Topmusicanswers
- At what point does a theory become proven?
- What qualifies a theory as being scientific?
- How does scientific knowledge develop?
- What counts as scientific knowledge?
At what point does a theory become proven?
The process of becoming a scientific theory
If enough evidence accumulates to support a hypothesis, it moves to the next step — known as a theory — in the scientific method and becomes accepted as a valid explanation of a phenomenon.
What qualifies a theory as being scientific?
A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment. Such fact-supported theories are not "guesses" but reliable accounts of the real world.
How does scientific knowledge develop?
Scientific knowledge is advanced through a process known as the scientific method. Basically, ideas (in the form of theories and hypotheses) are tested against the real world (in the form of empirical observations), and those empirical observations lead to more ideas that are tested against the real world, and so on.
What counts as scientific knowledge?
Scientific knowledge is what we learn from the scientific process, which involves experimenting and collecting data. Scientific research is the collecting of data to investigate and explain a phenomenon.
