Thread: What is the difference between a model and a theory?

What is the difference between a scientific model and a scientific theory?

model
n.
a generalized description, often based on an analogy, used in analyzing or explaining something.

I think you're talking apples and oranges here. It's a fair question to ask for the difference between, say, a Chevy and a Ford, but instead, your question basically asks for the difference between a Chevy and sheet metal.

In the same way that sheet metal can be part of a Chevy (and a Ford), models can explain a scientific theory, ObamaCare, the global economy, etc.

Perhaps the best answer is that models are often based on an analogy.

Dictionaries are not usually the best for understanding what technical terms mean because they focus on the common population's use of the word and usually oversimplify the definition.

this goes into a bit more detail
http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/s...odels-science/