Writing a Good Hypothesis

What is a Hypothesis? A hypothesis is an educated guess about the answer to a question. Research must be done before making a hypothesis. A hypothesis is not just any prediction. It needs to be justified. That means you need to back up what you say with facts.

IF, THEN, BECAUSE Format A hypothesis looks at the effect of our independent variable on our dependent variable. IF we change our independent variable, THEN how will our dependent variable change? Example: IF you exercise, THEN you will get stronger.

IF, THEN, BECAUSE Format The BECAUSE is your justification. This is backed up with facts. If you exercise, then you will get stronger, BECAUSE you are developing your muscles. Try a hypothesis for the effect of eating too much ice cream on your weight.

IF, THEN, BECAUSE Format If you eat too much ice cream, then you will gain weight, because ice cream has a lot of calories that your body will store as fat. Try some of the other examples on the worksheet!