Natural science

Natural science can be divided into two main branches: life science (or biological science) and physical science.

Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science.

Physical science is subdivided into branches, including physics, chemistry, astronomy and earth science.

Physics (from, from φύσις phýsis "nature") is the natural science that studies matter and its motion and behavior through space and time and that studies the related entities of energy and force.

Physical science is subdivided into branches, including physics, chemistry, astronomy and earth science.

Astronomy (from ἀστρονομία) is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena.

Physical science is subdivided into branches, including physics, chemistry, astronomy and earth science.

Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth.

Natural science is a branch of science concerned with the description, prediction, and understanding of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation.

Natural sciences: the study of natural phenomena (including cosmological, geological, physical, chemical, and biological factors of the universe)

Natural science can be divided into two main branches: life science (or biological science) and physical science.

Life science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the other being physical science, which is concerned with non-living matter.

In Western society's analytic tradition, the empirical sciences and especially natural sciences use tools from formal sciences, such as mathematics and logic, converting information about nature into measurements which can be explained as clear statements of the "laws of nature".

The term law has diverse usage in many cases (approximate, accurate, broad, or narrow theories) across all fields of natural science (physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, etc.).

In Western society's analytic tradition, the empirical sciences and especially natural sciences use tools from formal sciences, such as mathematics and logic, converting information about nature into measurements which can be explained as clear statements of the "laws of nature".

As a philosophical practice, it is characterized by an emphasis on argumentative clarity and precision, often making use of formal logic, conceptual analysis, and, to a lesser degree, mathematics and the natural sciences.

The social sciences also use such methods, but rely more on qualitative research, so that they are sometimes called "soft science", whereas natural sciences, insofar as they emphasize quantifiable data produced, tested, and confirmed through the scientific method, are sometimes called "hard science".

Positivist social scientists use methods resembling those of the natural sciences as tools for understanding society, and so define science in its stricter modern sense.

The social sciences also use such methods, but rely more on qualitative research, so that they are sometimes called "soft science", whereas natural sciences, insofar as they emphasize quantifiable data produced, tested, and confirmed through the scientific method, are sometimes called "hard science".

Qualitative research approaches are employed across many academic disciplines, focusing particularly on the human elements of the social and natural sciences; in less academic contexts, areas of application include qualitative market research, business, service demonstrations by non-profits, and journalism.

Modern natural science succeeded more classical approaches to natural philosophy, usually traced to ancient Greece.

It is considered to be the precursor of natural science.

The social sciences also use such methods, but rely more on qualitative research, so that they are sometimes called "soft science", whereas natural sciences, insofar as they emphasize quantifiable data produced, tested, and confirmed through the scientific method, are sometimes called "hard science".

Roughly speaking, the natural sciences (e.g. biology, chemistry, physics) are considered "hard", whereas the social sciences (e.g. economics, psychology, sociology) are usually described as "soft".

In Western society's analytic tradition, the empirical sciences and especially natural sciences use tools from formal sciences, such as mathematics and logic, converting information about nature into measurements which can be explained as clear statements of the "laws of nature".

Whereas the natural sciences and social sciences seek to characterize physical systems and social systems, respectively, using empirical methods, the formal sciences are language tools concerned with characterizing abstract structures described by sign systems.

The social sciences also use such methods, but rely more on qualitative research, so that they are sometimes called "soft science", whereas natural sciences, insofar as they emphasize quantifiable data produced, tested, and confirmed through the scientific method, are sometimes called "hard science".

Some measure of the undisputed general importance of quantification in the natural sciences can be gleaned from the following comments:

The scale of study can range from sub-component biophysics up to complex ecologies.

Modern ecology became a much more rigorous science in the late 19th century.

The social sciences also use such methods, but rely more on qualitative research, so that they are sometimes called "soft science", whereas natural sciences, insofar as they emphasize quantifiable data produced, tested, and confirmed through the scientific method, are sometimes called "hard science".

These methodological elements and organization of procedures tend to be more characteristic of natural sciences than social sciences.

Early experiments in chemistry had their roots in the system of Alchemy, a set of beliefs combining mysticism with physical experiments.

The former is pursued by historians of the physical sciences who examine the subject in terms of early chemistry, medicine, and charlatanism, and the philosophical and religious contexts in which these events occurred.

Physics relies heavily on mathematics as the logical framework for formulation and quantification of principles.

Mathematics is essential in many fields, including natural science, engineering, medicine, finance, and the social sciences.

The science of chemistry began to develop with the work of Robert Boyle, the discoverer of gas, and Antoine Lavoisier, who developed the theory of the Conservation of mass.

The formulation of this law was of crucial importance in the progress from alchemy to the modern natural science of chemistry.

Earth science (also known as geoscience), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth, including geology, geophysics, hydrology, meteorology, physical geography, oceanography, and soil science.

Geophysics is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and physical properties of the Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis.

Earth science (also known as geoscience), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth, including geology, geophysics, hydrology, meteorology, physical geography, oceanography, and soil science.

Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the study of processes and patterns in the natural environment like the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere, as opposed to the cultural or built environment, the domain of human geography.

Galileo, Descartes, Bacon, and Newton debated the benefits of using approaches which were more mathematical and more experimental in a methodical way.

Descartes is often regarded as the first thinker to emphasize the use of reason to develop the natural sciences.

Earth science (also known as geoscience), is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth, including geology, geophysics, hydrology, meteorology, physical geography, oceanography, and soil science.

Methods for relative dating were developed when geology first emerged as a natural science.

Materials science is a relatively new, interdisciplinary field which deals with the study of matter and its properties; as well as the discovery and design of new materials.

For much of the history of the natural sciences people have contemplated the exact nature of matter.

Aristotle, however, a student of Plato who lived from 384 to 322 BC, paid closer attention to the natural world in his philosophy.

Aristotle's views on natural sciences represent the groundwork underlying many of his works.