1. HYPOTHESIZING
Suggesting a solution to a problem or possible answer to a scientific question you want to investigate.

2. HYPOTHESIS
Is a suggested solution to a problem or answer to a scientific question based upon a person’s observation and previous knowledge or experience
Example: You have observed that milk left outside the refrigerator quickly sours.
Your hypothesis might be:
Refrigeration slows the spoiling of milk.

3. HYPOTHESIS MUST BE TESTABLE
You must be able to plan an experiment to test your hypothesis.
The RESULTS of the experiment help you decide if your hypothesis is correct.
The hypothesis gives a rough outline of an experiment that can be performed to test the hypothesis.

4. SCIENTISTS USE A HYPOTHESIS TO WRITE A PREDICTION
o Prediction is worded as an
if…then…statement.
EXAMPLE:
o Hypothesis: Fertlizers make plants to grow bigger.
Prediction: If I give my plants fertilizer, then they will grow bigger.

5. DEVELOPING A HYPOTHESIS
To develop a hypothesis first you have to write a question that can be investigated.
Your hypothesis will be your educated guess about the answer.

6. PRACTICE Hypothesis
Write a hypothesis and a prediction in the form of if…then…statement based on this question: “Will empty trucks use the same amount of gas as heavily loaded trucks?”
Suppose you hypothesize that larger airplanes can fly farther than smaller airplanes. How could you test your prediction?

7. WRITE a question based on the following experiment, then write a hypothesis
Shari set up plastic bowling pins 0.5cm from the end of a ramp. She rolled a ball down the ramp and into the pins. She then counted HOW MANY OF THE PINS the rolling ball moved. She repeated this 3 more times using balls of different masses. Shari observed that the ball with the greatest mass moved the most pins.