Scientific Laws and Theories
Jaime Tanner, a professor of biology at Marlboro College defines theory as, “Most people use the word ‘theory’ to mean an idea or hunch that someone has, but in science the word ‘theory’ refers to the way that we interpret facts.” Theories can be improved or modified as more information is gathered so that the accuracy of the prediction becomes greater over time. Theories explain observations we see during the scientific process.
A scientific law is a statement that describes an observable occurrence in nature that appears to always be true. It is something that can be seen with our eyes and recorded over and over. What we see has to happen on its own, independently. It can only describe the occurrence what was observed which can be used to make future predictions based on the natural occurring observations that happen over and over, or a law.
What is a scientific or Natural law?
This article explains that a law in science is a generalized rule to explain a body of observations in the form of a verbal or mathematical statement. While scientific laws (also known as natural laws) imply a cause and effect between the observed elements and must always apply under the same conditions. Laws can be found as “true”, but with more data collected there is room for error making the law not “true”.
This article brought to light that even though it is called a law it doesn’t mean that it is sound. A law is more closely related to a theory than fact. There are known laws out that that we use everyday, but as our data changes the law could too. It also explains that the English definition of a theory and the scientific definition of theory. The scientific method allows us to formulate ideas and back them with evidence. They are then shared with a community of other scientists that rigorously try to disprove them. If no one can disprove a hypothesis, it becomes the current working theory. Both theories and laws can be proven wrong when there is enough data to back the claim.
