1. Chapter 13: Coming up with a Testable Hypothesis
“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Colossians 2: 2-3

2. Introduction
Your next adventure is to come up with a guess about how your project will turn out BEFORE YOU DO IT!!!
This PowerPoint will tell you how best to come up with a guess. So be sure to record the process as you decide what you hypothesis will be.
Vocabulary!
Hypothesis: A hypothesis is an "educated guess." It can be an educated
guess about what will happen in a scientific experiment. It must be
based on some previous knowledge the scientist has about the subject.

3. Hypotheses Remember, most hypotheses are rejected (proven wrong).
In science it is definitely ok to find out you are wrong.
Don’t think you have a bad project if you prove your hypothesis to be false.
If you performed a careful, repeatable experiment, then you will have a good project even though you rejected your hypothesis.

4. A Scientific Hypothesis Must be Testable!
Science proceeds by making observations of nature through experiments. If a hypothesis does not generate observations, there is nothing that a scientist can do with it.
Arguing back-and-forth about what should happen, or what ought to happen, is NOT the way science makes progress.
Example: Consider this hypothesis:
"Our universe is surrounded by another, larger universe, with which we can have absolutely no contact."
This statement may or may not be true, but it is not a scientific hypothesis. By its very nature it is not testable. There are no observations that a scientist could make to tell whether or not the hypothesis is correct. The idea is interesting to think about, but science has nothing to say about them in that format. This example hypothesis is a speculation, not a hypothesis.

5. A Scientific Hypothesis Must be Falsifiable!
Example: Consider this hypothesis:
"There are other planets just with vast water filled oceans just like earth.”
This hypothesis is testable, but it is not a scientific hypothesis. Here's why:
- This hypothesis may be either correct or wrong…
- If it is correct, there are several ways that its correctness can be proven, including:
A space probe is sent to explore the universe for planets with huge amounts of liquid water.
Unmanned missions land on that planet and send back information that says the liquid is identical in chemical composition to oceans on earth.
Astronauts land there and successfully are able to drink the water.
So, if Hypothesis B is true, there are observations that scientists could make that would prove its correctness. But, the hypothesis may be wrong. (Most hypotheses are...)
- If this hypothesis B is wrong, there is no test that will prove it.
If one of our space probes never finds vast amounts of liquid water on a planet, it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist. This hypothesis is not falsifiable.

6. A Scientific Hypothesis Must be Falsifiable!
Example: Consider this hypothesis:
"Any two objects dropped from the same height above the surface of the earth will hit the ground at the same time, as long as air resistance is not a factor.”
This hypothesis is a scientific hypothesis because:
It is testable - pick 2 objects, and drop them. Of course, you may have to provide a vacuum for them to fall in, in order to remove air resistance from consideration.
It is falsifiable - If anyone finds 2 objects that don't hit the ground at the same time and can show that it is not due to air resistance, then she has proven the hypothesis wrong. This hypothesis "sticks its neck out" for every test.
In theory and in practice, if this hypothesis were wrong, it would be very easy and straightforward to show it.

7. What Happens When A Hypothesis is Proven Wrong?
If a hypothesis fails a test, it cannot be true, and it must be modified or discarded.
In science, if there is a conflict between observation and hypothesis, the hypothesis loses.
It doesn't matter whose hypothesis it is or how famous they are - if the hypothesis does not conform to reality it must be rejected.

8. A null hypothesis is just the opposite of your actual hypothesis.
Here are a few examples:
1) Hypothesis - Tomato plants grow better if you bury a dead fish next to them.
Null hypothesis - Tomato plants do NOT grow better if you bury a dead fish next to them.
2) Hypothesis - The moon is made of green cheese.
Null hypothesis - The moon is not made of green cheese.
3) Hypothesis - Rabbits prefer to eat at nighttime.
Null hypothesis - Rabbits do not prefer to eat at nighttime.
Write some notes in your journal about your own hypothesis. Consider what your null hypothesis might be and record those ideas as well.

9. Write your own Hypothesis!
Now that you’ve read about it, how do you actually write your hypothesis??
It’s the answer to your scientific question. But how do you come to this answer?
If you’ve done your reading, you will probably have a good idea of what you think will happen…
It is challenging because you must come up with this answer BEFORE you do your experiment.
This hypothesis is really an educated guess.
Write down in your notebook some things you discovered while reading that have led you to expect your experiment will give you a certain answer.
Write your science fair question.
Write down what you suppose would be the best answer to this question?

10. Congratulations - that answer you just wrote is your hypothesis
Congratulations - that answer you just wrote is your hypothesis. Now it is your job to prove your hypothesis to be correct or incorrect. If your hypothesis is correct you will accept your hypothesis. If you prove your hypothesis to be incorrect, then you reject it.
Now let’s polish up that hypothesis. Check off this list as you go through your hypothesis.
Do you have any extra words?
Is your hypothesis stated in NO MORE than 2 sentences? It needs a because clause to justify why you are making this hypothesis.
Is it short and in active voice? Get rid of all passive voice.
Passive voice - The dry ice helped the soda cool down faster than the regular ice was able to.
Active voice - The dry iced soda cooled fastest, while the regular iced soda cooled slower. (Hint - the thing being tested, in this case the ice, is doing the action. Make sure your main variable is getting the action verb.
How clear is it? Take it to a person who has no idea what you are doing. Give them the question and the answer. Ask if they understand it. If not, you need to reword it.
Take a stand. If you believe something to be true, say so with confidence.

11. Remember to write in your prayer journal and scientific notebook.
Record the process you went through to come to your final hypothesis in your notebook! Make sure you write your final hypothesis with a reason behind it.
Be sure to write down why you came to the conclusion. You will want to make a note of the references that led you to this hypothesis in case you want to refer to them later.