hypothesis in a sentence for science

How to Use hypothesis in a Sentence

• The results of the experiment did not support his hypothesis .
• Their hypothesis is that watching excessive amounts of television reduces a person's ability to concentrate.
• Other chemists rejected his hypothesis .

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hypothesis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Methodology

• How to Write a Strong Hypothesis | Steps & Examples

How to Write a Strong Hypothesis | Steps & Examples

Published on May 6, 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023.

A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested by scientific research. If you want to test a relationship between two or more variables, you need to write hypotheses before you start your experiment or data collection .

Example: Hypothesis

Daily apple consumption leads to fewer doctor’s visits.

Table of contents

What is a hypothesis, developing a hypothesis (with example), hypothesis examples, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about writing hypotheses.

A hypothesis states your predictions about what your research will find. It is a tentative answer to your research question that has not yet been tested. For some research projects, you might have to write several hypotheses that address different aspects of your research question.

A hypothesis is not just a guess – it should be based on existing theories and knowledge. It also has to be testable, which means you can support or refute it through scientific research methods (such as experiments, observations and statistical analysis of data).

Variables in hypotheses

Hypotheses propose a relationship between two or more types of variables .

• An independent variable is something the researcher changes or controls.
• A dependent variable is something the researcher observes and measures.

If there are any control variables , extraneous variables , or confounding variables , be sure to jot those down as you go to minimize the chances that research bias  will affect your results.

In this example, the independent variable is exposure to the sun – the assumed cause . The dependent variable is the level of happiness – the assumed effect .

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Step 1. ask a question.

Writing a hypothesis begins with a research question that you want to answer. The question should be focused, specific, and researchable within the constraints of your project.

Step 2. Do some preliminary research

Your initial answer to the question should be based on what is already known about the topic. Look for theories and previous studies to help you form educated assumptions about what your research will find.

At this stage, you might construct a conceptual framework to ensure that you’re embarking on a relevant topic . This can also help you identify which variables you will study and what you think the relationships are between them. Sometimes, you’ll have to operationalize more complex constructs.

Step 3. Formulate your hypothesis

Now you should have some idea of what you expect to find. Write your initial answer to the question in a clear, concise sentence.

4. Refine your hypothesis

You need to make sure your hypothesis is specific and testable. There are various ways of phrasing a hypothesis, but all the terms you use should have clear definitions, and the hypothesis should contain:

• The relevant variables
• The specific group being studied
• The predicted outcome of the experiment or analysis

5. Phrase your hypothesis in three ways

To identify the variables, you can write a simple prediction in  if…then form. The first part of the sentence states the independent variable and the second part states the dependent variable.

In academic research, hypotheses are more commonly phrased in terms of correlations or effects, where you directly state the predicted relationship between variables.

If you are comparing two groups, the hypothesis can state what difference you expect to find between them.

6. Write a null hypothesis

If your research involves statistical hypothesis testing , you will also have to write a null hypothesis . The null hypothesis is the default position that there is no association between the variables. The null hypothesis is written as H 0 , while the alternative hypothesis is H 1 or H a .

• H 0 : The number of lectures attended by first-year students has no effect on their final exam scores.
• H 1 : The number of lectures attended by first-year students has a positive effect on their final exam scores.

If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

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See an example

A hypothesis is not just a guess — it should be based on existing theories and knowledge. It also has to be testable, which means you can support or refute it through scientific research methods (such as experiments, observations and statistical analysis of data).

Null and alternative hypotheses are used in statistical hypothesis testing . The null hypothesis of a test always predicts no effect or no relationship between variables, while the alternative hypothesis states your research prediction of an effect or relationship.

Hypothesis testing is a formal procedure for investigating our ideas about the world using statistics. It is used by scientists to test specific predictions, called hypotheses , by calculating how likely it is that a pattern or relationship between variables could have arisen by chance.

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McCombes, S. (2023, November 20). How to Write a Strong Hypothesis | Steps & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 9, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/hypothesis/

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Hypothesis Sentence Examples

Their hypothesis explains so many facts.

An unproven hypothesis of the existence of things can be useful.

There is no data to accept or refute this hypothesis .

At any rate this hypothesis suggests an explanation of many hitherto inexplicable facts.

The schedule now called for hypothesis testing.

The Chemistry of the Sun (1887) is an elaborate treatise on solar spectroscopy based on the hypothesis of elemental dissociation through the intensity of solar heat.

His silent votes were all given on that hypothesis .

A detective's work consists largely in forming and testing hypothesis .

A third hypothesis is that advanced by Karl Rieder (Der Gottesfreund von Oberland, Innsbruck, 1905), who thinks that not even Merswin himself wrote any of the literature, but that his secretary and associate Nicholas of Lowen, head of the House of St John at Griinenworth, the retreat founded by Merswin for the circle, worked over all the writings which emanated from different members of the group but bore no author's names, and to glorify the founder of the house attached Merswin's name to some of them and out of his imagination created "the Friend of God from the Oberland," whom he named as the writer of the others.

Such are to be explained on the "sources hypothesis ."

The degree of smoothness or consistency which is to be expected on the hypothesis of a single author will be determined by taste rather than argument.

It seems clear, however, that the hypothesis of epics such as the Iliad and Odyssey having been formed by putting together or even by working up shorter poems finds no support from analogy.

Herbert Spencer, again, before the decline in question set in, put forward the hypothesis that "the ability to maintain individual life and the ability to multiply vary inversely"; in other words, the strain upon the nervous system involved in the struggle for life under the conditions of modern civilization, by reacting on the reproductive powers, tends towards comparative sterility.

According to the hypothesis of Waldeyer and Thiersch there is perfect equilibrium between the normal epithelium and its supporting structure, the connective tissue, but with advancing age this balance is upset owing to the connective tissue gradually losing its restraining power.

As the word " interpolation " implies, Hermann did not maintain the hypothesis of a congeries of independent " lays."

This line of hypothesis and demonstration is typical of the palaeogeographic methods generally - namely, that vertebrate palaeontologists, impressed by the sudden appearance of extinct forms of continental life, demand land connexion or migration tracts from common centres of origin and dispersal, while the invertebrate palaeontologist alone is able to restore ancient coast-lines and determine the extent and width of these tracts.

This hypothesis Clifford connected with the hypothesis of psychophysical parallelism.

The latter hypothesis seems more probable, upon the whole, although there is little to choose between the two.

But this hypothesis cannot be accepted as furnishing a satisfactory explanation of the likeness.

The hypothesis that Beowulf is in whole or in part a translation from a Scandinavian original, although still maintained by some scholars, introduces more difficulties than it solves, and must be dismissed as untenable.

In the motion consequent on any slight disturbance the total energy T+V is constant, and since T is essentially positive it follows that V can never exceed its equilibrium value by more than a slight amount, depending on the energy of the disturbance, This implies, on the present hypothesis , that there is an upper limit to the deviation of each co-ordinate from its equilibrium value; moreover, this limit diminishes indefinitely with the energy of the original disturbance.

This leads to a determinantal equation in X whose 2n roots are either real and negative, or complex with negative real parts, on the present hypothesis that the functions T, V, F are all essentially positive.

It is sometimes known as the "expectation of life," a term, however, which involves a mathematical hypothesis now discarded.

Stubbs's edition of the Itinerarium (Rolls Series, 1864), in which the contrary hypothesis is maintained, appeared before Gaston Paris published his discovery.

It follows that, for the thinking mind, matter is a necessary hypothesis .

It follows that philosophy is in a sense both dualist and monist; it is a cosmic dualism inasmuch as it admits the possible existence of matter as a hypothesis , though it denies the possibility of any true knowledge of it, and is hence in regard of the only possible knowledge an idealistic monism.

Both laws were of paramount importance, as direct evidence of Darwin's theory of descent, which, it will be remembered, was at the time regarded merely as an hypothesis .

In Kowalevsky's Versuch einer natiirlichen Classification der Fossilen Hufthiere (1873) we find a model union of detailed inductive study with theory and working hypothesis .

Brocchi and Daniel Rosa (1899) have developed the hypothesis of the progressive reduction of variability.

The net result of observation is not favourable to the essentially Darwinian view that the adaptive arises out of the fortuitous by selection, but is rather favourable to the hypothesis of the existence of some quite unknown intrinsic law of life which we are at present totally unable to comprehend or even conceive.

The resemblance of this to some versions of the Hindu doctrine of the four ages or yuga is hardly to be accounted for except on the hypothesis that the Mexican theology contains ideas learnt from Asiatics.

This view, generally known as "Prout's hypothesis ," at least had the merit of stimulating inquiry, and many of the most careful determinations of atomic weights undertaken since its promulgation have been provoked by the desire to test its validity.

In 1902, in an "attempt at a chemical conception of the ether," he put forward the hypothesis that there are in existence two elements of smaller atomic weight than hydrogen, and that the lighter of these is a chemically inert, exceedingly mobile, all-penetrating and all-pervading gas, which constitutes the aether.

The occasional similarities of thought and expression between them and the Lucan writings suggest that the period of their origin lies within a quarter of a century after Paul's death, and, when one or two later accretions are admitted, the internal evidence, either upon the organization of the church 1 or upon the errors controverted, tallies with this hypothesis .

But Aristotle was an author as well as a lecturer; for the hypothesis that the Aristotelian writings are notes of his lectures taken down by his pupils is contradicted by the tradition of their learning while walking, and disproved by the impossibility of taking down such complicated discourses from dictation.

Such in brief is the Platonism of the written dialogues; where the main doctrine of forms is confessedly advanced never as a dogma but always as a hypothesis , in which there are difficulties, but without which Plato can explain neither being, nor truth nor goodness, because throughout he denies the being of individual things.

Plato's hypothesis of supernatural forms, and advance his own.

