Natural science is a branch of science concerned with the description, prediction, and understanding of natural phenomena, based on observational and empirical evidence. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeat ability of findings are used to try to ensure the validity of scientific advances.

Natural science can be divided into two main branches: life science (or biological science) and physical science. Physical science is subdivided into branches, including physics, space science, chemistry, and Earth science. These branches of natural science may be further divided into more specialized branches.

Modern natural science succeeded more classical approaches to natural philosophy, usually traced to ancient Greece. Galileo, Descartes, Francis Bacon, and Newton debated the benefits of using approaches which were more mathematical and more experimental in a methodical way. Still, philosophical perspectives, conjectures, and presuppositions