1. 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?

2. Objectives:
1. Explain how models are used to represent the
natural world.
2. Identify three types of scientific models.
3. Describe theories and laws.

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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 completely
 such as the Earth or the solar system.

7. 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 future
 Theories and models can change as new
observations are made.
Charles Darwin’s Theory of
Evolution
1897 Model
of Atom Current Model of Atom

8.  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.