When a specific phenomenon is observed, it can be reduced to a scientific law. Scientific laws do not provide an explanation of why this phenomenon occurs or why it is present in our world, they simply state the event that is happening. For example, Newton's Law of Universal Gravity is the phenomenon that every existing particle attracts other particles throughout our world and even the entire universe with specific forces. The law does not explain why this happens, since it is only known that it exists. One of the first things to do when you discover a law is to test it. This not only determines whether or not it is valid, but determines exactly where and when it is valid. Laws can be seen as simple evaluations of our worldly phenomena. With the Law of Gravity you simply observe the worldly phenomena that happen. Yes, the law mathematically evaluates how two separate bodies interact within a system, however the specific law does not explain the concept of gravity and how exactly it works. Gravity was not fully explained until three centuries later, when Albert Einstein developed the theory of relativity (Bradford, Alina). Despite his lack of knowledge about gravity, Newton still discovered a law about it. Theories are not laws; and laws are just observations. If gravity were considered a theory, the question would arise “why does this ball fall to the ground when thrown?”. If gravity were seen as a law, then one would simply say “this ball falls to the ground when it is thrown.” Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay This can be seen again with Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment. Gregor Mendel's law observes how different traits are passed on to a group of offspring from two parents. This was done with a physical experiment that Mendel conducted with pea plants. By breeding and crossing these pea plants, he discovered a trend in the plants' results (Khan Academy). Some plants had rough seeds while others had smooth seeds. Some flowers were purple while other flowers were white. Despite the knowledge behind this discovery, Gregor Mendel still developed the law about independent assortment and how genes are expressed. The law does not describe the process of the law or why this genetic pattern occurs in a certain way, as it simply describes that it occurs in some way. When Gregor Mendel conceived his Law of Independent Assortment, he did not know what DNA or chromosomes were. He just looked at his own work and developed the law from his research. Even though DNA was not discovered for another century, Mendel's law is still accepted on a universal scale along with the explanation regarding DNA. Delving into scientific laws is when these cross over into a scientific theory. These theories are the actual explanations of the laws put into action. There is a huge difference between laws and theories that is very important to note. Laws began as an observational concept regarding a relationship between things in the natural world. These laws can be both fact-based and even hypothesis-tested. A very common misconception is that natural laws must be supported by theories. This is known to be false as it was not the case for either Newton or Mendel. Both of their laws at the time had no theories to further explain their observations. A scientific law can be discovered and created with these observations alone. This brings us to the question: “can laws change or have exceptions?”. Even if an idea or observation can.