Here, too, he examined the hypothesis of Eudoxus that things are caused by mixture of forms, a hypothesis which formed a kind of transition to - his own later views, but failed to satisfy him on account of its diffi - culties.

He rejected the Platonic hypothesis of forms, and affirmed that they are not separate but common, without however as yet having advanced to a constructive metaphysics of his own; while at the same time, after having at first adopted his master's dialectical treatment of metaphysical problems, he soon passed from dialogues to didactic works,, which had the result of separating metaphysics from dialectic. The all-important consequence of this first departure from Platonism was that Aristotle became and remained primarily a metaphysician.

During his master's life, in the second period of his own life, he protested against the Platonic hypothesis of forms, formal numbers and the one as the good, and tended to separate metaphysics from dialectic by beginning to pass from dialogues to didactic works.

There is a further hypothesis that the Aristotelian works were not originally treatises, but notes of lectures either for or by his pupils.

We have seen how anxious Aristotle was to be considered one of the Platonists, how reluctant he was to depart from Plato's hypothesis of forms, and how, in denying the separability, he retained the Platonic belief in the reality and even in the unity of the universal.

The hypothesis of inherence gives an inadequate account of the dependence of an attribute on a substance, and is a kind of half-way house between separation and predication.

These considerations make it probable that the author of all three treatises was Aristotle himself; while the analysis of the treatises favours the hypothesis that he wrote the Eudemian Ethics and the Magna Moralia more or less together as the rudimentary first drafts of the mature Nicomachean Ethics.

At first he adopted the somewhat ascetic views of his master about soul and body, and about goods of body and estate; but before Plato's death he had rejected the hypothesis of forms, formal numbers and the form of the good identified with the one, by which Plato tried to explain moral phenomena; while his studies and teaching on rhetoric and poetry soon began to make him take a more tolerant view than Plato did of men's passions.

The hypothesis that the Eudemian Ethics, and by consequence the Magna Moralia, are later than Aristotle has arisen from a simple misconception, continued in a Scholium attributed to Aspasius, who lived in the 2nd century A.D.

According to a probable hypothesis it is a continuation of the above-mentioned river Reka, which is lost near Sankt Kanzian.

The hypothesis (Schlatter, Das neugefundene hebrdische Stuck des Sirach) that it was from Aristobulus that the philosophy of Ecclesiasticus was derived is not generally accepted.

The structure of the Mollusca in the greater number of cases agrees with the hypothesis that the primitive form was unsegmented, and therefore had but one pair of coelomic ducts and one pair of nephridia.

The former hypothesis with its variants may be called the Trochosphere- hypothesis , the latter the Gastraea- hypothesis .

The careful study of the development of one Acoelous form and of certain Rhabdocoels has strengthened this hypothesis by showing that no definite enteron or gut is at first laid down, but that certain embryonic syncytial tracts become digestive tracts, others excretory, others again muscular.

And in general it may be stated that the hypothesis of such an intermixture of forms from neighbouring dialects has been rendered in recent years far more credible by the striking evidence of such continual intermixture going on within quite modern periods of time afforded by the Atlas linguistique de la France, even in the portion which has already been published.

Even the Cartesian school, as it came more and more to feel the difficulty of explaining the interaction of body and mind, and, indeed, any efficient causation whatever, gradually tended to the hypothesis that the real cause is God, who, on the occasion of changes in body, causes corresponding changes in mind, and vice versa.

Avenarius (q.v.) is the hypothesis of the inseparability of subject and object, or, to use his own phraseology, of ego and environment, in purely empirical, or a posteriori form.

He considered that the whole hypothesis that an outer physical thing causes a change in one's central nervous system, which again causes another change in one's inner psychical system or soul, is a departure from the natural view of the universe, and is due to what he called " introjection," or the hypothesis which encloses soul and its faculties in the body, and then, having created a false antithesis between outer and inner, gets into the difficulty of explaining how an outer physical stimulus can impart something into an inner psychical soul.

It is curious that Avenarius should have brought forward this artificial hypothesis as the natural view of the world, without reflecting that on the one hand the majority of mankind believes that the environment (R) exists, has existed, and will exist, without being a counterpart of any living being as central part (C); and that on the other hand it is so far from being natural to man to believe that sensation and thought (E) are different from, and merely dependent on, his body (C), that throughout the Homeric poems, though soul is required for other purposes, all thinking as well as sensation is regarded as a purely bodily operation.

He starts as a phenomenalist from the hypothesis , which we have just described, that knowledge is ex Wundt.

Between Hume's a posteriori and Kant's a priori hypothesis he proposes a logical theory of the origin of notions beyond experience.

Wundt, however, having satisfied himself of the power of mere logical thought beyond experience, goes on to further apply his hypothesis , and supposes that, in dealing with the physical world, logical thinking having added to experience the " supplementary notion " of causality as the connexion of appearances which vary together, adds also the " supplementary notion " of substance as substratum of the connected appearances.

Taken for granted the Kantian hypothesis of a sense of sensations requiring synthesis by understanding, and the Kantian conclusion that Nature as known consists of phenomena united by categories as objects of experience, Green argued, in accordance with Kant's first position, that knowledge, in order to unite the manifold of sensations by relations into related phenomena, requires unifying intelligence, or what Kant called synthetic unity of apperception, which cannot itself be sensation, because it arranges sensations; and he argued, in accordance with Kant's second position, that therefore Nature itself as known requires unifying intelligence to constitute the relations of its phenomena, and to make it a connected world of experience.

Rejecting everything in the Kritik which savoured of the " metempirical," he yet sympathized so far with Hegel's noumenalism as to accept the identification of cause and effect, though he interpreted the hypothesis phenomenalistically by saying that cause and effect are two aspects of the same phenomenon.

But his main sympathy was with Fechner, the gist of whose " inner psychophysics " he adopted, without, however, the hypothesis that what is conscious in us is conscious in the all-embracing spirit of God.

Clifford (q.v.) was working out the hypothesis of psychophysical parallelism to a conclusion different from that of Lewes, and more allied to that of Leibnitz, the prime originator of all these hypotheses.

He disagrees with Fechner's hypothesis of a world-soul, the highest spirit, God, who embraces all psychophysical processes.

James Ward, in Naturalism and Agnosticism (1899), starts from the same phenomenalistic views of Mach and Kirchhoff about mechanics; he proceeds to the hypothesis of duality within experience, which we have traced in James Ward.

These sudden appearances of vast bodies of lemmings, and their singular habit of persistently pursuing the same onward course of migration, have given rise to various speculations, from the ancient belief of the Norwegian peasants, shared by Olaus Magnus, that they fall down from the clouds, to the hypothesis that they are acting in obedience to an instinct inherited from ancient times, and still seeking the congenial home in the submerged Atlantis, to which their ancestors of the Miocene period were wont to resort when driven from their ordinary dwelling-places by crowding or scarcity of food.

In this he gave equations resulting from the hypothesis that the magnetism of a ship is partly due to the permanent magnetism of hard iron and partly to the transient induced magnetism of soft iron; that the latter is proportional to the intensity of the inducing force, and that the length of the needle is infinitesimally small compared to the distance of the surrounding iron.

Cuenot, in order to explain certain features in the hereditary transmission of coat colour in mice, postulated the hypothesis that the grey colour of the wild mouse (which is known to be a compound of black, chocolate and yellow pigments) may be due either to the interaction of a single ferment and three chromogens, or vice versa, to one chromogenic substance and three ferments.

Simplicius's further suggestion that Thales conceived the element to be modified by thinning and thickening is plainly inconsistent with the statement of Theophrastus that the hypothesis in question was peculiar to Anaximenes.

On the whole, a common origin in the north for at least the arcticoaltaic group of alpine plants seems to be the most reasonable hypothesis .

On this basis, with other interesting morphological comparisons, Brefeld erected his hypothesis , now untenable, that the Ascomycetes and Basidiomycetes diverge from the Zygomycetes, the former having particularly specialized the ascus (sporangial) mode of reproduction, the latter having specialized the conidial (indehiscent one-spored sporangiole) mode.

The isolation of these compounds is a powerful argument in favour of the Hantzsch hypothesis which requires the existence of these three different types, whilst the Bamberger-Blomstrand view only accounts for the forma tion of two isomeric cyanides, namely, one of the normal diazonium type and one of the iso-diazocyanide type.

Cleanthes's view is, therefore, an hypothesis , and in no sense an inference.

The phenomenon of isomerism will probably supply the crucial test, at least for the chemist, and the question will be whether the Ostwaldian conception, while substituting the Daltonian hypothesis , will also explain isomerism.

But this hypothesis is apparently without foundation.

Poulton, in an admirable discussion of contemporary views regarding species (presidential address to the Entomological Society of London 1904), has shown that Darwin did not believe in the objective existence of species, not only because he was led to discard the hypothesis of special creation as the explanation of the polymorphism of life, but because in practice as a working systematist he could neither find for himself nor ascertain from other systematists any settled criteria by which a group of specimens could be elevated into a genus, accepted as a species, or regarded as a variety.

Malthus has in more modern times derived a certain degree of reflected lustre from the rise and wide acceptance of the Dar, winian hypothesis .

Starting from the hypothesis that Sweden was "DenmarkNorway's most active and irreconcilable enemy," Bernstorff logically included France, the secular ally of Sweden, among the hostile powers with whom an alliance was to be avoided, and drew near to Great Britain as the natural foe of France, especially during the American War of Independence, and this too despite the irritation occasioned in Denmark-Norway by Great Britain's masterful interpretation of the expression "contraband."

Weber's hypothesis of electric atoms, capable of diffusing through metallic bodies and conductors of electricity, but capable of vibration only in non-conductors, it is possible that the ultimate mechanism of conduction may be reduced in all cases to that of diffusion in metallic bodies or internal radiation in dielectrics.

