What term describes a representation of an object or event used to understand the real object or event?

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Understanding what a model is in science helps explain how we study the real world. A model is a simplified representation of an object or event that lets us see and test its essential features without needing to interact with the real thing directly. This can be a physical replica, a diagram, a map, or a computer simulation—anything that captures important relationships so we can observe, reason, and predict outcomes. A scientific model is especially useful when the real object or event is too large, too small, dangerous, or complex to study firsthand. This differs from a scientific law, which describes patterns we consistently observe (often in mathematical form); a scientific theory, which offers a well-supported explanation for why those patterns occur; and the scientific method, which is the process scientists use to investigate questions. So the term that best fits is scientific model.