GALILEO AND HIS TELESCOPE

•  Galileo Galilei was born way back in the year 1564 in the town of Pisa, Italy. When he was 20 years old, he was   studying in Pisa. His father wanted him to be a doctor, but Galileo was bored with school except for math. Because math was the one subject where he was doing well, the court mathematician offered to tutor him privately so he could become a qualified mathematician.  Galileo’s father was disappointed, but he agreed.

• Because he needed to earn money, Galileo began experimenting with different things, trying to come up with some sort of invention that he could sell for money. He had a little bit of success with his invention that was kind of like a compass that could be used to measure plots of land. He had already experimented with pendulums, thermometers, and magnets.

• When he heard that a Dutch inventor had invented something called a spyglass, but was keeping it a secret, Galileo decided to work on one of his own.  Within 24 hours, he had invented a telescope that could magnify things to make them appear ten times larger than real life. One night, he pointed his telescope toward the sky, and made his first of many space observations: the moon was not smooth, like everyone thought. The moon was covered in bumps and craters. As technology has improved, first Galileo, and then many others, have made improvements on the telescope, the wonderful device that allows us to see from a distance.

Name:__________________________________

Answer the following questions based on the reading passage. Do not forget to go back to the passage whenever necessary to find or confirm   your answers.

1)  Galileo’s father was disappointed when he became a mathematician. What did he want him to be instead?

2)   Why did Galileo become an inventor?

3)  Where did Galileo get the idea for his   telescope?

4)  What did Galileo discover about the moon?

5)  Do you think Galileo’s inventions made a difference in the world? How?