Warmup

How is an airplane flight simulator a kind of model?

What are some advantages to training pilots in a flight simulator rather than in a real airplane?

Objectives:

1. Explain how models are used to represent the natural world.

2. Identify three types of scientific models.

3. Describe theories and laws.

Types of Models Model

A representation of an object or a system.

1. Physical Models○ look like the thing they

represent○ For example, the model

volcano looks like a real one but won’t destroy acres of forests.

2. Mathematical Models ○ Made up of mathematical equations and data.

3. Conceptual Models ○ Systems of ideas or are based on making comparisons

with familiar things to explain an idea. Explains the origin of the universe

Models are just the right size Often used to represent things that are very

small or very large. Useful for studying cells and particles of matter

that are too small to see with the unaided eye. Also useful for studying objects that are too

large to see completelysuch as the Earth or the solar system.

Visual Concepts: Models

Models build scientific knowledge Often used to help illustrate and explain

scientific theories.Theory

○ Explanation that ties a broad range of hypotheses and observations that have been supported by testing.

○ Can also be used to predict what will happen in futureTheories and models can change as new

observations are made.

Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

1897 Model of Atom Current Model of Atom

Scientific Laws Formed when a theory and its models correctly

predict the results of many different experiments.

Law is defined as:A summary of many experimental results and

observations.

Laws are not the same as theories. Laws tell you only what happens, not why it happens.