Flexi Says: Models can be used to predict the future. The best ones take into account the most factors. How do scientists know if a model will predict the future accurately? One way is to use a time in the past as the starting point. Then run the model to see if the model can accurately predict the present. A model that can successfully predict the present is more likely to be better at predicting the future. For example, climate models are very useful for trying to determine what types of changes we can expect as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises.
