Natural science

The natural sciences are branches of science that seek to elucidate the rules that govern the natural world by using scientific methods. The term "natural science" is used to distinguish the subject matter from the social sciences, which apply the scientific method to study human behavior and social patterns; the humanities, which use a critical or analytical approach to study the human condition; and the formal sciences such as mathematics and logic, which use an a priori, as opposed to factual methodology to study formal systems. Natural sciences are the basis for applied sciences. Together, the natural and applied sciences are distinguished from the social sciences on the one hand, and the humanities on the other. Though mathematics,...