliptic relative to the fixed stars. This is opposite the
earth and water. So its most rightful place is close to motion of the sun along the ecliptic. Historically, the
the center of Earth which is also the center of the credit for discovering precession of the equinoxes was
universe. The larger the rock is the greater its desire given to Hipparchus. His observations dated back to
to move closer to the center of Earth. Thus, if 147-127 B.C. This type of motion of Earth is caused by
someone carried this rock to a higher place, its natural the gravitational forces of the sun and the moon, and
motion would be to fall straight toward the center of to a lesser extent, other celestial bodies around Earth.
the Earth.
Concept of Spherical Earth
Objects made of fire and air naturally sought the outer
The concept of a spherical Earth dates back to around
spherical layers where fire and air rightly belonged.
6th century B.C. in ancient Indian philosophy and
According to Aristotle, natural motion is the result of
ancient Mediterranean thought. Aristotle supported
the movement of things trying to get to where they
the idea of a spherical Earth. He provided physical and
belong. Forced motion, on the other hand, is motion
observational arguments regarding this matter. He
that required intervention of an outside mover.
observed that every portion of the Earth tends toward
Objects not allowed to follow their natural motions
the center. Until sometime, by convergence or
would just sit still or would take a rest. Rest for them
compression, these portions form a sphere. He
is basic and motion required a cause.
noticed that travelers going south see southern
Aristotle also postulated that planets and stars were constellations rise higher above the horizon and that
made of a fifth element called quintessence. The the shadow of Earth on the moon during lunar eclipse
natural motion of these objects is a circular path, not is round. Stars seen in Egypt and Cyprus were not
up or down. Early people had observed that these seen in the northerly regions and this could only
celestial objects were moving in a circular path. happen in a curved surface. This led the ancient
Greeks to believe that Earth is a sphere.
There were other motions in the sky observed by early
people. One such motion was called diurnal motion Plato's "Saving the Appearances"
which is the apparent daily motion of the sky from
It was the job of a philosopher to "save the
east to west. This apparent movement of the heavens
appearances" by connecting reality with truth using
make celestial objects seem to rise from the east and
logic. It means that without violating any known
set in the west. These phenomena result from the
principle, one has to understand perceptions of reality
Earth's rotation from the east to the west. The axis of
through its transformation into what one knows to be
this apparent motion coincides with the Earth's axis of
true. This was known as the Socratic method
rotation. This is an everyday recurrence so it is called
diurnal motion, which means daily motion.
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The reality about planetary motions became a puzzle

to Plato. The appearances of the erratic motions of
the sun, moon, and planets were not perfect. This
presented a problem to Plato. He thought this to be
an offense to him. He could not find an explanation
for the observation that perfect things like planets
were moving imperfectly. To him, this must be an
offense that must be explained by saving the
appearances through discourse and logic.

He observed that the planets do not move at a

constant rate and moved in irregular retrograde loops.
He recognized that it needed to be explained in order
to have a logically integrated universe. He left this
problem to his students and to posterity to reconcile.
Hundreds of generations of scholars, thinkers, and
philosophers were influenced by Plato.

A student of Plato, Eudoxus (400 B.C.), used his skills

in geometry to envision a model of the universe. The
erratic motion of the planets could be explained while
still allowing for perfectly uniform and circular motion.
The model of Eudoxus was homocentric and
concentric spheres inside a sphere sharing a common
center which was the Earth. In the model of Eudoxus,
Earth was shared as a common center of spheres
inside a sphere.

Eudoxus and Aristotle, both students of Plato,

established a paradigm that involved the circles in the
world view of the West. The circular shapes of the
planetary motions of the circular paradigm continued
to influence the cosmology of the Western thought
until the 16th century. Philosophers and thinkers
thought that it was more difficult to break the circular
paradigm than abandoning geocentrism which was an
Earth-centered universe.

Tycho Brahe; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally

called Tycho was a Danish astronomer, known for his
comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate
astronomical observations. He was known during his
lifetime as an astronomer, astrologer, and alchemist.
He was the last major astronomer before the
invention of the telescope.

Aristarchus of Samos was an ancient Greek

astronomer and mathematician who presented the
first known heliocentric model that placed the Sun at
the center of the known universe, with the Earth
revolving around the Sun once a year and rotating
about its axis once a day. Wikipedia
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WEEK 3