But without following the explanation into the details in which it revels, it may be enough to say that the whole hypothesis is but an attempt to exclude the occult conception of action at a distance, and substitute a familiar phenomenon.

Birkeland (19), who has made a special study of magnetic disturbances in the Arctic, proceeding on the hypothesis that they arise from electric currents in the atmosphere, and who has thence attempted to deduce the position and intensity of these currents, asserts that whilst in the case of many storms the data were insufficient, when it was possible to fix the position of the mean line of flow of the hypothetical current relatively to an auroral arc, he invariably found the directions coincident or nearly so.

The height has also been calculated on the hypothesis that auroral light has its source where the atmospheric pressure is similar to that at which most brilliancy is observed when electric discharges pass in vacuum tubes.

By modifying the hypothesis as to the size and density, times appreciably longer or shorter than the above would be obtained.

The Achaeans, or Hellenes, as they were later termed, were on this hypothesis one of the fair-haired tribes of upper Europe known to the ancients as Keltoi (Celts), who from time to time have pressed down over the Alps into the southern lands, successively as Achaeans, Gauls, Goths and Franks, and after the conquest of the indigenous small dark race in no long time died out under climatic conditions fatal to their physique and morale.

To regard these letters as ciphers is a precarious hypothesis , for the simple reason that cryptography is not to be looked for in the very infancy of Arabic writing.

Their connection with Semitic and Egyptian, therefore, remains at present an obscure though probable hypothesis .

The memorandum of the adjutant-general above referred to was based on the hypothesis that Khartum could not hold out beyond the 15th of November, and that the expedition should reach Berber by the 20th of October.

Or again, the process of scientific induction is a threefold chain; the original hypothesis (the first unification of the fact) seems to melt away when confronted with opposite facts, and yet no scientific progress is possible unless the stimulus of the original unification is strong enough to clasp the discordant facts and establish a reunification.

The unanimous recognition on the part of all biblical scholars that the Old Testament cannot be taken as it stands as a trustworthy account of the history with which it deals, necessitates a hypothesis or, it may be, a series of hypotheses, which shall enable one to approach the more detailed study of its history and religion.

Material forces are, by hypothesis , capable of feeling; matter also must have been from the first endowed with consciousness.

In 1754 Euler communicated to the Berlin Academy a further memoir, in - which, starting from the hypothesis that light consists of vibrations excited in an elastic fluid by luminous bodies, and that the difference of colour of light is due to the greater or less frequency of these vibrations in a given time, he deduced his previous results.

The correctness cf this hypothesis has long been under suspicion, but it has generally been accepted as the best simple approximation to the actual distribution of the motions that could be made.

But, whilst recognizing the existence of local drifts and systems, and admitting the possibility of relative motion between the nearer and more distant, or other classes of stars, it is;only recently that astronomers have seriously doubted the correctness of the hypothesis of random distribution of stellar motions as at least a rough representation of the truth.

This hypothesis of two star-drifts does not imply that all the stars move in one or other of two directions.

The older one - which may be called the " one-drift " hypothesis , since according to it the stars appear to form a single drift moving away from the solar apex - requires that the apparent directions of motion should be so distributed that fewest stars are moving directly towards the solar apex, and most stars along the great circle away from the solar apex, the number decreasing symmetrically, for directions inclined on either side of this great circle, according to a law which can be calculated.

Until the hypothesis has been thoroughly tested by an examination of the line-of-sight velocities of stars from the same point of view, this physical interpretation must be received with some degree of caution; but there can be no doubt of the reality of the anomalies in the statistical distribution of proper motions of the stars, and of these it offers a simple and adequate explanation.

But the crowning absurdity is that, if all universals were hypothetical, Barbara in the first figure would become a purely hypothetical syllogism - a consequence which seems innocent enough until we remember that all universal affirmative conclusions in all sciences would with their premises dissolve into mere hypothesis .

But his account of the first is imperfect, because in ancient analysis the more general propositions, with which it concludes, are not mere consequences, but the real grounds of the given proposition; while his addition of the second reduces the nature of analysis to the utmost confusion, because hypothetical deduction is progressive from hypothesis to consequent facts whereas analysis is regressive from consequent facts to real ground.

It is noticeable that Wundt quotes Newton's discovery of the centripetal force of the planets to the sun as an instance of this supposed hypothetical, analytic, inductive method; as if Newton's analysis were a hypothesis of the centripetal force to the sun, a deduction of the given facts of planetary motion, and a verification of the hypothesis by the given facts, and as if such a process of hypothetical deduction could be identical with either analysis or induction.

Hence it is that Jevons, followed by Sigwart and Wundt, reduces it to deduction from a hypothesis in the form "Let every M be P, S is M,.

As we have seen, Jevons, Sigwart and Wundt all think that induction contains a belief in causation, in a cause, or ground, which is not present in the particular facts of experience, but is contributed by a hypothesis added as a major premise to the particulars in order to explain them by the cause or ground.

Not, however, that all induction is causal; but where it is not, there is still less reason for making it a deduction from hypothesis .

It is, then, a fair working hypothesis as to the structure of the Organon to place the Topics, which deal with dialectical reasoning, before the Analytics.

The conjunction was by hypothesis not given, and is a new result by no_ means to be reached, apart from direct perception save by use of at least two given conjunctions.

The positive procedure by hypothesis and verification is rejected by Bacon, who thinks of hypothesis as the will o' the wisp of science, and prefers the cumbrous machinery of negative reasoning.

The hypothesis of the collector, the man who keeps a rain-gauge, or the missionary among savages, is to be discounted from as a source of error.

In especial he showed clear understanding of the functions of hypothesis and verification in the investigations of the solitary worker, with his facts still in course of accumulation and needing to be lighted up by the scientific imagination.

Whether the tradition which makes Ararat the resting-place of Noah's Ark is of any historical value or not, there is at least poetical fitness in the hypothesis , inasmuch as this mountain is about equally distant from the Black Sea and the Caspian, from the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf.

Later and more accurate experiments have confirmed the experimental value, and have shown that the limiting value of the specific heat should consequently be somewhat smaller than that given by Maxwell's hypothesis .

In all such systems, God is the terminus ad quem, a direct knowledge of whom is not claimed, but who is, as it were, the hypothesis adopted, with varying degrees of certainty in different thinkers, for the explanation of the facts before them.

Moreover, as this complication was a marked feature in certain epidemics of plague in India, the hypothesis has been framed by Hirsch that a special variety of plague, pestis indica, still found in India, is that which overran the world in the 14th century.

Further, to make out a case for dependence at all, one must assume the mistaken order (as it may be) in Gamaliel's speech as due to gross carelessness in the author of Acts - an hypothesis unlikely in itself.

Coulomb experimentally proved that the law of attraction and repulsion of simple electrified bodies was that the force between them varied inversely as the square of the distance and thus gave mathematical definiteness to the two-fluid hypothesis .

Berzelius early in the 19th century had advanced the hypothesis that chemical combination was due to electric attractions between the electric charges carried by chemical atoms. The notion, however, that electricity is atomic in structure was definitely put forward by Hermann von Helmholtz in a well-known Faraday lecture.

Varley had advanced tentatively the hypothesis that it consisted in an actual projection of electrified matter from the cathode, and Crookes was led by his researches in 1870, 1871 and 1872 to embrace and confirm this hypothesis in a modified form and announce the existence of a fourth state of matter, which he called radiant matter, demonstrating by many beautiful and convincing experiments that there was an actual projection of material substance of some kind possessing inertia from the surface of the cathode.

The final outcome of these investigations was the hypothesis that Thomson's corpuscles or particles composing the cathode discharge in a high vacuum tube must be looked upon as the ultimate constituent of what we call negative electricity; in other words, they are atoms of negative electricity, possessing, however, inertia, and these negative electrons are components at any rate of the chemical atom.

Thomson also developed this hypothesis in a profoundly interesting manner, and we may therefore summarize very briefly the views held on the nature of electricity and matter at the beginning of the 10th century by saying that the term electricity had come to be regarded, in part at least, as a collective name for electrons, which in turn must be considered as constituents of the chemical atom, furthermore as centres of certain lines of self-locked and permanent strain existing in the universal aether or electromagnetic medium.

Larmor and many others, the electronic hypothesis of matter and of electricity has been developed in great detail and may be said to represent the outcome of modern researches upon electrical phenomena.

But although the rigorous requirements of science could only be fulfilled by the employment of all these means, yet in their absence it was permissible to draw from the tables and the exclusion a hypothetical conclusion, the truth of which might be verified by the use of the other processes; such an hypothesis is called fantastically the First Vintage (Vindemiatio).

The true scientific procedure is by hypothesis followed up and tested by verification; the most powerful instrument is the deductive method, which Bacon can hardly be said to have recognized.

The power of framing hypothesis points to another want in the Baconian doctrine.

But he was certainly not ignorant of what may be called a deductive method, and of a kind of hypothesis .

Progress in scientific discovery is made mainly, if not solely, by the employment of hypothesis , and for that no code of rules can be laid down such as Bacon had devised.

Yet the framing of hypothesis is no mere random guesswork; it is left not to the imagination alone, but to the scientific imagination.

Not content with the barren assertion that the understanding makes nature, and that we can construct science only on the hypothesis that there is reason in the world, they proceeded to show how the thing was actually done.

Hume's casual allusion to "this famous atheist" and his "hideous hypothesis " is a fair specimen of the tone in which he is usually referred to; people talked about Spinoza, Lessing said, "as if he were a dead dog."

Lake San Martin lies in a crooked deeply cut passage through the Andes, and the divide between its southern extremity (Laguna Tar) and Lake Viedma, which discharges through the Santa Cruz river into the Atlantic, is so slight as to warrant the hypothesis that this was once a strait between the two oceans.

