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CHAPTER 1 The World of Physical Science

SECTION

3 Scientific Models
BEFORE YOU READ
After you read this section, you should be able to answer
these questions:
• What are the three types of scientific models?
• How do scientists use models to help them understand
scientific information?

What Is a Scientific Model?

The engineers who built the ship Proteus wanted to STUDY TIP
copy the way that a penguin swam. Proteus does not Compare After you read this
have feathers and is not alive. However, the way Proteus section, make a chart com-
paring scientific theories and
moves in the water is similar to the way a penguin moves scientific laws.
in the water. Proteus is a model that helps engineers
learn about how objects can move through the water.
A model is something that scientists use to represent
an object or process. For example, models of human
body systems help you learn how the body works. Models Critical Thinking
can help you learn about the past. They can even help 1. Compare A globe is a
to predict the future! However, a model cannot tell you model of the Earth. Give one
everything about the thing it represents. This is because way that a globe is similar to
the Earth and one way that
the model always has a least a few differences from what they are different.
it represents.
There are three common kinds of scientific models:
physical models, mathematical models, and conceptual
models.

TAKE A LOOK
2. Infer Why would a
scientist use a spring toy to
model a sound wave?

The coils on this spring toy can be used as a

physical model of a sound wave. We cannot
see a sound wave. The spring toy shows how
a sound wave acts.

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SECTION 3 Scientific Models continued

PHYSICAL MODELS
A physical model is a model that you can see and touch.
Some physical models can help you study things that are too
small to see. For example, a ball-and-stick model can show
what a molecule is made of. Some physical models show the
Say It shape of something that’s invisible. For example, you can’t
Brainstorm In a small see a sound wave. However, a spring toy, such as the one on
group, come up with a list of the previous page, can show you how a sound wave acts.
10 kinds of physical models.
Talk about how they are similar
Other physical models can help you study things that
to the things they represent are too large to see all at once. For example, you can’t
and how they are different. see the whole Earth or all of the solar system. Models
help you picture in your mind what they look like.
A physical model can also help you understand a con-
cept. Launching a model of a space shuttle can help you
understand how a real space shuttle is launched.

MATHEMATICAL MODELS
A mathematical model is made of mathematical equations
and data. You can’t see a mathematical model the way you
can see a physical model. However, you can use it to under-
stand systems and make predictions. Meteorologists put tem-
perature, air pressure, wind speed, and precipitation data into
mathematical models to understand weather systems. They
also use mathematical models to predict the weather.
Some mathematical models are simple. Others are very
difficult and need computers to make them work.

CONCEPTUAL MODELS
Conceptual models are used to help explain ideas.
Some conceptual models are systems of many ideas. You
may have heard about the big bang theory. It is a concep-
tual model that explains how the planets and galaxies
formed. Most scientists accept the big bang theory, even
though some data do not fit the model.

Model Type of Model

The big bang theory

Ball-and-stick model of a molecule

TAKE A LOOK
3. Identify Fill in the blanks Equation that shows how a particle mathematical
in the table to tell whether acts in a magnetic field
the example is a physical,
Computer simulation of the path of
mathematical, or conceptual a tornado
model.

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SECTION 3 Scientific Models continued

How Do Models Help Build Scientific

Knowledge?
Models are used to show ideas and objects in science.
They are also used to help scientists learn new things.

SCIENTIFIC THEORIES
Models are often used to help explain scientific theo-
ries. In science, a theory is an explanation for many
hypotheses and observations. Theories are supported by
many tests and observations. A theory can explain why
something happens and can predict what will happen in
the future. READING CHECK
Scientists use models to help them look for new scientific 4. Define What is a scientific
information. The new information can support a theory or theory?
show that it is wrong. This is all part of science. As scientists
make new observations, new theories are developed over
time. New theories replace old theories that are shown to be
wrong. The figure below shows an old model of the atom and
the new model that replaced it.

TAKE A LOOK
5. Explain Why might
scientists come up with a
new theory?
1897 atomic model Current atomic model

These drawings are both models of an average atom. The old model
shows what scientists understood about atoms in 1897. The new
model replaced the old model as scientists made more observations.

SCIENTIFIC LAWS
When a model correctly predicts the results of many
different experiments, a scientific law can be made. In
science, a law is a summary of many experimental results
and observations. It tells you how things work.
A law is different from a theory. A law tells you only
what happens, not why it happens. An example of a
scientific law is the law of conservation of mass. It says
that in a chemical change, the total mass doesn’t change.
The law doesn’t explain why this happens or make any
predictions. It tells you only what happens during any
chemical change.
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Section 3 Review
SECTION VOCABULARY
law a descriptive statement or equation that theory a system of ideas that explains many
reliably predicts events under certain conditions related observations and is supported by a
model a pattern, plan, representation, or large body of evidence acquired through
description designed to show the structure or scientific investigation
workings of an object, system, or concept

1. Explain What are some ways that scientists use models?

2. Identify What are the three types of models used by scientists?

3. Identify A model of a molecule can help you imagine what a molecule looks like.
What are two ways that this model is different from the object it represents?

4. Compare What is the difference between a scientific theory and a scientific law?

5. Explain How can theories change over time?

6. Explain Why can’t you use a model to learn everything about an object?

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