DEFINITIONS OF MODEL AND MODELING

The Oxford English Dictionary notes that the term model can be used as a noun or adjective that means: “A simplified or idealized description or conception of a particular system, situation, or process, often in mathematical terms, that is put forward as a basis for theoretical or empirical understanding, or for calculations, predictions, etc.; a conceptual or mental representation of something. ” The kinetic molecular theory would be an example of such a model. The OED also notes, however, that the term model can be used as a verb in the following sense: “To devise a (usually mathematical) model or simplified description of (a phenomenon, system, etc.). ” For our purposes, we will use the term modeling to describe attempts to construct a model of a system. Various attempts have been made to describe characteristics of a model within the context of science education, including. C A model is a representation of an idea, object, event, process, or system [1], which concentrates attention on certain aspects of the system — thus facilitating scientific inquiry [2