Final answer:
The primary purpose of science is to understand how things work across time using observable evidence, reasoning, and testing. It encompasses scientific inquiry, assumptions about the natural world, and logical methods to expand our knowledge.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding the Natural World through Science
The primary purpose of science in understanding the natural world is D) To understand how things work today, how they worked in the past, and how they are likely to work in the future. Science is about gaining knowledge through observations, evidence, reasoning, and repeated testing. Scientific inquiry drives our understanding by formulating testable hypotheses that predict future phenomena and help us gain an understanding of reality's causal mechanisms.
Four basic assumptions scientists make when studying the natural world include the universality of natural laws, the need for evidence to support hypotheses, the repeatability of experiments, and objectivity in observations and reasoning. By integrating comprehensive scientific methods, science allows us to make discoveries about the universe around us, based on measurable and observable evidence.
The general goal of science is to satiate our curiosity about the world and to find explanations that are based on solid evidence. Scientists use both inductive and deductive logical methods to achieve this understanding, which then forms the foundation for asking new questions and testing new ideas.