The Alexandrian Library in Problematizing Activities in Physics Teaching

Abstract

The study of Astronomy in High School in a Physics course takes place, in general, in the 1st year and as a topic inserted in Mechanics. Most textbooks seek to address, mainly, Kepler's three laws (1571-1630), Newton's universal gravitation (1643-1727) and a brief study of the gravitational field. This article, through secondary sources, sought to address historical aspects of the Astronomy of the ancient Greeks, discussing important characters such as Eratosthenes of Cyrene (276-196 BC) and his experience in determining the circumference of the Earth, to which a section of the article is dedicated. The relevant role of the Library of Alexandria in the concentration of scientific culture in the ancient world also gains a section in this work in which it is discussed, considering its dominating objectives over other cultures and peoples of the time, the exclusion of the content of the Alexandrian library from the popular layers and, consequently, intensify control over them. Finally, and exploring simple technological resources such as audiovisual ones, a set of two problematizing activities is elaborated for the teaching-learning of these historical clippings, which enables an interdisciplinary communication between Physics, Astronomy, History and Philosophy with emphasis on the contributions of the ancient Greeks, although such activities do not lose their ballast with current demands that demand, in the face of attacks by ultraconservative sectors within the scope of Brazilian public education (denialism, terraplanismo, homeschooling, Escola sem Partido, etc.), a critical, transformative and listed teaching of Physics with the future.