So, if it's used in physics, do you define it as a tool for applying the scientific method?
If so, do those methodologies in physics also stop being "science" and start being a tool as well?
If you use a Bunsen burner in a method according to the scientific method, does it count as "science"? Or is it just setting fire to things?
Not sure where you're drawing the boundaries. Science is done with tools and methods, and mathematics is one of the most important tools of science, used to define some of the most important methodologies.