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THEORY,LAW,FACT
WHAT IS THE BASIC
ASSUMPTION OF SCIENCE?
Nature is OrderlyWith this assumption we can explain
phenomenon using scientific theories
SP
EC
UL
AT
ION
A sp
ecu
latio
n is a
gen
era
l sta
tem
en
t ab
ou
t natu
re
that is co
nstru
cted
with
ou
t fa
ct (or e
nou
gh
fact)
Scie
ntifi
c specu
latio
n is a
le
gitim
ate
part o
f the
scien
tific p
roce
ss that
develo
ps e
arly
ideas th
at
are
not y
et ro
bu
st en
ou
gh
to b
e a
testa
ble
, fa
lsifiab
le o
r worth
y o
f b
ein
g a
more
form
al
"hyp
oth
esis
".
QU
ES
TIO
NS
:
Wh
at m
ake
s up
a th
eory
?
Wh
at is S
pecu
latio
n?
Wh
at is th
e d
iffere
nce
betw
een
a scie
ntifi
c law
an
d a
scien
tific
fact?
Wh
at th
eorie
s/facts/la
ws d
o y
ou
kn
ow
?
SC
IEN
TIF
IC
FAC
T
Am
azin
g fa
cts
: Did
you
kn
ow
that
there
are
206 b
on
es in
the a
du
lt h
um
an
bod
y a
nd
there
are
300 in
ch
ildre
n (a
s th
ey g
row
som
e o
f the
bon
es fu
se to
geth
er).
Th
e lo
ng
est liv
ing
cells
in th
e b
od
y
are
bra
in c
ells
wh
ich
can
live a
n
en
tire life
time.
Th
e c
osm
os c
on
tain
s a
pp
roxim
ate
ly
50,0
00,0
00,0
00 g
ala
xie
s.
Th
ere
are
betw
een
100,0
00,0
00,0
00
an
d 1
,000,0
00
,000,0
00 s
tars
in a
n
orm
al g
ala
xy.
Hyd
rofl
uoric
acid
will d
issolv
e g
lass
A fact is an objective,verifiable observation.It is the same everywhere.It can and has been,verified many times.
It is a sta
tem
en
t inte
nd
ed
to
exp
lain
a p
hen
om
en
on
.
How
certa
in is a
theory
?
Man
y p
eop
le sa
y it’s a
gu
ess o
r sp
ecu
latio
n, w
hich
is how
sta
nd
ard
En
glish
use
s the w
ord
Th
eory
Wh
en
a scie
ntist sp
eaks a
bou
t a
theory
it mean
s som
eth
ing
co
mp
lete
ly d
iffere
nt:
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE THEORY?
Scien
tific Th
eory:
An
ex
pla
na
tion
of h
ow
an
d w
hy
a
na
tura
l ph
en
om
en
on
be
ha
ve
s th
e
wa
y it d
oe
s th
at is
co
nfirm
ed
by
all
av
aila
ble
ev
ide
nc
e s
uc
h th
at it
co
uld
be
us
ed
to p
red
ict n
ew
,as
y
et u
no
bs
erv
ed
ph
en
om
en
a
SC
IEN
TIF
IC
TH
EO
RY
Exam
ple
s o
f Scie
ntifi
c T
heory
:
Th
e th
eory
of re
lativ
ity: th
at
the la
ws o
f ph
ysics a
re th
e sa
me
for a
ll ob
serv
ers
Th
e th
eory
of e
volu
tion
by
natu
ral s
ele
ctio
n: th
at th
e
ob
serv
ed
chan
ges in
specie
s occu
r du
e to
non
-ran
dom
se
lectio
n o
f well a
dap
ted
sp
ecim
en
s over le
ss well
ad
ap
ted
specim
en
s
Th
e B
ig B
an
g T
heory
:that th
e
un
iverse
beg
an
as a
n in
fin
itely
sm
all p
oin
t that u
nd
erw
en
t exp
an
sion
to fo
rm th
e u
niv
erse
as w
e k
now
it tod
ay.
AR
E T
HE
FO
LL
OW
ING
T
HE
OR
IES
OR
FAC
TS
?
