HYPOTHISES AND PREDICTIONS Hypothesis-driven science always begins with an observation as in the above example of your car not starting or the observation that bacteria do not seem to grow as fast in the refrigerator. Observations always lead to the next step in the scientific method, which is a question. The question is always derived from the observation. Using the earlier examples, you would ask, why is my car not starting or why do bacteria grow slower in colder temperatures? The question is going to drive the process such that a researcher will design an experiment to answer it. When a question is asked, what do you expect to receive? Obviously, an answer is expected. Howevet, in science, the investigator calls the answer to a question a hypothesis. Classically, a hypothesis is defined as an educated guess. This is because people formulate answers based on personal knowledge and experience regarding the topic. Ultimately, a hypothesis is a way of answering questions in a scientific manner. A hypothesis must be stated as an answer that is both testable and falsifiable. Many statements appear to be hypotheses; however, there is no way to collect and analyze data, thus ruling them out as acceptable hypotheses. One inappropriate example could be the statement that your car is a piece of junk 1. Explain why the above stated hypothesis is invalid. 2. With the above example, a valid hypothesis could be that the car battery is dead. What would a possible hypothesis be for the observation that bacteria do not grow as well at colder temperatures? 3. Which of the following statements are valid hypotheses? a. The Chicago Cubs are the world’s best baseball team. Drug X will lower cholesterol by 53%. Fertilizer A will increase tomato yield. b. c. d. Abraham Lincoln was our nation’s best president. A prediction is a more detailed hypothesis. Specifically, a prediction includes not only the hypothesis, but also the game plan and predicted result. In general, the prediction takes the form of an “if… then” statement, which is one helpful way to identify predictions. The “if… then” statement provides a particular outcome based on the logical argument in the prediction. For example, an appropriate prediction to the above example would be ifthe car battery is dead and I replace it, then my car will start. Notice the example prediction includes: the hypothesis, what will be done to test it, and the predicted result. HAPTER 1 What would a possible prediction be for the observation that bacteria do not grow as well at colder temperatures? 4. EXPERIMENT The experiment portion will be where a procedure is designed to test the validity of th bypothesis.In science, this systematic process is referred to as a controlled experiment. Any su experiment should have the following components: an experimental group and control grou The role of the control group is to remain unchanged, therefore s for the experimental gro un lu