In the cuneiform letters from Tell el-Amarna in Egypt (1400 B.C.), we find among the princelings of Syria and Palestine names like Artamanya, Arzawiya, Shuwardata, a name terminating in -warzana, &c.; while the kings of Mitanni on the Euphrates are Artatama, Shutarna, Artashumara, and Dushratt anames too numerous and too genuinely Iranian to allow of the hypothesis of coincidence.

To him is also due the discovery of the power of rotatory polarization exhibited by quartz, and last of all, among his many contributions to the support of the undulatory hypothesis , comes the experimentum crucis which he proposed to carry out for comparing directly the velocity of light in air and in water or glass.

The hypothesis that a saying of Jesus is loosely added here to an Old Testament citation is very forced, and the inference is that by the time the author wrote, Luke's gospel was reckoned as This would be explicable if Luke could be assumed to have been the author, in whole or part, of the pastorals.

The fundamental doctrine of this work is that, on the hypothesis of free competition, exchange value is determined by the labour expended in production, - a proposition not new, nor, except with considerable limitation and explanation, true, and of little practical use, as "amount of labour" is a vague expression, and the thing intended is incapable of exact estimation.

The next step is to deduce this surface-tension from a hypothesis as to the molecular constitution of the liquid and of the bodies that surround it.

He proceeded to an investigation of the equilibrium of a fluid on the hypothesis of uniform density, and arrived at the conclusion that on this hypothesis none of the observed capillary phenomena would take place, and that, therefore, Laplace's theory, in which the density is supposed uniform, is not only insufficient but erroneous.

On the hypothesis of uniform density we shall find that this is true for films whose thickness exceeds The symbol x is defined as the energy of unit of mass of the substance.

In this assertion we think he was mathematically wrong, though in his own hypothesis that the density does actually vary, he was probably right.

This hypothesis was suggested by Laplace, and may conveniently be named after him.

It was also tacitly adopted by Young, in connexion with the still more special hypothesis which Young probably had in view, namely that the force in each case was constant within a limited range, the same in all cases, and vanished outside that range.

As an immediate consequence of this hypothesis we have from (28) K = Koo' 2, where Ko, To are the same for all bodies.

We are thus led to the important conclusion that according to this hypothesis Neumann's triangle is necessarily imaginary, that one of three fluids will always spread upon the interface of the other two.

So far the results of Laplace's hypothesis are in marked accordance with experiment; but if we follow it out further, discordances begin to manifestthemselves.

What is more, (52) shows that according to the hypothesis T12 is necessarily positive; 23 FIG.

This idiom could, of course, be explained on the hypothesis of an Aramaic original.

The hypothesis has won very wide acceptance, but several editors and critics (including Harnack, Zahn and Clemen) remain unconvinced.

If the hypothesis already outlined is set aside, it is open to the critic to regard large portions of the canonical Romans as having originally occupied a separate setting,5 or to ascribe the textual variations to the exigencies of church reading after the formation of the canon (which might explain the absence of Ev `Pt)t7j in i.

With regard to his birth, parentage, youth, and education everything depends upon this tradition, and it is not until he was according to one extreme hypothesis thirty-six, according to the other extreme twenty-four, that we have solid testimony respecting him.

The second book, which introduces the principal hero of the whole, Pantagruel, Gargantua's son, is, on any other hypothesis but that already suggested of its prior composition, very difficult to explain, but in itself it is intelligible enough.

They are always written in the author's highest style, a style perfectly eloquent and unaffected; they can only be interpreted (on the free-thinking hypothesis ) as allegorical with the greatest difficulty and obscurity, and it is pretty certain that no one reading the book without a thesis to prove would dream of taking them in a non-natural sense.

Possibly, however, many of the royal families may have contained an element of Scandinavian blood, a hypothesis which would well accord with the social conditions of the migration period, as illustrated, e.g., in Volsunga Saga and in Hervarar Saga ok Heib'reks Konungs.

A hypothesis favoured by Dr Frazer, that the victim is usually a divine man, a priest-king 4 Pliny, Nat.

More recently he expressed his dissatisfaction with the hypothesis of "sexual selection" by which Darwin sought to explain the conspicuous characters which are displayed during the courtship of animals.

Bellarmine did not proscribe the Copernican system, as has been maintained by Reusch (Der Process Galilei's and die Jesuiten, Bonn, 1879, p. 125); all he claimed was that it should be presented as an hypothesis until it should receive scientific demonstration.

In one form or another such a theory of human descent has in our time become part of an accepted framework of zoology, if not as a demonstrable truth, at any rate as a working hypothesis which has no effective rival.

As for the reasoning powers in animals, the accounts of monkeys learning by experience to break eggs carefully, and pick off bits of shell, so as not to lose the contents, or of the way in which rats or martens after a while can no longer be caught by the same kind of trap, with innumerable similar facts, show in the plainest way that the reason of animals goes so far as to form by new experience a new hypothesis of cause and effect which will henceforth guide their actions.

On the other hand it does not follow necessarily from a theory of evolution of species that mankind must have descended from a single stock, for the hypothesis of development admits of the argument, that several simian species may have culminated in several races of man.

Darwin and others having regarded Lord Morton's mare as affording very strong evidence in support of the infection hypothesis , it was considered some years ago desirable to repeat Lord Morton's experiment as accurately as possible.

In conclusion, it may be pointed out that it was only natural for breeders and physiologists in bygone days to account for some of their results by the "infection" hypothesis .

That this endeavour to work into the historical tradition of the life and teaching of Jesus - a hypothesis which had a distinctly foreign origin - led him into serious difficulties is a consideration that must be discussed elsewhere.

He was the first in England to verify Benjamin Franklin's hypothesis of the identity of lightning and electricity, and he made several important electrical discoveries.

The line of pressures as generally given for this dam with the reservoir full, on the hypothesis that the density of the masonry was a little over 2, is shown by long and short dots in fig.

Between ten and eleven years ago there was an hypothesis of mine registered in your books, wherein I hinted a cause of gravity towards the earth, sun and planets, with the dependence of the celestial motions thereon; in which the proportion of the decrease of gravity from the superficies of the planet (though for brevity's sake not there expressed) can be no other than reciprocally duplicate of the distance from the centre.

And I hope I shall not be urged to declare, in print, that I understood not the obvious mathematical condition of my own hypothesis .

Numerous attempts have been made to solve these problems, and to construct a theory of the origin of the Grail story, but so far the difficulty has been to find an hypothesis which would admit of the practically simultaneous existence of apparently contradictory features.

Legends of the part played by Joseph of Arimathea in the conversion of Britain are closely connected with Glastonbury, the monks of which foundation showed, in the 12th century, considerable literary activity, and it seems a by no means improbable hypothesis that the present form of the Grail legend may be due to a monk of Glastonbury elaborating ideas borrowed from Fecamp. This much is certain, that between the Saint-Sang of Fecamp, the Volto Santo of Lucca, and the Grail tradition, there exists a connecting link, the precise nature of which has yet to be determined.

The Buddhist theory, as is well known, is put together without the hypothesis of "soul" at all.

The hypothesis is not free from certain difficulties, one of which will be noticed later.

This hypothesis , however, requires us to suppose that Xerxes had returned from Sardis to Susa by the tenth month of the seventh year of his reign, which is barely credible.

We are prohibited by a general consideration of metamerism in the Arthropoda from adopting the hypothesis of intercalation of somites.

The second book proposes a hypothesis regarding the genesis of our ideas and closes after an elaborate endeavour to verify it.

The hypothesis is, that all human ideas, even the most complex and abstract and sublime, ultimately depend upon " experience."

The " verification " of this hypothesis , offered in the thirteenth and following chapters of the second book, goes to show in detail that even those ideas which are " most abstruse," how remote soever they may seem from original data of outward sense, or of inner consciousness, " are only such as the understanding frames to itself by repeating and joining together simple ideas that it had at first, either from perceiving objects of sense, or from reflection upon its own operations."

The hypothesis , that even our most profound and sublime speculations are all limited to data of the senses and of reflection, is crucially tested by the " modes " and " substances " and " relations " under which, in various degrees of complexity, we somehow find ourselves obliged to conceive those simple phenomena.

The comparative study of the development does not support the hypothesis that the Polyzoa (q.v.) are comparable with Phoronis.

Certainly without some such assumption the hypothesis of an exact correspondence between the series described as parallel becomes, as Professor Ward has shown, unmeaning.

Hedonistic psychology denied the libertarian hypothesis , but it denied also the absoluteness and intuitive character of moral obligation, and attached no validity to the ordinary interpretation of terms like "ought" and duty.

On the contrary, a belief that conduct necessarily results upon the presence of certain motives, and that upon the application of certain incentives, whether of pain or pleasure, upon the presence of certain stimuli whether in the shape of rewards or punishments, actions of a certain character will necessarily ensue, would seem to vindicate the rationality of ordinary penal legislation, if its aim be deterrent or reformatory, to a far greater extent than is possible upon the libertarian hypothesis .

While if the deterrent and reformatory theories alone provide a rational end for punishment to aim at then the libertarian hypothesis pushed to its extreme conclusion must make all punishments equally useless.

A reaction, in one form or another, against the tendency to dissolve ethics into psychology was inevitable; since mankind generally could not be so far absorbed by the interest of psychological hypothesis as to forget their need of establishing practical principles.

The fundamental hypothesis of the science assumes a system of bodies in motion, of which the sun and planets may be taken as examples, and of which each separate body is attracted toward all the others according to the law of Newton.

About seventy analogous objects, including that in the Sword of Orion, were found by him to give light of the same quality; and thus after seventy-three years, verification was brought to William Herschel's hypothesis of a " shining fluid " diffused through space, the possible raw material of stars.