MODELS OF ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA rotates on its axis. It also revolves with the other
planets around the Sun in circular orbits. His theory
The universe is an intriguing topic with diverse views
was so controversial during his time that he had to
on what it is. We still ponder which theory to accept
work secretly to avoid persecution. During the last
as truth, even after studying various philosophies.
days of his life, his close friends persuaded him to
Scientific consensus models are based on research,
send his work to the printer. He received the first copy
but there is no agreement on a universal model.
of his work, De Revolutionibus, on the day he died. It
Different Models of the Universe was Galileo who first recognized Copernicus idea of a
moving Earth as reasonable.
Aristotle, a renowned philosopher, and scientist in
ancient Greece, failed to envision motion without Examples of Astronomical Phenomena Before the
friction due to his lack of recognition of the concept of Advent of the Telescope
inertia. He believed that all motion was met with
Around 1600, the telescope was invented and refined
resistance, and this belief was fundamental to his
by physicists such as Galileo and Newton to study the
theory of motion. According to him, motion was
solar system. Prior to the telescope's invention,
classified as either natural or violent. Natural motion
astronomers developed various methods to study the
was believed to be straight up or down, while violent
solar system, Earth, and the universe.
motion resulted from a push or pull. Rest was the
natural state of objects unless they were moved. After discovering that the Ptolemaic Alfonsine tables
and the Prutenic table failed to predict the
Moving Earth would demand a massive force,
conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn by several days,
indicating that it remained still. Aristotle believed that
Tycho Brahe initiated a program to develop a model
circular motion was natural, so the planets and stars
and correct the discrepancies. He observed 777 stars
orbited Earth in perfect circles without any external
and several planets using only a large sextant and
forces. According to his model, the universe consisted
compass. He was able to establish accuracy in defining
of layers, with Earth at the center and made up of
the positions of the planets Jupiter and Saturn. He
Earth, water, air, and fire. The planets were connected
also found the 1577 comet moving in space among
to transparent spheres centered on the Earth.
the planets which meant that these heavenly bodies
Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer from Alexandria, were not supported on fixed spheres.
revised Aristotle's model to reflect precise
TYCHONIC MODEL OF THE UNIVERSE
observations of planetary motion. He proposed the
Ptolemaic system. which placed Earth at the He also developed accurate tables of planetary
stationary center of the celestial sphere. According to motions. Through Tycho Brahe's observations of Mars,
his system, each planet moved around Earth in loops, Kepler discovered that planets do not move in circles.
while the Sun and Moon traveled in circular orbits. In Copernicus assumed that planets move in ellipses
his model, the Sun orbited Earth once a day, and the where the focus is the Sun. This justified Kepler's
Moon moved much slower than the Sun. assumptions for the physical cause of planetary
motion.
Aristotle's and Ptolemy's models faced opposition
from the beginning. In 280 B.C.. Aristarchus of Samos, Comparison of Copernican, Ptolemaic, and Tychonic
a Greek astronomer, and mathematician, proposed a Models
revolutionary model placing the Sun at the center
Historic astronomers used different models to explain
with Earth revolving around it. However, this idea was
astronomical phenomena by making observations and
not widely accepted since the apparent relative
logical reasoning. These models included the
motion of stars was too small to be detected by the
Copernican, Ptolemaic, and Tychonic models of the
available instruments. Despite the lack of support,
universe.
Aristarchus continued to challenge the geocentric
models of Aristotle and Ptolemy, which were THE PTOLEMAIC MODEL (BY CLAUDIUS PTOLEMY)
dominant during that time.
Was a geocentric model where the Earth is the center
Nicolaus Copernicus, an astronomer, formulated his of the universe. The planets and the Sun revolved
theory of the moving Earth. He explained that Earth around the Earth. This model was formalized in the
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2nd century A.D. and was accepted for 400 years. The on them. These are known as Kepler's three laws of
dominant views of Aristotle and Ptolemy held that the planetary motion.
Earth was the center of the universe. Terrestrial
First law
objects naturally moved toward the Earth. In contrast,
celestial objects moved in perfect circles. Planets move in elliptical orbits. The paths of the
planets are ellipses with the Sun at one focus.
In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus, a Polish astronomer,
made a radical suggestion that the planets orbit the Second Law
Sun and not the Earth. But he maintained that the
motions of celestial objects, like those of the planets, An imaginary line from the planet to the Sun sweeps
were only in perfect circles. These motions were equal areas in equal time intervals whether the planet
unlike the terrestrial ones. On the other hand, the is close to or far from the Sun. Planets move the
Tychonic model showed that the Sun and the Moon fastest when they are closest to the Sun.
circled the Earth while the planets orbited the Sun. Third Law
This was more or less equivalent to Copernicus' idea
of the universe. The ratio of the squares of the periods (T) of the
planets is proportional to the cubes of their mean
Galileo's Astronomical Observations distances (R) from the Sun. This can be expressed
In 1609, Galileo built his first telescope and began mathematically as
making observations of the heavenly bodies. T^2/R^3 = k or T^2 = KR^3
Among his discoveries and observations were the where k is the constant of proportionality. This
lunar craters on the moon. He also observed the four relationship applies to all the planets.
largest moons of Jupiter. He discovered the sunspots
on the Sun which confirm that the Sun rotates and the This mathematical expression can be used to find the
planets orbit around the Sun and not around Earth. period of any planet or its mean distance from the
This is another evidence against the geocentric theory Sun if one of them is known. To find the value of k for
of the universe by Ptolemy. He also confirmed that the Sun, the known value of the Earth's orbit could be
the orbits of the planets were circular in shape which used
was later proven to be wrong by Kepler. Kepler found
out through mathematical analysis of Brahe's data
that the orbits of planets are ellipses where the Sun is
at one of the foci of the ellipse.

Galileo conducted public lectures on a supernova he

observed in 1604, explaining it as a new star well
beyond the moon. Using parallax, he was able to
demonstrate that the new star was well beyond the
moon. Galileo believed fixed stars were like the Sun,
very far from Earth and couldn't be perceived in
movement. His observations of Venus provided strong
evidence for Copernicus' heliocentric theory and
weakened Ptolemy's theory. He observed Venus
exhibiting a full range of phases, indicating that the
distance between Earth and Venus was not constant.

KEPLER'S LAWS OF PLANETARY MOTION

Before the invention of the telescope. Tycho Brahe

made precise measurements and observations of the
positions of stars, the Sun, Moon, and planets. After
Tycho Brahe's death in 1601, Johannes Kepler, his
assistant, analyzed all the recorded data and
formulated the three laws of planetary motion based