Isaac+Newton

= Part 1- Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) =

**__ His Life __**
=== Isaac Newton was born on 4th of January 1643 (At the time, England had a different calendar so his birthday was recorded as December 25th 1642) in Woolsthorpe Manor, Lincolnshire, England. His father, also named Isaac Newton, was a prosperous farmer who died three months before he was born. His mother, Hannah Ayscough, remarried when Isaac Newton was three, and went to live with her new husband. Isaac Newton was left in the care of his grandmother. He didn't like his stepfather and his mother very much. ===

[[image:http://images.imagestate.com/Watermark/1156913.jpg width="247" height="360"]]This is a drawing of where he lived. This house is situated on St. Martin's street, Leicester Square, London.
=== Isaac Newton was educated at The King's School when he was twelve and stayed there until he was seventeen. After that, he went to Trinity College, Cambridge. During his time in Trinity College, he studied lots of material by modern philosophers like Descartes and astronomers like Galileo and Copernicus and Kepler. He was inspired by these famous astronomers, philosophers, and mathematicians. He developed a mathematical theory (infinitesimal calculus). In the same year, he obtained his bachelor's degree and the university closed down (temporarily) because of the Great Plague. While Trinity College was closed down, he went to back to Lincolnshire and did more work and studying on calculus, optics and the laws of gravitation. In 1665, he returned to Cambridge and was elected fellow of Trinity. In 1669, he became the mathematics professor of Trinity. ===

=== In 1672, he was elected into the Royal Society, which was an organization made up of scientists and intellectuals. He published a paper on his discoveries on optics shortly after, and developed a rivalry between fellow scientist Robert Hooke. Throughout the 1670s, Newton worked on mathematics, gravity, optics and other subjects. === === His discoveries were summarized in a book called the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principals of Natural Philosophy). Most people called this the Principia. ===

=== The Principia made Newton a celebrity in England, and he was elected into the Parliament in 1691. He had a nervous breakdown in 1693 but survived, and was appointed warden of the mint in 1696. Three years later, he was appointed master of the mint. In 1703, he was elected president of the Royal Society and was knighted in 1705. By this time, Robert Hooke had passed away. ===

**__ His Accomplishments __**
=== He discovered the laws of motion and universal gravitation, which he used to predict the movements of the stars and the moon in space. Isaac Newton, using his knowledge and discoveries in optics, invented the first reflecting telescope. He developed the color theory and the infinitesimal calculus. ===

__** Why is he considered as a groundbreaker? **__
=== He is one of the most influential scientists and mathematicians in human history! Without him, we'd be much less advanced than we are now. He was patient and hard working and he had a very clear goal in his mind. A ground breaker is someone who made history and broke a record or invented something or achieved something amazing. Since Isaac Newton discovered many important things (the laws of motion and universal gravitation), and had many interesting and useful theories about mathematics and science (the infinitesimal calculus and the color theory), he is definitely a ground breaker. ===

“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.”
=== “I was like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” ===

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=** Part 3 - Reflections **=

**__ What is success? __**
=== Success is when somebody or something achieves a desired goal or when somebody does something good. A success could be getting a very good grade in your test, or inventing something useful. Success is also showing improvement and focusing on your strengths and talents. If many people are successful, then life will be better for everyone. ===

**__ What personal qualities are needed for success? __**
=== Personal qualities that are needed for success: diligence, perseverance, talent/cleverness. You must never give up, even when you feel discouraged and unhappy, otherwise you will not reach success. You must have a positive attitude. You must also not procrastinate or things will never get done and you will not reach success. You cannot be lazy! ===

**__ Form your own definition of success (Ms. Rogge's Workshop) __**
=== I think that success is when you achieve your goal after lots of hard work and being totally committed to it, and by letting go of your negativity, working hard, and focusing. Letting coaches and teachers help you is also very good and an important part of success it to share it with everyone and thank the ones that helped you to reach it. I think it also means improving yourself and being helpful to yourself and to society. ===

**__ Why do people fall short of achieving their potential? __**
=== Sometimes people fall short of achieving their potential because they are too lazy or they do not try hard enough or they are not focused enough. Sometimes, they feel defeated and very negative so they give up and fall short of achieving their potential. ===

**__ Why does God want us to achieve our full potential? __**
=== God wants us to achieve our full potential because he created us and gave us many talents. We should use those talents to achieve our full potential and do the best we can do. He wants the best for us and wants us to be happy and have fulfillment. ===

-action
=== I learned that reaching success is not easy and it's a long way to go but if you never give up and if you have a positive attitude, you will get there someday and feel good that you have reached success and improved yourself (or gained something important). ===

**__ What do you think about this WIKI project - compared to a written assignment? What do you like and dislike? __**
=== I think this WIKI project was very interesting because we did most of our work on the computer and we did a lot of research about groundbreakers. Groundbreakers are very interesting! I learnt a lot about Isaac Newton. This is way better than a written assignment because wikispaces is more fun to use. I like that we can choose a groundbreaker to research on. I like the questions in part three because they make you think about important things about success and because they are fun to answer. I disliked the part where I had to write about Isaac Newton's life because that his life is hard to summarize and I spent a lot of time on it. ===

-Author: Dr Robert A Hatch, Title: Sir Isaac Newton, http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/ufhatch/pages/01-Courses/current-courses/08sr-newton.htm, Date: 13/10/10
=== -Author: Unknown, Title: Unknown, [], Date: 5/11/2010 === === -Author: Unknown, Title: Isaac Newton's house, St Martin's Street, Leicester Square, London, c1850. Artist: Unknown, [], Date: 5/12/2010 ===