What’s the difference between a scientific law and theory? - Matt Anticole

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-s-the-difference-between-a-scientific-law-and-theory-matt-anticole Chat with a friend about an established scientific theory, and she might...

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Chat with a friend about an established scientific theoryand she might reply, "Well, that's just a theory."But a conversation about an established scientific lawrarely ends with, "Well, that's just a law."Why is that?What is the difference between a theory and a law,and is one better?Scientific laws and theories have different jobs to do.A scientific law predicts the results of certain initial conditions.It might predict your unborn child's possible hair colors,or how far a baseball travels when launched at a certain angle.In contrast, a theory tries to provide the most logical explanationabout why things happen as they do.A theory might invoke dominant and recessive genesto explain how brown-haired parents en...