Hypothesis, Theory, or Neither

Reasoned explanations - not a guess

• Scientific Hypothesis

• Scientific Theory

• Neither

Generally don't have a long list of exceptions and special rules

• Scientific Hypothesis

• Scientific Theory

• Neither

Has proven itself time and time again in thousands of experiments and observational studies

• Scientific Hypothesis

• Scientific Theory

• Neither

Concise, coherent, systematic, predictive, and broadly applicable

• Scientific Hypothesis

• Scientific Theory

• Neither

Based on prior experience, scientific background knowledge, preliminary observations, and logic

• Scientific Hypothesis

• Scientific Theory

• Neither

A wild guess or an educated guess

• Scientific Hypothesis

• Scientific Theory

• Neither

Must be strongly supported by many different lines of evidence.

• Scientific Hypothesis

• Scientific Theory

• Neither

A hunch about how certain phenomena function

• Scientific Hypothesis

• Scientific Theory

• Neither

Powerful explanation for a broad set of observations.

• Scientific Hypothesis

• Scientific Theory

• Neither

Makes predictions in new situations

• Scientific Hypothesis

• Scientific Theory

• Neither