Scientific measurement
In mathematics and empiricism, scientific measurement, or quantification, was the process of counting and measuring observations into quantities. It was a fundamental part of the scientific method.
In 2266, the USS Enterprise conducted a mission to observe the disintegration of Psi 2000, while taking close scientific measurement of its break-up. Because Earth science needed the closest possible measurement of the breakup of this planet. To do this, we need the Enterprise in a critically tight orbit. (TOS: "The Naked Time")
After the Qomar discovered the art of music for the first time in 2376, after hearing The Doctor sing "I've Been Working on the Railroad", Tincoo and Abarca took notice of its unique mathematical variation, which was found to be difficult to quantify. They further wondered if the algorithms generated were fractal or wave-form calculus. (VOY: "Virtuoso")