Practical Applications in Science and Social Studies Subjects

Reading time: approximately 8 minutes

Now that you have mastered the basics of prompting and style, it is time to put the knowledge to work. In this moment, we explore how text-to-image AI can be a powerful tool for creating customized illustrations within natural and social science subjects. The goal is to create images that clarify, explain and spark interest.

What You Will Learn

• How to create images to visualize abstract scientific concepts.
• How to recreate historical scenes and environments for which there are no photos.
• Strategies for prompting for accuracy and clarity in informative images.

Things to Consider When Creating Informative Images

When the purpose is to inform rather than just be creative, we need to adjust our approach:

• Clarity before beauty: A technically correct but "boring" image is often better than a beautiful but incorrect image. Be overtly clear in your prompt about what must be included.
• Break up complex ideas: Do not try to create an entire biological cycle in a single prompt. Rather create several simpler images that illustrate each step in the process.
• Fact-check the result: The AI can "hallucinate" or make up details. An image of the solar system may get the wrong number of planets and a historical image may mix clothing styles from different centuries. Always use your own expert knowledge to verify the image before using it in teaching.

Practical Examples in Science Subjects

Biology: Visualize a Plant Cell

The need is a clear image of a plant cell for a presentation.

• Prompt: Diagram of a plant cell, cross-section. Clearly labeled organelles: cell wall, cell membrane, cytoplasm, chloroplast, and a large central vacuole. Simple, clean illustration style for educational material.

Physics: Explain Forces

You want to illustrate Newton's third law in a simple way.

• Prompt: Minimalist illustration showing Newton's third law. A canoe on water. A person in the canoe pushes an oar backwards in the water (force). An arrow shows the oar's movement backwards, labeled 'Action'. Another arrow shows the canoe's movement forward, labeled 'Reaction'. Graphic style with blue and white colors.

Chemistry: Show a Molecular Structure

A 3D model of a known molecule is needed for a worksheet.

• Prompt: 3D model of a caffeine molecule, C8H10N4O2. Scientific illustration style with ball-and-stick model. White background for maximum clarity.

Practical Examples in Social Studies Subjects

History: Recreate a Historical Environment

You want to show what a Viking Age marketplace could have looked like.

• Prompt: A lively Viking Age marketplace in the village of Birka. Merchants with longboats at a dock, people in period-typical wool clothing trading goods like furs and amber. Realistic style, slightly misty morning.

Geography: Illustrate a Natural Phenomenon

An image explaining how a tsunami forms is needed.

• Prompt: Informative diagram in 3 steps showing how a tsunami is created. Step 1: An earthquake under the ocean floor (subduction zone). Step 2: The water mass is lifted and creates a wave. Step 3: The wave reaches the coast and grows in height. Clear arrows and short explanatory text labels.

Civics: Symbolize a Concept

You need an image representing globalization for a discussion exercise.

• Prompt: Symbolic image of globalization. A globe where continents are interconnected with glowing networks of light. Airplanes and cargo ships move between continents. Modern, graphic style.

Next Steps

You can now create content-rich and subject-specific images. But what do you do when the result is not exactly as you imagined from the start? In the next moment, "Iteration and 'Inpainting': Correcting and Refining Images", we learn the techniques for polishing and editing our creations to perfection.