Scientific method

What is a scientific law?

A scientific law is a concise verbal statement or a mathematical equation that summarizes a broad variety of observations and experiences. We tend to think of the laws of nature as the basic rules under which nature operates. However, it is not so much that matter obeys the laws of nature, but rather that the laws of nature describe the behavior of matter.

Theory and model

At many stages of our studies, we may propose explanations of why nature behaves in a particular way. If a hypothesis is sufficiently general and is continually effective in predicting facts yet to be observed, it is called a theory or model.

What is a theory?

A theory is an explanation of the general principles of certain phenomena with considerable evidence or facts to support it.
As we proceed through this text, we will rarely have the opportunity to discuss the doubts, conflicts, clashes of personalities, and revolutions of perception that have led to our present ideas. We need to be aware that just because we can spell out the results of science so concisely and neatly in textbooks does not mean that scientific progress is smooth, certain, and predictable. Some of the ideas we have presented in this text took centuries to develop and involved large numbers of scientists. We gain our view of the natural world by standing on the shoulders of the scientists who came before us.