Writing a Hypothesis

What is a hypothesis?

• The strategy used for scientific investigations

• A guess for an experiment

• An educated prediction that can be tested

What is the difference between a hypothesis and a prediction?

• A hypothesis is a guess, a prediction is backed by scientific knowledge

• A hypothesis is backed by scientific knowledge, a prediction is just a guess

• A hypothesis and a prediction are the same thing

What are the characteristics of a hypothesis?

• Typically written as one sentence

• Backed by scientific knowledge

• Written as "if...then...because"

• All of the above

What goes in the "if..." part?

• Independent variable (what are you doing/changing?)

• Dependent variable (what do you think the result will be/what are you measuring?)

• Scientific knowledge

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS2-1

What goes in the "then..." part?

• Independent variable (what are you doing/changing?)

• Dependent variable (what do you think the result will be/what are you measuring?)

• Scientific knowledge

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-2

NGSS.HS-PS3-4

What goes in the "because..." part?

• Independent variable (what are you doing/changing?)

• Dependent variable (what do you think the result will be/what are you measuring?)

• Scientific knowledge

Which hypothesis is correctly written?

• I'm going to sleep 8 hours tonight to do well on my formative

• If I sleep for 8 hours, then I will do well on my formative.

• If I sleep for 8 hours, then I will do well on my formative because research shows that teenagers need 8 hours of sleep every night.

• If I sleep for 8 hours, then I will do well on my formative because I want to sleep more.

Which brand of paper towel will absorb the most liquid? What is the independent variable?

• paper towel brand

• amount of liquid (mL)

Tags

NGSS.HS-PS1-3

Angel wants to know if the type of soap has an effect on how clean her clothes get. What is the independent variable?

• type of soap

• cleanliness of clothes

Zach wants to determine if the amount of time spent on social media has an effect of grades. What is the dependent variable?

• change in grades

• time spend on social media