Question

1. which of these statements best describes how scientific ideas change?

a. scientists form opinions based on evidence and decide how the idea should change.
b. new evidence leads to the modification of ideas.
c. as a scientific idea changes, it eventually becomes a scientific theory and, ultimately, a law.
d. scientific ideas rarely change because they are based on extensive evidence.

Explanation:

• Option a: Scientific ideas are not based on opinions but on evidence - based reasoning and testing, so this is incorrect.
• Option b: In science, when new evidence is discovered through research, experiments, or observations, it can lead to the modification of existing scientific ideas. This is a key aspect of the scientific process (e.g., how the understanding of atomic structure has changed over time with new experimental evidence).
• Option c: A scientific theory and a scientific law are different things. A theory explains why something happens (e.g., the theory of evolution), and a law describes what happens (e.g., Newton's laws of motion). A scientific idea does not simply progress from idea to theory to law in a linear fashion, so this is incorrect.
• Option d: Scientific ideas do change as new evidence emerges. Even well - established ideas can be modified or replaced (e.g., the shift from the geocentric to the heliocentric model of the solar system), so this is incorrect.

Answer:

b. New evidence leads to the modification of ideas.