Som
e illn
esse
s are
cau
sed b
y
micro
scopic o
rganism
s. The g
erm
theory
of illn
ess.
That th
e p
lanets in
our so
lar sy
stem
orb
it aro
und th
e su
n.
The h
elio
centric so
lar sy
stem
.
That th
e E
arth
is round, a
nd n
ot fl
at, o
r so
me o
ther sh
ape.
The ro
und e
arth
theory
That a
ll matte
r is made u
p o
f ato
ms.
The a
tom
ic theory
of m
atte
r
Wh
y a
re th
ese “
facts
” s
till con
sid
ere
d th
eorie
s?
Th
ey a
re in
deed
facts,
bu
t they still fi
t into
th
e d
efin
ition
of
theory
beca
use
they
inte
nd
to
exp
lain
HO
W
DO
Y
OU
F
OR
M A
T
HE
OR
Y?
TH
EO
RYF
ACT
Most th
eorie
s can
not e
ver
be tra
nsfo
rmed
into
fact.
A th
eory
is a
g
en
era
l sta
tem
en
t in
ten
ded
to
exp
lain
facts
EV
OL
UT
IO
NTh
e th
eory
of e
volu
tion
by
natu
ral s
ele
ctio
n
Evolu
tion
fact
Scie
ntists co
nsid
ere
d e
volu
tion
a
fact b
efo
re D
arw
in p
rop
ose
d h
is th
eory
of n
atu
ral s
ele
ctio
n.
SC
IEN
TIF
IC
LA
W
A law is similar to a theory in that it can be used to make predictions, but is less general and tends to be more mathematical in nature.
EX
AM
PL
ES
OF
S
CIE
NT
IFI
C
LA
WS
: New
ton
’s Law
s of m
otio
n:
state
men
ts ab
ou
t how
larg
e
ob
jects m
ad
e o
f ato
ms b
eh
ave
wh
en
movin
g a
t low
speed
s re
lativ
e to
each
oth
er.
Th
e La
ws o
f Th
erm
od
yn
am
ics: sta
tem
en
ts ab
ou
t en
trop
y,
tem
pera
ture
, an
d th
erm
al
eq
uilib
rium
.
Law
of G
ravity
: Every
particle
attra
cts every
oth
er p
article
with
a fo
rce th
at is p
rop
ortio
nal to
th
e p
rod
uct o
f their m
asse
s an
d
inverse
ly p
rop
ortio
nal to
the
dista
nce
betw
een
them
.
LA
WS
MA
Y B
E P
RO
VE
N
FAL
SE
, SO
WH
Y D
O W
E
KE
EP
TH
EM
?
New
ton
’s law
s of m
otio
n b
reak
dow
n w
hen
the o
bje
cts are
very
sm
all o
r movin
g v
ery
fast
rela
tive to
oth
er o
bje
cts. Wh
y
do w
e ke
ep
them
?B
eca
use
in e
very
day w
orld
situ
atio
ns th
ey a
re v
ery
good
at
pre
dictin
g. E
ng
ineers u
se th
em
fo
r desig
nin
g sky
scrap
ers a
nd
tra
vel th
rou
gh
space
is possib
le
beca
use
of th
em
even
thou
gh
th
ey a
re n
ot a
lways co
rrect.
Rem
em
ber a
lso th
at m
ost la
ws
have n
ever b
een
pro
ven
to
be fa
lse!
SU
MM
AR
Y:
A th
eory
is con
structe
d m
ost o
f all fro
m fa
cts.
Th
eorie
s con
tain
law
s, bu
t law
s m
ean
very
little w
ithou
t facts.
Th
eorie
s also
con
tain
log
ical
infe
ren
ces th
at ta
lk ab
ou
t how
w
e kn
ow
wh
at w
e kn
ow
.
Accu
mu
latin
g a
ll of th
ese
, the
scien
tist make
s a g
en
era
l sta
tem
en
t to e
xp
lain
all th
e
evid
en
ce. O
ther scie
ntists
reaffi
rm th
e fa
cts an
d u
se th
e
theory
to m
ake
pre
dictio
ns a
nd
ob
tain
new
facts.
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