Project Reflection

Ben
Project Reflection

The Renaissance Ball Project Reflection

Project Title: The Renaissance Ball Project
Class: A Dates: 6/5/08
Purpose:
In this project we were supposed to learn about the Renaissance time period and the people during the time. We had to research the different origins, accomplishments, and historical impact from the Renaissance. One of the things we did was learn about the city of Florence, since it was one of the most popular cities during the time. Some of the people we learned about were Dante Alighieri, Leonardo d Vinci, Michelangelo, and Galileo, along with the specific person each one of us picked to take the role of.
In order to enhance our learning of the Renaissance, we all took up a role of a famous person of that time. We had to write a (auto) biography or a series of diary entries about the person. At the end of the project, we had a ball and dressed up as our figure. We also learned a dance before hand to perform at the ball.
What I Learned:
In this project, I learned about the geographical location of where the Renaissance was, which was in the Europe area. I also learned that Renaissance means “re-birth” in French. One of the major things that happened during the Renaissance was the Black Death which traveled through Europe on rats. The Black Death was very important because there was no cure, and those who were infected with it suffered. Most of the results from having the disease were death. I learned that the Black Death was carried by fleas that traveled on rats, and those rats went on wagons and ships that traded with other regions. Because of this, it traveled quickly, and killed many.
What I learned about my Renaissance person, Johannes Kepler, was that he was the scientist who discovered that the planets revolve around the Earth in an ellipse rotation instead of a perfect circle, which was thought at the time. He was the first to discover and prove that you needed both eyes for depth perception, and he was also the first to explain how a telescope works. Along as making scientific discoveries, he proclaimed that Jesus was born five years before most people thought, and in result, was kicked out of his church. But to this day, we agree with Kepler.
Reflection:
I did not particularly like this project because there was a lot of research, and not much hands on activities, unless you include the computer. Another reason was that I couldn’t find much information on my person, so that made it a bit harder. I think another one of my challenges was the new seating places, and I was constantly getting distracted and not doing work.
I think I could’ve done better on this project because my biography was barely three pages long, and it took me the entire time. I think that I could make it better by researching and taking notes earlier on, so I didn’t have to go back and look for more information. Since I am usually a quick worker, I was expecting to do more than one extension options, ended up doing none.
If I got to do this project again, I would definitely try to be more efficient in working, and move to a different place so that I wouldn’t get as distracted. I would also try and do more extension options for more points. The last thing I would change would be picking a person and staying with them, because I kept changing my person and wasted a day because of it.
Artifacts:
I can put my biography on my Dp, and this reflection.

Biography of Johannes Kepler

Johannes Kepler Biography

Johannes Kepler was born on December 27, 1571. His parents were not very educated, and he suffered from shocks of severe illness. When he was four years old, he lost his smallpox and crippled hands. He went to school when he was six years old in Leonberg. This was at a time when his family was experiencing bankruptcy, so Kepler started working in the fields for a couple years. In 1584, he went to a school of theology in Adelberg, and two years later moved to another religious school in Mualbronn. When Kepler was 17, he went to a university where he learned about the Copernican principles which was that the planets revolved around the sun.
Kepler's family were a lot different than him. His mother, Catherine Guldenmann, was not that educated. She was the daughter of the burgomaster of Eltingen, so his grand father was the burgomaster of Eltingen. Along with not being educated, she was not disciplined either. Catherine was also accused of being a witch. Kepler's father, Henry Kepler, was a was a soldier and Lord Mayor of Weil der Stadt. After he lost everything from unsuccessful tavern keeping, he left his family in 1588.
Kepler had two wives, but not at the same time. His first was Barbara Muehleck. She died eventually after they had five children. His other wife, Susanna Reutlinger, and had seven children, and Kepler out lived her also.
In Kepler's adult life, he contributed to making some of the first almanacs, and realized that he needed to study astrology first. He thought that there had to be a reason for everything, and wrote a biography about how the position of the stars changed his life. He was most famous for his laws of Planetary Motions.



His laws are the following:
1.The orbits of the planets are ellipses, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse.
2.The line joining the planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times as the planet travels around the ellipse.
3.The ratio of the squares of the revolutionary periods for two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their semimajor axes:
Ta2 / Tb2 = Ra3 / Rb3
Kepler's life in 1611 was not one of the happiest for him. His first child and wife died from smallpox. He also told his pastor, Hitzler, that Jesus Christ was born five years before most people thought, and resulted on being thrown out of the church. In 1612, Kepler had to defend his mother from being accused of witchcraft.
Johannes Kepler made a difference in history because he proved that the planets revolve in an ellipse rotation, when at the time, people thought that the planets revolve in a perfect circle. This was significant because people didn't go against what others thought during that time. He also did a lot of studying about human eyes, and was the first to figure out that you needed both eyes for depth perception and was able to prove it. He was also the first to explain how a telescope works, even though he didn't invent it. He is connected to the renaissance because he was a famous scientist of that time, and now.



Some adjectives I would use to describe Johannes Kepler would be:
Smart- he figured out that the planets revolve around the sun in an ellipse rotation in stead of circular.
Brave- He went against his pastor and the rest of society and said that Jesus was born five years before most people thought and ended up being right.
Some important dates in Kepler's life include:
In 1571 Kepler is born in Leonberg
In 1589, Kepler starts going to school at Swabian University
In 1600 Kepler Starts working with Tycho Brahe, another scientist who had theories about the solar system
In 1601 Kepler was named Imperial Mathematician
In 1609 Kepler publishes his first book, Astronimia Nova
In 1611 Kepler was named Provincial Mathematician
In 1630 Kepler dies










Bibliography:
"Johannes Kepler." NNDB. Soylent Communications. 19 May 2008 .

Drennon, Bill L. "Kepler's Laws." 14 Mar. 1997. 19 May 2008 .

"Johannes Kepler: The." Astronomy 161. 21 May 2008 .

Callman, Hhase, Havid Dutchins, and Mam Sinchew. "Kepler's Timeline." The Wonderful World of Math and Astronomy. 22 May 2008 .

"Johannes Kepler: His Life, His Laws and Times." Kepler Mission, a Search for Habital Planets. NASA. 2 June 2008 .