science -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=Edge"/> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /> <meta name="robots" content="noindex" /> <title>science -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia</title> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/" > <link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/icon?family=Material+Icons"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/mendel-css.css?v=3.130.14" /> <script type="text/javascript"> function init() { setTimeout( function() { window.print(); }, 1000 ); } </script> </head> <body onload="init()" class="md-print-page topicPage topic-print-page"> <div class=""> <div> <h1>science</h1> <span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"></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/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">physical sciences</a> study the inorganic world and comprise the fields of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">astronomy</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">physics</a>, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">chemistry</a>, and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Earth sciences</a>. The biological sciences such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">biology</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">medicine</a> study the organic world of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">life</a> and its processes. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Social sciences</a> like <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">anthropology</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">economics</a> study the social and cultural aspects of human behaviour.</p><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 history of Western and Eastern science, see <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">science, history of</a>. For the conceptualization of science and its interrelationships with culture, see <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" 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/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">physical science, principles of</a>; and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">scientific method</a>.</p><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 style="clear:both"></div> <div class="print-citations"> <div class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Citation Information</div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Article Title:</span> science</div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Website Name:</span> Encyclopaedia Britannica </div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Publisher:</span> Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. </div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Date Published:</span> 10 September 2024</div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">URL:</span> <a href="https://www.britannica.comhttps://www.britannica.com/science/science">https://www.britannica.comhttps://www.britannica.com/science/science</a> </div> <div> <span class="text-uppercase font-weight-bold">Access Date:</span> November 24, 2024</div> </div></div> </body> </html>

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science -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia