State your opinion on the following statement: The European natural scientists of the 17th century led the foundation of modern science.

Answer: I agree with the statement.

• During the Renaissance, scientists began to test ideas by observation, experiment and reasoning instead of accepting tradition.
• Galileo improved the telescope (1609) and supported the heliocentric theory of Copernicus; Kepler gave the laws of planetary motion.
• Isaac Newton gave the laws of motion and the law of gravitation; Robert Boyle laid the base of modern chemistry; William Harvey explained the circulation of blood.
• Francis Bacon and Descartes stressed the experimental and rational method. These developments laid the foundation of modern science.