• Science is a human enterprise, practiced within a community of scientists.
• Scientists ask and answer questions about the natural world in an attempt to
understand it.
• Scientific knowledge is generated by a range of methods, often involving the
creation of hypotheses, theories, laws and models. These have different but
related roles.
• Scientific knowledge demands evidence (is empirical), and is testable through
rigorous processes.
• Creativity, imagination and curiosity also play a key role in knowledge generation.
• As a social activity, science is influenced by cultural, societal and personal
factors, including economic and political considerations.
• Scientific knowledge is provisional and developmental.