Cause and effect are the basis for models.
Aristotle defined four types of cause. Really he was just explaining how to explain things.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_causes HEIGHT 400
# WHY? End or purpose (the **final cause** of a change or movement): a change or movement for the sake of a thing to be what it is. For a seed, it might be an adult plant; for a sailboat, it might be sailing; for a ball at the top of a ramp, it might be coming to rest at the bottom.
# WHO? Agent (the **efficient or moving cause** of a change or movement): consists of things apart from the thing being changed or moved, which interact so as to be an agency of the change or movement. For example, the efficient cause of a table is a carpenter, or a person working as one, and according to Aristotle the efficient cause of a boy is a father.
# HOW? Form (the **formal cause** of a change or movement): a change or movement caused by the arrangement, shape, or appearance of the thing changing or moving. Aristotle says, for example, that the ratio 2:1, and number in general, is the formal cause of the octave.
# WHAT? Matter (the **material cause** of a change or movement): the aspect of the change or movement that is determined by the material that composes the moving or changing things. For a table, this might be wood; for a statue, it might be bronze or marble.