What is the difference between "information", "data", "knowledge", "science"? [closed]

I know it may be dumb but what is the difference between the following words?

  • information
  • data
  • knowledge
  • science

Especially the difference between data and information? I know it but cannot explain it well to my teacher.


There are slight differences.

Basically, data is gained through experiments and studies. Information is gained through analysis of this data. Knowledge is then gained from the understanding of the information available. Science is all about this process.


Data are isolated facts without any particular context or interpretation.

Knowledge is an organized and contextualized statement of what we already know.

Information is new knowledge that was unknown previously. Note that what is information to one person may be knowledge to someone else.

Science is a process by which one tries to generate information about how the world works by creating models that account for current knowledge and then using experimentation to obtain data that leads to new information. The new information may either be consistent with the initial model or it may refute the model, leading to the need to refine or replace the model.