The law of this motion was such that the phenomena could be represented by supposing the motion to be actually circular and uniform, the apparent variations being explained by the hypothesis that the earth was not situated in the centre of the orbit, but was displaced by an amount about equal to one-twentieth of the radius of the orbit.

Though it is quite obvious that the theory of a social contract (or compact, as it is also called) contains a considerable element of truth - that loose associations for mutual protection preceded any elaborate idea or structure of law, and that government cannot be based exclusively on force - yet it is open to the equally obvious objection that the very idea of contract belongs to a more advanced stage in human development than the hypothesis itself demands.

The positive exposition of atomism has much that is attractive, but the hypothesis of the calor vitalis (vital heat), a species of anima mundi (world-soul) which is introduced as physical explanation of physical phenomena, does not seem to throw much light on the special problems which it is invoked to solve.

The distinction is of greater importance than would appear when one realizes how obvious the facts really are, and in practice it happens frequently that speakers claim with success to disprove a proposition by disproving the fact alleged in support of it, or to establish a hypothesis by showing that facts agree with its consequences.

Still the roughest form of spiritual prayer has for its basis the hypothesis of beneficent beings, visible or invisible.

The senseless stories or myths about the gods are soon felt to be at variance with this hypothesis .

He calls his own child Dawn or Cloud, his own name is Sitting Bull or Running Wolf, and he is not tempted to explain his great-grandfather's name of Bright Sun or Lively Raccoon on the hypothesis that the ancestor really was a raccoon or the sun.

But, while the possibility of the diffusion of myths by borrowing and transmission must be allowed for, the hypothesis of the origin of myths in the savage state of the intellect supplies a ready explanation of their wide diffusion.

The hypothesis that the rites and the stories are savage inventions surviving into civilized religion seems better to meet the difficulty.

It is a plausible hypothesis that stocks which once claimed descent from animals, sans phrase, afterwards regarded the animals as avatars of Zeus.

But the hypothesis that Cronus is a late derivation from KpovtSr i s and Kpoviwv is by no means universally accepted.

The conclusion that P's narratives and laws in the Pentateuch are post-exilic was found by biblical scholars to be a necessary correction to the original hypothesis of Graf (1866) that P's narratives were to be retained (with J and E) at an early date.

Chudeau, summing up the evidence available in 1909, set forth the hypothesis that the existing upper Niger and the existing lower Niger were distinct streams. According to this theory the upper Niger, somewhat above where Timbuktu now stands, went north and north-west and emptied into the Juf, which in the beginning of the quaternary age was a salt-water lake, the remnant of an arm of the sea which in the tertiary age covered the northern Sudan and southern Sahara as far east as Bilma.

Airy extended Fresnel's hypothesis to directions inclined to the axis of uniaxal crystals by assuming that in any such direction the two waves, that can be propagated without alteration of their state of polarization, are oppositely elliptically polarized with their planes of maximum polarization parallel and perpendicular to the principal plane of the wave, these becoming practically plane polarized at a small inclination to the optic axis.

During a prolonged audience he had received from the pope assurances of private esteem and personal protection; and he trusted to his dialectical ingenuity to find the means of presenting his scientific convictions under the transparent veil of an hypothesis .

But he substituted the equally unnecessary hypothesis of a magnetic attraction, and failed to perceive that the phenomenon to be explained was, in relation to absolute space, not a movement but the absence of movement.

In accordance with this hypothesis , the curves representing the variations of thermoelectric power, dE/dt, with temperature 'OObservationsof' Pia.

In many cases the deviations do not appear to favour any simple hypothesis as to the mode of variation of s with temperature, but as a rule the indication is that s is nearly constant, or even diminishes with rise of temperature.

The general results of the work appeared to support Tait's hypothesis that the effect was proportional to the absolute temperature, but direct thermoelectric tests do not appear to have been made on the specimens employed, which would have afforded a valuable confirmation by the comparison of the values of d 2 E/dT 2, as in Jahn's experiments.

These measurements, though subject to some uncertainty on account of the great experimental difficulties, are a very valuable confirmation of the accuracy of Thomson's theory, because they show that the magnitude of the effect is of the required order, but they cannot be said to be strongly in support of Tait's hypothesis .

This would necessitate chemical action at the junction when a current passed through it, as in an electrolytic cell, whereas the action appears to be purely thermal, and leads to a consistent theory on that hypothesis .

On this hypothesis , if we confine our attention to one of the two metals, say p", in which the current is supposed to flow from hot to cold, we observe that p"dT expresses the quantity of heat converted into electrical energy per unit of electricity by an E.M.F.

This derivation has a somewhat fantastic air, and seems to have been framed to suit an hypothesis .

They argued their way back to Parkside with Dean playing the devil's advocate while Fred quoted a dozen mystery stories that bore out his hypothesis , a hypothesis that grew in detail with each passing mile.

This information contradicts the hypothesis .

The symptom of difficulty awakening is consistent with the phase delay hypothesis of SAD.

The connection we already have involves the Proposition of Neural Indeterminacy, probabilistic causation, and the Correlation Hypothesis .

Frighteningly enough, this is no longer hypothesis and wild conjecture.

Price response among to the hypothesis no reported continuous.

More to the point, he provided a counterexample for each of the examples that Tsai cited in support of her hypothesis .

Since t calc = 1.08 and t crit = 2.228, the null hypothesis is accepted.

Would offer association quot hypothesis percentage point decrease to medicaid and.

Advances in genetics and in mapping DNA, some say, show there is no need for the hypothesis of body-soul dualism.

The Topeka Capital-Journal recently editorialized that " creationism is as good a hypothesis as any for how the universe began.

This supports the hypothesis that PD is a disease with a heterogeneous etiology.

This may sound fanciful, but is merely a hypothesis that would explain some odd facts.

In this case, the correct decision is to reject the null hypothesis .

However it is not the subject matter of this book to attempt to prove or disprove any survival hypothesis .

For these experiments, the null hypothesis was rejected.

So he was reluctant to accept the chemiosmotic hypothesis in the first place.

Trying to fit this case into the extraterrestrial hypothesis presents a series of problems.

A rational model is suggested, where the most plausible hypothesis is selected first.

The trick of course is to find an alternative a priori hypothesis .

In 1986 the prion hypothesis was still regarded as highly controversial.

The Committee evaluated the hypothesis that organochlorine insecticides might increase the risk of breast cancer by virtue of their claimed oestrogenic effects.

These observations accord with the hypothesis that organisms are polyphasic liquid crystals.

In fact, there are areas of mathematics that have been developed by mathematicians on the assumption that the Riemann Hypothesis is true.

We are testing the hypothesis that all Maculinea and Microdon species employ chemical mimicry to a varying degree.

This hypothesis is supported by the fact that only organisms that are able to stimulate neutrophils are associated with renal scarring.

New techniques for the evaluation of tubal patency support the hypothesis that tubal ' plugs ' may be involved in proximal tubal blockage.

The prion hypothesis states that it is due to differences in the chemical or tertiary structure of the prion hypothesis states that it is due to differences in the chemical or tertiary structure of the prion protein.

Their initial hypothesis was that mesodermal progenitors are present in the marrow, but differ from hematopoietic progenitors.

Topics include discoveries of the transuranic elements, the actinide hypothesis , medical radioisotopes, the development of nuclear fission and extensive biographies.

I was testing the wrong hypothesis , the numbers were too small, and they were not randomized.

This hypothesis is consistent with the strongly recurved spits that provide the present day definition of the harbor mouth.

The hypothesis of linguistic relativity, for example, is well known.

The hypothesis for the reduced severity of blast attack is fairly clear for the disease-susceptible glutinous rice.

Quot hypothesis as in this article Florida self employed health insurance form of unused.

Certainly, most economic analysis is based on the self-interest hypothesis , which assumes that all people are exclusively motivated by their material self-interest.

The null hypothesis is that not one of the available UFO reports represents a genuine sighting of an extraterrestrial spacecraft.

So comrades these are the reasons for which I cannot lightly accept the hypothesis of a simple stratagem.

New techniques for the evaluation of tubal patency support the hypothesis that tubal patency support the hypothesis that tubal ' plugs ' may be involved in proximal tubal blockage.

Illogical skeptics will complain that any hypothesis can be induced in this framework, such as a giant purple unicorns or flying cats.

If this hypothesis is true, then unilateral neglect should be improved by increasing activation of the sustained attention system.

Thus studies should not be set up to confirm a hypothesis which is scientifically unsound.

It does have the ad- vantage of support of part of the ancient tradition, 19 something which the two-document hypothesis cannot claim.

Then, secondly, there arose the question whether the methods of exact science sufficed to explain the connexion of phenomena, or whether for the explanation of this the thinking mind was forced to resort to some hypothesis not immediately verifiable by observation, but dictated by higher aspirations and interests.

If we accept the hypothesis that each kind of atom has a specific and invariable weight, we can, with the aid of the above theory, make most important inferences concerning the proportions by weight in which substances combine to form compounds.

Their hypothesis explains so many facts that it is now considered to be as well established as the parts of the theory due to Dalton.'

It will presently appear that the original hypothesis of Fresnel, that the rigidity remains the same in both media, is the only one that can be reconciled with the facts; and we will therefore investigate upon this basis the nature of the secondary waves dispersed by small particles.

According to our hypothesis , the foreign matter may be supposed to load the aether, so as to increase its inertia without altering its resistance to distortion.

So long as the particles are small no such vanishing of light in oblique directions is observed, and we are thus led to the conclusion that the hypothesis of a finite AN and of vibrations in the plane of polarization cannot be reconciled with the facts.

During this anxious period he appears to have borne himself with characteristic dignity, such as is consistent with no other hypothesis than the consciousness of innocence.

