- Kepler used the precise observations of the positions andmovements of the planets and labored many years to mathematicallydetermine that the orbits of the six planets known at the time werein the shape of ellipses.
Galileo, performed experiments aboutthe motions of objects and looked for patterns in their data. Forexample, Galileo found that the period of a pendulum wasindependent of the mass and amplitude but was dependent on thelength of the string and gravity.
Albert Einstein's special theory ofrelativity, which was published in 1905, is a good example of howphysicists ask questions and form hypotheses. Einstein never did asingle experiment in this field in the laboratory. He usedmathematics in his work.
Peter Higgs postulated that theuniverse was permeated by a field (Higgs field) that containsnumerous uniformly distributed particles called Higgs bosons thatcluster around other particles moving through the field. The LargeHadron Collider proved the existence of Higgs bosons.
- Describe deductive reasoning, including an example from one ofthe scientists above. Be sure to clearly explain your choice.
- Describe inductive reasoning, including an example from one ofthe scientists above. Be sure to clearly explain your choice.
