Writing A

Hypothesis
 What Is a Real Hypothesis?

A hypothesis is a short statement that proposes

a possible explanation to some phenomenon
or event
 A Hypothesis Must Be….
In order to be considered valid, a hypothesis
a) Must Be Testable
b) Must Avoid Opinion or Bias
c) Is Usually Written As An If…Then…Because
Statement.
d) A hypothesis avoids personal
pronouns (I, Me, We, You).
e) If… (the independent variable),
then… (the dependent variable)
 A Hypothesis is Testable
• You will perform a test of how two variables might
be related.
• When you are doing a real experiment, you are
testing variables.
• Usually, a hypothesis is based on a previous
observation.
– Example: You notice that in November many trees
undergo color changes in their leaves and the
average daily temperatures are dropping.
– Are these two events connected?
– How?
 How Is A Hypothesis Written?
Answering the above observation by writing,
temperature may cause leaves to change
color, does not suggest how you might prove
it.
A proper hypothesis is written as an If…then…
because statement.
 If…Then…Because
• If leaf color change is related to temperature ,
then exposing plants to low temperatures will
result in changes in leaf color because cooler
weather causes a chemical change in the leaf.
Example:
If skin cancer is related to ultraviolet light , then
people with a high exposure to UV light will have
a higher frequency of skin cancer because UV
rays cause radiation that damages a cell’s DNA.
 If…Then…Because
Your hypothesis will use both your independent
and dependent variables
Independent Variable (manipulated): The
variable controlled by the tester. (IV)

Dependent Variable(responding): The resulting

variable from changing the independent
variable. (DV)
• In the first example, the independent variable
was exposing the leaves to cooler
temperatures. The dependent variable is a
change in the leaf color.

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 Example:
A hypothesis is a possible answer to a question.
• Question:
– What effect does stirring have on solution rate?
• Answer:
– If the water is stirred, then the tablet will dissolve
faster because stirring increases solution rate.
– IV: Stirring the water faster
– DV: The rate the tablet dissolves
 Examples
• Write a possible hypothesis for the following questions:

1) Do you think the water quality will be better in some

areas of the world or worse?
2) Are the organisms found in the water the same all over
the world? Why or why not?
3) What effect does the amount of light have on plant
growth?
4) Does the type of metal effect how hot it can become?