Of his writings on social and political questions may be mentioned Die Erziehung des Weibes (1865); Ueber die nationals Entwicklung and Bedeutung der Naturwissenschaften (1865); Die Aufgaben der Naturwissenschaften in dem neuen nationalen Leben Deutschlands (1871); Die Freiheit der Wissenschaft im modernen Staat (1877), in which he opposed the idea of l - L eckel - that the principles of evolution should be taught in elementary schools - on the ground that they were not as yet proved, and that it was mischievous to teach a hypothesis which still remained in the speculative stage.

The progeny of these cats, more or less crossed with the indigenous species, thence gradually spread over Europe, to become mingled at some period, according to Dr Nehring's hypothesis , with an Asiatic stock.

Of Bacon's demand for observation and collection of facts he is an imitator; and he wishes (in a letter of 1632) that " some one would undertake to give a history of celestial phenomena after the method of Bacon, and describe the sky exactly as it appears at present, without introducing a single hypothesis ."

His fundamental hypothesis relegates to God all forces in their ultimate origin.

But these defects need not blind us to the fact that this hypothesis made the mathematical progress of Hooke, Borelli and Newton much more easy and certain.

These and other apologetic writings have so far failed to produce any adequate alternative hypothesis , and while they argue for the traditional theory, later revision not being excluded, the modern critical view accepts late dates for the literary sources in their present form, and explicitly recognizes the presence of much that is ancient.

His paper on the variation of the specific heat with temperature, which appeared in 1907, was the first extension of Planck's fundamental hypothesis , and its verification in essentials is one of the most convincing arguments in its favour.

In the one hypothesis , as in the other, Italy could count upon the moral support of Great Britain, but could not make of British friendship the keystone of a Continental policy.

The doctrine of Anaximenes, who unites the conceptions of a determinate and indeterminate original substance adopted by Thales and Anaximander in the hypothesis of a primordial and all-generating air, is a clear advance on these theories, inasmuch as it introduces the scientific idea of condensation and rarefaction as the great generating or transforming agencies.

It may be observed, too, that the hypothesis of a primitive compact mass (sphaerus), in which love (attraction) is supreme, has some curious points of similarity to, and contrast with, that notion of a primitive nebulous matter with which the modern doctrine of cosmic evolution usually sets out.

He further recognizes a progress in the production of vegetable and animal forms, though this part of his theory is essentially crude and unscientific. More important in relation to the modern problems of evolution is his thoroughly materialistic way of explaining the origin of sensation and knowledge by help of his peculiar hypothesis of effluvia and pores.

Among the Gnostics we meet with the hypothesis of emanation, as, for example, in the curious cosmic theory of Valentinus.

His theory of evolution is essentially pantheistic, and he does not employ his hypothesis of monads in order to work out a more mechanical conception.

In the third part of this work he inclines to a thoroughly natural hypothesis respecting the genesis of the physical world, and adds in the fourth part that the same kind of explanation might be applied to the nature and formation of plants and animals.

In his Dialogues concerning Natural Religion he puts forward tentatively, in the person of one of his interlocutors, the ancient hypothesis that since the world resembles an animal or vegetal organism rather than a machine, it might more easily be accounted for by a process of generation than by an act of creation.

Maupertuis, who, together with Voltaire, introduced the new idea of the universe as based on Newton's discoveries, sought to account for the origin of organic things by the hypothesis of sentient atoms. Buffon the naturalist speculated, not only on the structure and genesis of organic beings, but also on the course of formation of the earth and solar system, which he conceived after the analogy of the development of organic beings out of seed.

It was natural, therefore, that he rejected the idea of a spontaneous generation of organisms (which was just then being advocated by his friend Forster), not only as unsupported by experience but as an inadequate hypothesis .

The two parts of Bonnet's hypothesis , namely, the doctrine that all living things proceed from pre-existing germs, and that these contain, one enclosed within the other, the germs of all future living things, which is the hypothesis of " emboitement," and the doctrine that every germ contains in miniature all the organs of the adult, which is the hypothesis of evolution or development, in the primary senses of these words, must be carefully distinguished.

Growth, therefore, was, on this hypothesis , partly a process of simple evolution, and partly of what has been termed syngenesis.

The school of Cuvier was lamentably deficient in embryologists; and it was only in the course of the first thirty years of the igth century that Prevost and Dumas in France, and, later on, Ddllinger, Pander, von Bar, Rathke, and Remak in Germany, founded modern embryology; and, at the same time, proved the utter incompatibility of the hypothesis of evolution as formulated by Bonnet and Haller with easily demonstrable facts.

For those which are grouped under the second to the seventh of these classes, respectively, have a clear significance on the hypothesis of evolution, while they are unintelligible if that hypothesis be denied.

And those of the eighth group are not only uninintelligible without the assumption of evolution, but can be proved never to be discordant with that hypothesis , while, in some cases, they are exactly such as the hypothesis requires.

And as the hypothesis of " specific centres," thus formulated, was heterodox from the theological point of view, and unintelligible under its scientific aspect, it may be passed over without further notice, as a phase of transition from the creational to the evolutional hypothesis .

Polymerization of the aldehyde was also a feature of Baeyers hypothesis , so that this view does not very materially differ from those he advanced.

But if we accept either view we have still to examine the process of construction in detail, with a view to ascertaining the stages by which proteid is built up. Here unfortunately we find ourselves in the region of speculation and hypothesis rather than in that of fact.

The symmetrically placed hypothetical islands in the great continuousocean disappeared, and the oekumene acquired a new form by the representation of the Indian Ocean as a larger Mediterranean completely cut off by land from the Atlantic. The terra incognita uniting Africa and Farther Asia was an unfortunate hypothesis which helped to retard exploration.

The councils of Trent and of the Vatican mark the Two Truths hypothesis as heretical, when they affirm that there is a natural knowledge of God and natural certainty of immortality.

Probably most persons who have studied the subject would now be inclined to go this length; and there is some evidence, notably in connexion with the trances of an American medium, Mrs Piper,' which has convinced some good observers that the hypothesis of occasional communication from deceased persons must be seriously entertained.

The Meteoritic Hypothesis (1890) propounds a comprehensive scheme of cosmical evolution, which has evoked more dissent than approval, while the Sun's Place in Nature (1897) lays down the lines of a classification of the stars, depending upon their supposed temperature-relations.

On the hypothesis that such a form as Dinophilus (see Haplodrili) has preserved the characters of the primitive Chaetopod more nearly than a any existing Polychaet or Oligochaet, it is clear that the nephridia in the Oligochaeta have preserved the original features of those organs more nearly than most Polychaeta.

It is a comparatively simple thing to state the question to which we want an answer, but extremely difficult to define the exact nature of the evidence which will constitute a good answer; easy enough to say we must try hypothesis after hypothesis , and test each one by an appeal to the facts, but a man may easily spend his life in this sort of thing and still leave to his descendants nothing more than a legacy of rejected hypotheses.

In the course of the 19th century the idea that the different elements are constituted by different groupings or condensations of one primal matter - a speculation which, if proved to be well grounded, would imply the possibility of changing one element into another - found favour with more than one responsible chemist; but experimental research failed to yield any evidence that was generally regarded as offering any support to this hypothesis .

The evolution of the notion of elements is treated under Element; the molecular hypothesis of matter under Molecule; and the genesis of, and deductions from, the atomic theory of Dalton receive detailed analysis in the article Atom.

In this respect his hypothesis has much in common with the " law of mass-action " developed at a much later date b y the Swedish chemists Guldberg and Waage, and the American, Willard Gibbs (see Chemical Action).

It is not to be supposed that there are any actual bonds of union between the atoms; graphic formulae such as these merely express the hypothesis that certain of the atoms in a compound come directly within the sphere of attraction of certain other atoms, and only indirectly within the sphere of attraction of others, - an hypothesis to which chemists are led by observing that it is often possible to separate a group of elements from a compound, and to displace it by other elements or groups of elements.

The determination of an ocean surrounding the inhabited earth he declared to be based on a mere hypothesis and that it would be equally allowable to describe the Erythraea as a sea surrounded by land.

Hertz, have transformed applied mathematics by systematically basing their deductions upon the Law of the conservation of energy, and the hypothesis of an ether pervading space.

On this hypothesis Poisson investigated the forces due to bodies magnetized in any manner, and also originated the mathematical theory of magnetic induction.

The determination of the relative degree of perfection of organization attained by two animals 1 A great deal of superfluous hypothesis has lately been put forward in the name of " the principle of convergence of characters " by a certain school of palaeontologists.

The familiar illustration of Lamarck's hypothesis is that of the giraffe, whose long neck might, he suggested, have been acquired by the efforts of a primitively short-necked race of herbivores who stretched their necks to reach the foliage of trees in a land where grass was deficient, the effort producing a distinct elongation in the neck of each generation, which was then transmitted to the next.

It should be observed, however, that Darwin did not attribute an essential part to this Lamarckian hypothesis of the transmission of acquired characters, but expressly assigned to it an entirely subordinate importance.

He left a hypothesis to be worked out by others; this done, he would criticize with all the rigour of logic, and with a profound distrust of imagination, metaphor and the attitude known as the will-to-believe.

The latter force is, by Maxwell's hypothesis or by the dynamical theory of an aether pervaded by electrons, the same as that which strair s the aether, and may be called the aethereal force; it thereby produces an aethereal electric displacement, say (f,g,h), according to the relation (f,g,h) = (41 r c 2) - 1(P',Q', RI), in which c is a constant belonging to the aether, which turns out to be the velocity of light.

It was written to instruct and encourage the Christians of Asia Minor at a time of persecution, which on the hypothesis of genuineness, would be the Neronian, i.e.

