William Gilbert (physicist)

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/william-gilbert-physicist

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was William Gilbert (physicist) born?May 24, 1544
2. When did William Gilbert (physicist) die?December 10, 1603 (age 59)
3. Where was William Gilbert (physicist) born?Colchester, Essex, England
4. What is the career?Physician to Queen Elizabeth I, President of the Royal College of Physicians
5. What is the key publication?'De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus, et de Magno Magnete Tellure Physiologia Nova' (1600)
6. What did William Gilbert discover about Earth?He found that Earth is a giant magnet, which explains why compasses always point north.

Empirical Evidence: Information gained through observation and experimentation rather than theory or logic.
Versorium: Gilbert's term for a small magnetic needle used to detect magnetic forces.
Scientific Method: A systematic process of observation, measurement, experimentation, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.