1. What happens: Scientific laws describe patterns and relationships observed in the natural world. They tell you what will happen in a given situation, under specific conditions. For example, Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation describes the force of attraction between any two objects with mass.

2. How things work: Scientific laws can also provide a mechanism or explanation for why these patterns occur. While they don't explain the "why" at a fundamental level, they often describe the underlying processes that lead to the observed phenomena. For instance, the Law of Conservation of Energy explains how energy transforms from one form to another, but not the fundamental nature of energy itself.

It's important to note that scientific laws are based on empirical evidence and are constantly being refined as new information is gathered. They are not absolute truths, but rather powerful tools for understanding and predicting the natural world.