What is a Hypothesis and How do I Write It?

Making a hypothesis is a step in the Scientific Method The 7 basic steps of the scientific method: 1.Ask a question 2.Make a hypothesis 3.List your materials 4.Determine your procedure 5.Record data and observations 6.Analyze the data 7.Draw a conclusion

Example question Example question A scientist notices that the tomato plant closest to her neighbor’s yard is much taller than any of the other plants in her garden bed. She also notices that the neighbor turns on his sprinkler system every day, and that some of this water reaches only her big plant. The scientist creates a question: Does daily watering from a sprinkler make a tomato plant grow faster than other tomato plants?

Example hypothesis The scientist creates this hypothesis to address her question: “If I water the tomatoes in my garden daily, then they will grow faster because they receive the best amount of water.” The scientist creates this hypothesis to address her question: “If I water the tomatoes in my garden daily, then they will grow faster because they receive the best amount of water.”

What do you do with a hypothesis?  Notice how the example scientist’s hypothesis makes a prediction that can be tested:  “If I water the tomatoes in my garden daily then they will grow faster because they receive the best amount of water.”  What will the scientist do in the investigation to test her hypothesis?

How do you write a hypothesis? A good hypothesis includes three parts: A good hypothesis includes three parts: 1. What you are changing 2. A predicted outcome 3. An explanation for why those results will occur

How do you write a hypothesis? A good hypothesis is worded like this: If…..then…...because……

How do you write a hypothesis? A hypothesis is worded as a prediction about what will happen if you change something Example: If students eat a lot of candy then they will get more cavities because of the amount of sugar.

Hypothesis example Will students get sick stomachs if they eat a lot of chocolate? If students eat a lot of chocolate then they will get a sick stomach because of the sugar.

If….then….because…. After the word “If”… explain what will change in the investigation After the word “then” …write what you predict will happen as a result of that change After the word “because”…explain why you think it will happen

Another Hypothesis Does staying in the sun too long give you skin cancer? If you stay in the sun too long then you will get skin cancer because of the exposure to UV rays.

Practice Writing Hypotheses Do birds with longer or shorter wings fly faster? If a bird has longer wings then it will fly faster because there will be more uplift.

Practice Writing Hypotheses Does eating chocolate cause pimples? If If you eat chocolate then then you will get pimples because because of the amount of oil in chocolate.