Final answer:
Science is a distinctive process of gaining knowledge about the natural world by observing, testing, and generating models that explain observations. It is nonlinear, iterative, and creative, allowing scientists to gain more information and develop new ideas. Observation is the key to discovering natural laws.
Step-by-step explanation:
Science is a distinctive way of gaining knowledge about the natural world that is based on the use of evidence to logically test ideas. It is a process of discovering natural phenomena by observing, testing, and generating models that explain our observations.
Real science is nonlinear, iterative, creative, unpredictable, and exciting. Scientists often undertake the steps of an investigation in a different sequence or repeat the same steps many times to gain more information and develop new ideas.
The cornerstone of discovering natural laws is observation; science must describe the universe as it is, not as we may imagine it to be.