What is a statement that summarizes a pattern found in nature? a. a scientific law b. a fact c. a scientific theory d. a hypothesis

A. scientific law is a statement that summarizes a pattern found in nature. It is describes an observed phenomenon and has predictive power: it can describe what will happen given a set of initial conditions.  Often, a scientific law may be expressed as a mathematical equation.

B. A fact is an observation that is found to be true by repeated testing. Unlike a scientific law, however, a fact has a level of uncertainty. It is only held true until they are proven false. They are also more specific and localized observations compared to scientific laws which are  more general and broad in scope.

C. A scientific theory is an explanation for an observed phenomenon. It attempts to explain in detail why and how an observed phenomenon described  by a  scientific law happens. It is a hypothesis that has been confirmed through time by repeated testing and validation of the scientific community. However, a theory is not set in stone. When new evidence is found that refutes an existing theory, the theory may be changed or abandoned.  

D. A hypothesis is a tentative prediction and explanation about the relationship between two variables – the dependent and independent variables. It is a basic idea and has not been tested yet but will soon be subjected to testing to check whether it holds merit based on the data. Hypotheses may be proven valid or not through testing and experimentation.

Keywords: scientific law, theory, fact, hypothesis

A Scientific law is a statement that summarizes a pattern found in nature.

Further Explanation:

A fact is a natural observation which remains the same for several repeated testing under the same circumstances. But a fact cannot be considered a law because it could be proven wrong at some point.

A scientific law is also a fact with a wider scope of being true as compared to a fact. An observation is categorised as a scientific law only when it is true in each and every condition and has a larger scope of being true.

A scientific theory is an explanation of a natural phenomenon based on the scientific law by several testing and observations. A scientific theory is not always true and it can change for a phenomenon based on the new evidences found.

A hypothesis is a mere prediction of a situation without any testing and observation. It is simply an idea behind any observation and it is yet to be tested whether it holds true for the condition or not.

Therefore, a scientific law is the one that explains the patterns and observed phenomenon in nature and holds true in every situation.

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Answer Details:

Grade: High School

Chapter: Scientific laws and theories

Subject: Physics

Keywords: Statement that summarizes, pattern found in nature, scientific law, scientific theory, fact, hypothesis, wider scope, always true.