In science, the term law usually refers to a generalization about data and is a compact way of describing what we’d expect to happen in a particular situation. Scientific laws may have exceptions, and like other scientific knowledge, may be modified or rejected based on new evidence and perspectives. To learn more, visit our misconception on laws.

Evidence drawn from one sort of test result that bears on the accuracy of an idea. In science, it is often desirable to use multiple lines of evidence (drawn from different sorts of tests and even different fields of study) to evaluate a scientific idea.