G4- How are Theories Constructed?high -02

 In Science, the facts come first and then theories and laws are constructed. This process of thinking is called an inductive reasoning process. Induction is a backward-looking process. Without a backward looking process, it would be impossible to create a scientific theory or law for that matter. What does this mean and how does it look in practice?

So how are theories and laws created? First, scientists need the data from previous investigations (the facts). Scientists use these facts to construct a theory. The theory explains why or how something happens. Before scientists create a theory to explain a phenomenon, they already know something is happening. For example, people have always known that things fall to the ground.

Gravity has been tested repeatedly in many situations. One famous gravity experiment even took place on the Moon during an Apollo Mission. Neil Armstrong dropped a feather and hammer at the same time. This was one more instance to support the fact that gravity affects all objects the same way. At least so far, the facts are undeniable. What the scientific community is missing is an explanation as to the why it happens. Things fall to Earth; a fact, but why?

Things fall toward the Moon’s surface, but why? Our Moon is held in orbit by this same strange force, but why and how? It is these questions of how and why that drive scientists to learn more about the world we live in. While a law can have remarkable predictive power, it does not help in forming an understanding of how or why something happens. For that, we need a theory.

At present, some scientists speculate that a particle called a graviton may be at the root of gravity, but the world will have to wait to see if this idea bears fruit through research. Until then, the world will have to take solace in the fact that we have a Law of Gravity. For now, the Law of Gravity can be used to calculate how to get men to the Moon. It can be used to calculate the force between two objects of known mass. It can be used to predict the change in speed as an object falls, how long an object will take to fall, the speed at which it will be moving when it hits the ground, and how much energy it will take to pick it up after it has collided with the ground. Unfortunately, while the law lets us calculate quite a bit about what happens, it provides no insight in terms of WHY it happens. In short, laws cannot do the job of theories. In the language of Science, a theory is an explanation of why and how things happen.