Answer to Question #291068 in Inorganic Chemistry for eddee

Question

Why do scientists sometimes discard theories?

Answer 1

Theories are discarded because scientific knowledge is increasing and they are able to give answers to problems that predecessors could not give.

With time scientific are able to solve problems that were theoritized

Some times theories are discarded if scientific method were not followed.

Public opinion may disagree with the theory or it may be opposed by church or community.

In science, observation take precedence over everything else, if a new fact is discovered which contracts a physical law, the law is discarded or modified to accommodate the new fact.

Scientific consensus once widely accepted as theory, can be discarded if current science consider it inadequate, incomplete or debunked