As a natural philosopher he radically opposed Cuvier and was distinctly a precursor of uniformitarianism, advocating the hypothesis of slow changes and variations, both in living forms and in their environment.

The rarity of really continuous series has naturally led palaeontologists to support the hypothesis Of brusque transitions of structure.

Nevertheless, the most usual hypothesis is that, while the Nicomachean Ethics (E.N.) was written by Aristotle to Nicomachus, the Eudemian (E.E.) was written, not to, but by, Eudemus, and the Magna Moralia (M.M.) was written by some early disciple before the introduction of Stoic and Academic elements into the Peripatetic school.

Again, in his Grundproblem der Erkenntnisstheorie (1889) he uses without proof the hypothesis of psychological idealism, that we perceive psychical effects, to infer with merely hypothetical consistency the conclusion of noumenal metaphysical idealism that all we can thereby know is psychical causes, or something transcendent, beyond phenomena indeed, yet not beyond mind.

Further, from an early period in his Medicinische Psychologie (1852) he reinforced the transcendental idealism of Kant by a general hypothesis of " local signs," containing the subordinate hypotheses, that we cannot directly perceive extension either within ourselves or without; that spatial bodies outside could not cause in us spatial images either in sight or in touch; but that besides the obvious data of sense, e.g.

He borrows from Kant's "rationalism " the hypothesis of a spontaneous activity of the subject with the deduction that knowledge begins from sense, but arises from understanding; and he accepts from Kant's metaphysical idealism the consequence that everything we perceive, experience and know about physical nature, and the bodies of which it consists, is phenomena, and not bodily things in themselves.

But whereas Fechner and Paulsen hold that all physical processes are universally accompanied by psychical processes which are the real causes of psychical sensations, Riehl rejects this paradox of universal parallelism in order to fall into the equally paradoxical hypothesis that something or other, which is neither physical not psychical, causes both the physical phenomena of matter moving in space and the psychical phenomena of mind to arise in us as its common effects.

Spencer widens the empirical theory of the origin of knowledge by his brilliant hypothesis of inherited organized tendencies, which has influenced all later psychology and epistemology, and tends to a kind of compromise between Hume and Kant.

The substantially Pauline character of the epistle, for all practical purposes, is to be granted upon either hypothesis , for the author or the editor strove not unsuccessfully, upon the whole, to reproduce the Pauline spirit and traditions The older notion that the personal data in Titus, or in the rest of the pastorals, were invented to lend verisimilitude to the writing must be given up. They are too circumstantial and artless to be the work of a writer idealizing or creating a situation.

But investigations carried out in connexion with the "Challenger" expedition indicated that it was an artificial product, composed of a flocculent precipitate of gypsum thrown down from seawater by alcohol, and the hypothesis of its organic character was abandoned by most biologists, Huxley included.

Thereupon the Newtonian analysis which preceded this synthesis, became forgotten; until at last Mill in his Logic, neglecting the Principia, had the temerity to distort Newton's discovery, which was really a pure example of analytic deduction, into a mere hypothetical deduction; as if the author of the saying " Hypotheses non lingo" started from the hypothesis of a centripetal force to the sun, and thence deductively explained the facts of planetary motion, which reciprocally verified the hypothesis .

According to both, induction, instead of inferring from A, B, C magnets the conclusion " Therefore all magnets attract iron," infers from the hypothesis , " Let every magnet attract iron," to A, B, C magnets, whose given attraction verifies the hypothesis .

As early as 1860 Newcomb communicated an important memoir to the American Academy, 4 On the Secular Variations and Mutual Relation of the Orbits of the Asteroids, in which he discussed the two principal hypotheses to account for the origin of these bodies - one, that they are the shattered fragments of a single planet (Olbers' hypothesis ), the other, that they have been formed by the breaking up of a revolving ring of nebulous matter.

But whether the assumption of uniform density be physically correct is a very different question, and Poisson rendered good service to science in showing how to carry on the investigation on the hypothesis that the density very near the surface is different from that in the interior of the fluid.

We may, however, reject the sceptical hypothesis that Laura was a mere figment of Petrarch's fancy; and, if we accept her personal reality, the poems of her lover demonstrate that she was a married woman with whom he enjoyed a respectful and not very intimate friendship.

The fact that, in practice, the judgments even of connoisseurs are perpetually at variance, and that the so-called criteria of one place or period are more or less opposed to those of all others, is explained away by the hypothesis that individuals are differently gifted in respect of the capacity to appreciate.

This has proved to be a sound hypothesis and is now accepted as the basis upon which the Arthropod head must be interpreted (see Korschelt and Heider (3)).

He maintained with full conviction to the end of his life a grossly erroneous hypothesis of the tides, early adopted from Andrea Caesalpino; the " triplicate " appearance of Saturn always remained an enigma to him; and in regarding comets as atmospheric emanations he lagged far behind Tycho Brahe.

Poincare 's hypothesis remained most striking facet produce ions and radiographs by oudin.

Quot hypothesis as in this article florida self employed health insurance form of unused.

Certainly, from the standpoint of the special theory of relativity, the ether hypothesis appears at first to be an empty hypothesis .

What sort of evidence would have been required to substantiate the Muslim hypothesis of a perfect text?

The tentative hypothesis is that the prospect of taking an exam is more stressful than the exam itself.

I will present evidence in support of my hypothesis that the chemical constituents of underarm cosmetics may cause breast cancer.

Observations of phytoplankton blooms without the addition of iron supplements show underutilized resources of carbon dioxide and nitrates, supporting Martin 's Iron Hypothesis .

Otherwise we cannot demonstrate the truth or validity of the hypothesis and the theory.

What may help you manage the paradox is thinking about your startup idea as a hypothesis . You'll develop, test and implement the hypothesis , but be prepared to find a flaw in it.

When you accept that your startup is no more than a working hypothesis and that unexpected developments can change this hypothesis , you possess the agility necessary to change.

Larry's hypothesis was that the app would appeal to fans of all four professional sports, both as a fun activity and as an aid to betting.

An educated hypothesis would postulate that it is just one of the many factors that influence the way teens think and act.

In the fall of 2002, the New England Journal of Medicine published a major Danish study disproving the hypothesis of a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism.

The study is designed to test the hypothesis that differences in temperament related to differences in brain functioning put some children at an increased risk of certain psychiatric disorders later in life.

Research gathered by the council support this hypothesis including a 2008 study in the journal Medical Hypotheses and a 2010 article in Acta Paediatrica.

Next, children can design an experiment to test their statements or hypothesis .

A hypothesis is a statement that is either proven true or false.

An experiment is something that tests a hypothesis .

For this type of project, the child would have to start by asking a question and then working up a hypothesis .

The experiment is used as a tool to test the hypothesis , and then a conclusion is drawn at the end of the process.

A successful elementary science project is not necessarily one where students prove their hypothesis successfully.

In this hypothesis , the human brain strays from the regular transition into unconsciousness combined with physical paralysis into sleep and then into deep REM sleep.

Each research study begins with a hypothesis that focuses on a possible cause for autistic disorders.

According to the calorie hypothesis , when you consume any food, it provides your body with energy.

Put simply, the calorie hypothesis suggests that when you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight.

The science and technology must be plausible, whether theoretically possible or based purely on a fictional hypothesis .

As Dalton said, "The doctrine of definite proportions appears mysterious unless we adopt the atomic hypothesis ."

No speculation of hypothesis has been propounded to account satisfactorily for the origin of the Australian flora.

As a step towards such hypothesis it has been noted that the Antarctic, the South African, and the Australian floras have many types in common.

It would be necessary to regard this structure as a secondary extension of the endoderm in the tentacle-web, on Allman's theory, or between the outgrowths of the hydrorhiza, on Mechnikov's hypothesis .

These theories, however, contain little that bears directly on the hypothesis of a natural evolution of things.

Baeyers hypothesis was entertained by botanists partly because it explained the gaseous interchanges accompanying photosynthesis.

The special Darwinian hypothesis - natural " selection " - may or may not be true; it was at least a fruitful suggestion.

Whether or not further study of the scripts of these writers confirms this hypothesis , it cannot fail to throw light on the nature of the intelligence involved.

His argument for the Being of God is based on the hypothesis that thought - not individual but universal - is the reality of all things, the existence of this Infinite Thought being demonstrated by the limitations of finite thought.

Scholars are now almost unanimously agreed that the internal features are best explained by the Graf-Wellhausen hypothesis .

The Graf-Wellhausen hypothesis , that the hierarchical law in its complete form in the Pentateuch stands at the close and not at the beginning of biblical history, that this mature Judaism was the fruit of the 5th century B.C. and not a divinely appointed institution at the exodus (nearly ten centuries previously), has won the recognition of almost all Old Testament scholars.

The Graf-Wellhausen hypothesis (§ 4) does not pretend to be complete in all its details and it is independent of its application to the historical criticism of the Old Testament.

No alternative hypothesis prevails, mere desultory criticism of the internal intricacies being quite inadequate.

But what was matter of immanent assumption with Erigena is in them an equating of two things which have been dealt with on the hypothesis that they are separate, and which, therefore, still retain that external relation to one another.

The depression westward of the Caspian and Aral basins, and the original connexion of these seas, have also come under the close investigation of Russian scientists, with the result that the theory of an ancient connexion between the Oxus and the Caspian has been displaced by the more recent hypothesis of an extension of the Caspian Sea eastwards into Trans-Caspian territory within the postPleiocene age.

One hypothesis supposes that the shores of the Mediterranean were originally inhabited by a homogeneous race neither Aryan nor Semitic.

This doctrine or hypothesis he usually speaks of as "the ideal system" or "the theory of ideas"; and to it he opposes his own analysis of the act of perception.

Chronology is against this hypothesis , since Louis and she lived on good terms together for two years after the Crusade.

