Difference between revisions of "Hypothesis"

From Imperial Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(New page: A '''hypothesis''' is an educated guess that a scientist makes in order to explain an observed phenomenon. A properly stated hypothesis is testable, meaning that someone could design an e...)
 
Line 1: Line 1:
A '''hypothesis''' is an educated guess that a scientist makes in order to explain an observed phenomenon.  A properly stated hypothesis is testable, meaning that someone could design an experiment or seek additional evidence to disprove its claim.  A hypothesis that undergoes many tests and yet remains a valid explanation becomes a [[theory]].
A '''hypothesis''' is an educated guess that a scientist makes in order to explain an observed phenomenon.  A properly stated hypothesis is testable, meaning that someone could design an experiment or seek additional evidence to disprove its claim.  A hypothesis that undergoes many tests and yet remains a valid explanation becomes a [[theory]].
Ideally, a stated hypothesis should be accompanied by the "null hypothesis", a prediction of what would occur if the hypothesis is not true.  A single test should be able to test the result of both the hypothesis and its null hypothesis.


[[Category: Science]]
[[Category: Science]]

Revision as of 18:09, 13 November 2009

A hypothesis is an educated guess that a scientist makes in order to explain an observed phenomenon. A properly stated hypothesis is testable, meaning that someone could design an experiment or seek additional evidence to disprove its claim. A hypothesis that undergoes many tests and yet remains a valid explanation becomes a theory.

Ideally, a stated hypothesis should be accompanied by the "null hypothesis", a prediction of what would occur if the hypothesis is not true. A single test should be able to test the result of both the hypothesis and its null hypothesis.