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Science

Science covers the broad field of knowledge that deals with observed facts and the relationships among those facts. The word science comes from the Latin word scientia, which means knowledge. Scientists study a wide variety of subjects. For example, some scientists search for clues to the origin of the universe. Other researchers examine the structure of molecules in the cells of living plants and animals. Still others investigate why we act the way we do, or try to solve complicated mathematical problems. But in whatever field they work, all scientists explore the workings of the world.

Scientists use systematic methods of study to make observations and collect facts. They then work to develop theories that help them order or unify related facts. Scientific theories consist of general principles or laws that attempt to explain how and why something happens or happened. Science advances as scientists accumulate more detailed facts and gain a better understanding of these fundamental principles and laws.

A theory developed by a scientist cannot be accepted as part of scientific knowledge until it has been verified by the studies and experiments of other researchers. In fact, for any knowledge to be truly scientific, it must be repeatedly tested experimentally and found to be true. This characteristic of science sets it apart from other branches of knowledge. For example, the humanities, which include religion, philosophy, and the arts, deal with ideas about human nature and the meaning of life. Such ideas cannot be scientifically proved. There is no test that tells whether a philosophical system is "right." No one can determine scientifically what feeling an artist tried to express in a painting. Nor can anyone perform an experiment to check for an error in a poem or a symphony.

Science also differs from other types of knowledge in that scientific progress depends on new ideas expanding or replacing old ones. Great works of art...