Models and designs (science)?

Question

can someone help me out with models and designs in the science way ...

im just starting it and i needa kno whut it is and some facts about it

thanxxs =]

Answer 1

The term model more or less means "something that describes or represents something else," but it can be used in many different ways.  See the Wikipedia entry for a list.  Many of these ways of using 'model' incorporate scientific knowledge and methods somehow.

Similarly, design can be used many ways, either as an action or as a thing that has been made.

I guess overall the scientific processes you are asking about go something like this:

A scientist has an idea (hypothesis) about how something works.

She does experiments to understand whether the idea is correct, and collects data from the experiments.

Then, she uses the information (data) she has collected to 'design' a 'model' of the thing she was studying.

For example:

Her hypothesis might be "It rains when the temperature falls."

She collects data by using a chamber with humid air and lowering the temperature, finding that condensation forms in the chamber.  She also monitors the weather to see if rain comes after the temperature goes down.

From these data, she designs a model that for every one degree decrease in temperature, the chances of rain go up 5%.

Then she does more experiments and weather monitoring to see if her model is accurate.

I hope this makes it all a bit more clear.  Good luck!