Editing Mathematical model (section)

{{Short description|Description of a system using mathematical concepts and language}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
A '''mathematical model''' is an [[abstract and concrete|abstract]] description of a concrete  [[system]] using [[mathematics|mathematical]] concepts and [[language of mathematics|language]]. The process of developing a mathematical [[model]] is termed '''''mathematical modeling'''''. Mathematical models are used in [[applied mathematics]] and in the [[natural science]]s (such as [[physics]], [[biology]], [[earth science]], [[chemistry]]) and [[engineering]] disciplines (such as [[computer science]], [[electrical engineering]]), as well as in non-physical systems such as the [[social science]]s<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Saltelli |first1=Andrea |display-authors=etal |title=Five ways to ensure that models serve society: a manifesto |journal=Nature |date=June 2020 |volume=582 |issue=7813 |pages=482–484 |doi=10.1038/d41586-020-01812-9|pmid=32581374 |bibcode=2020Natur.582..482S |hdl=1885/219031 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> (such as [[economics]], [[psychology]], [[sociology]], [[political science]]). It can also be taught as a subject in its own right.<ref name="Edwards">{{cite book |last1=Edwards |first1=Dilwyn |last2=Hamson |first2=Mike |title=Guide to Mathematical Modelling |date=2007 |publisher=Industrial Press Inc. |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8311-3337-5 |edition=2}}</ref>

The use of mathematical models to solve problems in business or military operations is a large part of the field of [[operations research]]. Mathematical models are also used in [[music]],<ref>D. Tymoczko, A Geometry of Music: Harmony and Counterpoint in the Extended Common Practice (Oxford Studies in Music Theory), Oxford University Press; Illustrated Edition (March 21, 2011), {{ISBN|978-0195336672}}</ref> [[linguistics]],<ref>Andras Kornai,
Mathematical Linguistics (Advanced Information and Knowledge Processing), Springer, {{ISBN|978-1849966948}}</ref> and
[[philosophy]] (for example, intensively in [[analytic philosophy]]). A model may help to explain a system and to study the effects of different components, and to make predictions about behavior.