Answer:
This body of knowledge is an example of a theory.
Explanation:
The scientific theory is a conceptual framework used to explain facts or phenomena and to make predictions.
The theory is fundamental to science because it allows scientists to organize and understand observations.
The construction of a theory begins with a hypothesis. The scientist believes that a certain phenomenon occurs in a certain way and so he/she performs observations under the scientific method to prove that his/her hypothesis is valid or not valid. The systematization of the observations as well as of the empirical data collected might derive in a scientific theory that can explain the analyzed phenomenon.
A scientific theory is a knowledge that was contrasted in several ways.