Science | Definition, Disciplines, & Facts

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However, studying nature to understand it purely for its own sake seems to have had its start among the pre-Socratic philosophers of the 6th century BCE, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Thales-of-Miletus\">Thales<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Anaximander\">Anaximander<\/a>." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>How is science related to math?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Science uses <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/mathematics\">mathematics<\/a> extensively as a powerful tool in the further understanding of phenomena. Sometimes scientific discoveries have inspired mathematicians, and at other times scientists have realized that forms of mathematics that were developed without any regard for their usefulness could be applied to understanding the physical world." } } , { "@type" : "Question", "name" : "<div>Where was science invented?<\/div><em><\/em>", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "All peoples have studied the natural world, but most ancient peoples studied it for practical purposes, such as paying attention to natural cycles to know when to plant crops. It does not seem to have been until the 6th century BCE that the pre-Socratic philosophers (who lived in what is now Turkey and Greece) began seeking to understand nature as an end in itself." } } ] } </script> <div class="top-questions qa-accordion d-flex flex-column module-spacing"><div class="font-weight-bold font-14 mb-5"> Top Questions </div><div id="intent-accordion" class="md-intent-accordion"><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="1"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>When did science begin?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Observing the natural world and paying attention to its patterns has been part of human history from the very beginning. However, studying nature to understand it purely for its own sake seems to have had its start among the pre-Socratic philosophers of the 6th century BCE, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thales-of-Miletus" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Thales</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Anaximander" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Anaximander</a>.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="2"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>How is science related to math?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>Science uses <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/mathematics" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">mathematics</a> extensively as a powerful tool in the further understanding of phenomena. Sometimes scientific discoveries have inspired mathematicians, and at other times scientists have realized that forms of mathematics that were developed without any regard for their usefulness could be applied to understanding the physical world.</p></div></div></div><div class="top-question bg-gray-50 rounded" data-value="3"><h3 class="accordion--question font-14 font-weight-normal cursor-pointer rounded"><div class="pe-none d-flex justify-content-between align-items-center"><div>Where was science invented?</div><em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_more"></em></div></h3><div class="accordion--answer hidden p-15 pt-5 font-16 mb-5"><div class="accordion--answer-copy"><p>All peoples have studied the natural world, but most ancient peoples studied it for practical purposes, such as paying attention to natural cycles to know when to plant crops. It does not seem to have been until the 6th century BCE that the pre-Socratic philosophers (who lived in what is now Turkey and Greece) began seeking to understand nature as an end in itself.</p></div></div></div></div></div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="https://indianexpress.com/article/news-today/plastic-waste-researchers-find-suggest-policies-address-issue-9671395/lite/" rel="nofollow">Plastic waste could double by 2050, researchers find, suggest policies to address issue</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 15, 2024, 5:13 AM ET (The Indian Express) </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="227183" data-asm-type="video"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media " data-type="video" video-id="154842"><a data-id="154842" class="gtm-assembly-link d-flex justify-content-center" style="--aspect-ratio: 16/9" href="/video/Kara-Rogers-difference-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-theory-hypothesis/-227183"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/42/154842-138-D063918E/Kara-Rogers-difference-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-theory-hypothesis.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop" alt="Understanding scientific hypotheses, theories, and models" loading="lazy"><script type="application/json"> { "sources": [ { "file" : "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/iqWtjC3x.m3u8" } ], "image": "https://cdn.britannica.com/42/154842-138-D063918E/Kara-Rogers-difference-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-theory-hypothesis.jpg" ,"tracks": [ { "file" : "//assets-jpcust.jwpsrv.com/tracks/KjZes2Nt", "label": "English" } ] ,"adfile": "//content.jwplatform.com/manifests/iFkhuSdn.m3u8" } </script><div class="btn btn-xl btn-white btn-circle position-absolute shadow" style="top: 50%; transform: translateY(-50%)"><em class="material-icons" data-icon="play_arrow"></em></div></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><span class="md-assembly-title font-weight-bold mr-5 d-inline font-sans-serif md-video-caption" video-control="154842">Understanding scientific hypotheses, theories, and models</span><span>Kara Rogers, senior biomedical sciences editor of Encyclopædia Britannica, discussing the difference between a scientific hypothesis and a scientific theory.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div><a class="font-14 mt-10 d-inline-block" href="/science/science/images-videos">See all videos for this article</a></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref632810"></span>science</strong>, any system of knowledge that is concerned with the physical world and its phenomena and that entails unbiased observations and systematic experimentation. In general, a science involves a pursuit of knowledge covering general truths or the operations of fundamental laws.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Science can be divided into different branches based on the subject of study. The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/physical-science" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">physical sciences</a> study the inorganic world and <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="comprise" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comprise" data-type="MW">comprise</a> the fields of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/astronomy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">astronomy</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/physics-science" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">physics</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/chemistry" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">chemistry</a>, and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Earth-sciences" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Earth sciences</a>. The biological sciences such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/biology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">biology</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/medicine" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">medicine</a> study the organic world of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/life" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">life</a> and its processes. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-science" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Social sciences</a> like <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/anthropology" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">anthropology</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/economics" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">economics</a> study the social and cultural aspects of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-behavior" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">human behaviour</a>.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Science is further treated in a number of articles. For the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">history</a> of Western and Eastern science, see <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/history-of-science" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">science, history of</a>. For the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/concept-formation" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">conceptualization</a> of science and its interrelationships with <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="culture" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/culture" data-type="MW">culture</a>, see <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy-of-science" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">science, philosophy of</a>. For the basic aspects of the scientific approach, see <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/principles-of-physical-science" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">physical science, principles of</a>; and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/scientific-method" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">scientific method</a>.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/13-true-or-false-questions-from-britannicas-easiest-science-quizzes" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/05/215905-131-626D860A/Encyclopaedia-Britannica-thistle-graphic-logo.jpg" alt="Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph." class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">13 True-or-False Questions from Britannica’s Easiest Science Quizzes</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> </section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span><span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Erik-Gregersen/6723">Erik Gregersen</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":528756,"pageLength":156,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"SMALL","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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