Every hypothesis must be tested by an appeal to the facts of life, and modified or abandoned if it will not bear examination, unless we are convinced on genuine evidence that it may for a time be employed as a useful approximation, without prejudice to the later stages of the investigation we are conducting.

When the aim of the man of affairs and the hypothesis of the economist was unrestricted competition, and measures were being adopted to realize it, general theory such as the classical economists provided was perhaps a sufficiently trustworthy guide for practical statesmen and men of business.

These facts afford strong support to the hypothesis that the weight of the shell is the original cause of the torsion of the dorsal visceral mass in Gastropods.

But this hypothesis leaves the elevation of the visceral mass and the exogastric coiling of the shell in the ancestral form unexplained.

The actual sinfulness of all men Origen was able to explain by the theological hypothesis of pre-existence and the premundane fall of each individual soul.

The first hypothesis is not negatived by direct evidence, for we do not actually know the ontogeny of any of the Palaeozoic insects; it is, however, rendered highly improbable by the modern views as to the nature and origin of wings in insects, and by the fact that the Endopterygota include none of the lower existing forms of insects.

The hypothesis of "two voices" is now generally abandoned; there is no indication of a debate, of affirmations and responses.

In all the cases which have yet arisen in astronomy the extraneous forces are so small compared with the gravitation of the central body that the orbit is approximately an ellipse, and the preliminary computations, as well as all determinations in which a high degree of precision is not necessary, are made on the hypothesis of elliptic orbits.

Turning to the study of radioactivity, he noticed its association with the minerals which yield helium, and in support of the hypothesis that that gas is a disintegration-product of radium he proved in 1903 that it is continuously formed by the latter substance in quantities sufficiently great to be directly recognizable in the spectroscope.

Berzelius objected to the hypothesis that if two elements form only one compound, then the atoms combine one and one; and although he agreed theory.

A second inconsistency was presented when he was compelled by the researches of Dumas to admit Avogadro's hypothesis ; but here he would only accept it for the elementary gases, and denied it for other substances.

B aeyer has suggested that his hypothesis may also be applied to explain the instability of acetylene and its derivatives, and the still greater instability of the polyacetylene compounds.

Therefore, according to Kekule, the double linkages are in a state of continual oscillation, and if his dynamical notion of valency, or a similar hypothesis , be correct, then the difference between the 1.2 and 1.6 di-derivatives rests on the insufficiency of his formula, which represents the configuration during one set of oscillations only.

It remains, therefore, to consider Erlenmeyer's formula and those derived from the centric hypothesis .

The centric hypothesis has been applied to these rings by Bamberger and others; but as in the previous rings considered, the ordinary (3) (4) (5) representation with double and single linkages generally represents the syntheses, decompositions, &c.; exceptions, however, are known where it is necessary to assume an oscillation of the double linkage.

It remains for excavation to show whether this hypothesis is or is not correct.

He moreover accuses Eratosthenes, (whose determination of a degree he accepts without hesitation) with trusting too much to hypothesis in compiling his map instead of having recourse to latitudes and longitudes deduced by astronomical observations.

It encountered many difficulties, and until the definite proof of the stegomyia hypothesis of yellowfever inoculation made by the United States army surgeons in Cuba in 1900, the greatest problem seemed insoluble.

By taking fixed conditions for the hypothesis of such a proposition a definite department of mathematics is marked out.

In calculations the latter hypothesis is made because of its mathematical simplicity.

In these he seems suddenly to have cut adrift from every principle the truth of which he had himself so brilliantly demonstrated, and we find him discussing plans based on hypothesis , not knowledge, and on the importance of geographical points without reference to the enemy's field army.

This is a highly ingenious hypothesis to explain the discrepancies of the text, but is, after all, nothing but hypothesis .

Cardan in the 16th century, but this is a mere hypothesis without solid foundation.

The correctness of this hypothesis may, however, be doubted.

To explain these facts, Theodor Grotthus (1785-1822) in 1806 put forward an hypothesis which supposed that the opposite chemical constituents of an electrolyte interchanged partners all along the line between the electrodes when a current passed.

An alternative hypothesis is given by the idea of complex ions.

Hesse's canonical form shows at once that there cannot be more than two independent invariants; for if there were three we could, by elimination of the modulus of transformation, obtain two functions of the coefficients equal to functions of m, and thus, by elimination of m, obtain a relation between the coefficients, showing them not to be independent, which is contrary to the hypothesis .

Admitting Kant's hypothesis that by inner sense we are conscious of mental states only, he holds that this consciousness constitutes a knowledge of the "thing-in-itself" - which Kant denies.

Although Robert Hooke in 1668 and Ignace Pardies in 1672 had adopted a vibratory hypothesis of light, the conception was a mere floating possibility until Huygens provided it with a sure foundation.

Supposing Ewing's hypothesis to be correct, it is clear that if the magnetization of a piece of iron were reversed by a strong rotating field instead of by a field alternating through zero, the loss of energy by hysteresis should be little or nothing, for the molecules would rotate with the field and no unstable movements would be possible.'

Ferromagnetism was explained by Ampere on the hypothesis that the magnetization of the molecule is due to an electric current constantly circulating within it.

The theory now most in favour is merely a development of Ampere's hypothesis , and applies not only to ferromagnetics, but to paramagnetics as well.

Thomson (afterwards Lord Kelvin) in 1849 that while no physical evidence could be adduced in support of the hypothesis , certain discoveries, especially in electromagnetism, rendered it extremely improbable (Reprint, p. 344).

Ampere's experimental and theoretical investigation of the mutual action of electric currents, and of the equivalence of a closed circuit to a polar magnet, the latter suggesting his celebrated hypothesis that molecular currents were the cause of magnetism.

The balance of various considerations is against the latter hypothesis .

The discovery of the Coptic translation of these Acts in 1897, and its publication by C. Schmidt (Acta Pauli aus der Heidelberger koptischen Papyrushandschrift herausgegeben, Leipzig, 1894), have confirmed what had been previously only a hypothesis that the Acts of Thecla had formed a part of the larger Acts of Paul.

The famous "nebular hypothesis " of Laplace made its appearance in the Systeme du monde.

Laplace was, moreover, the first to offer a complete analysis of capillary action based upon a definite hypothesis - that of forces "sensible only at insensible distances"; and he made strenuous but unsuccessful efforts to explain the phenomena of light on an identical principle.

But, by hypothesis , n 1P1 is divisible by p!.

Lamarck had put forward the hypothesis that structural alterations acquired by (that is to say, superimposed upon) a parent in the course of its life are transmitted to the offspring, and that, as these structural alterations are acquired by an animal or plant in consequence of the direct action of the environment, the offspring inheriting them would as a consequence not unfrequently start with a greater fitness for those conditions than its parents started with.

Darwin himself, influenced by the consideration of certain classes of facts which seem to favour the Iamarckian hypothesis , was of the opinion that acquired characters are in some cases transmitted.

It is held 1 that the Darwinian doctrine of selection of fortuitous congenital variations is sufficient to account for all cases, that the Lamarckian hypothesis of transmission cf acquired characters is not supported by experimental evidence, and that the latter should therefore be dismissed.

Stas, the purpose of testing Prout's hypothesis , but he remained more disposed than the Belgian chemist to consider the possibility that it may have some degree of validity.

On this hypothesis we are able to explain the presence of certain poetical pieces both in the book of Chronicles and in the Psalter.

Until, however, further evidence is forthcoming in support of this syncytial theory of structure, it would be unwise to regard it as established sufficiently to constitute a serviceable working hypothesis ; hence, for the time being, we must accept the assertion that the cell represents the ultimate tissue-unit.

Cohnheim's hypothesis of " embryonic residues " provides that early in the development of the embryo some of the cells, or groups of cells, are separated from their organic continuity during the various foldings that take place in the actively growing embryo.

The " tissue-tension " hypothesis of Ribbert is a combination of the two foregoing.

Hansemann's "anaplasia " hypothesis seeks to find an explanation of the formation of new growths in the absence of the histological differentiation of the cell associated with a corresponding increase in its proliferative power and a suspension, or loss, of its functional activity.

Then we have Beard's " germ-cell " hypothesis , in which he holds that many of the germ-cells in the growing embryo fail to reach their proper position - the generative areas - and settle down and become quiescent in some somatic tissue of the embryo.

The parasitic hypothesis postulates the invasion of a parasite from without, thus making a new growth an infective process.

Some other observers, however, have not got such good results with a chloride-free diet, and Marishler, Scheel, Limbecx, Dreser and others, dispute Widal's hypothesis of a retention of chlorides as being the cause of oedema, in the case of renal dropsy at all events; they assert that the chlorides are held back in order to keep the osmotic pressure of the fluid, which they assume to have been effused, equal to that of the blood and tissues.

The local oedema seen in some nervous affections might be explained on the hypothesis of increased metabolic activity in these areas due to some local nervous stimulation.

His main avowed principle was to do without hypothesis , and study the actual diseases in an unbiassed manner.

The reform of practical medicine was effected by men who aimed at, and partly succeeded in, rejecting all hypothesis and returning to the unbiassed study of natural processes, as shown in health and disease.

Afterwards he modified his hypothesis , and referred the disturbances produced to the "nervous liquor," which he supposed to be a quantity of the "universal elastic matter" diffused through the universe, by which Newton explained the phenomena of light - i.e.

Haller's definition of irritability as a property of muscular tissue, and its distinction from sensibility as a property of nerves, struck at the root of the prevailing hypothesis respecting animal activity.

Before the end of the 19th century this discovery of the blood parasite of malaria was crowned by the hypothesis of Patrick Manson, proved by Ronald Ross, that malaria is propagated by a certain genus of gnat, which acts as an intermediate host of the parasite.

The balance of opinion has, however, always inclined to the hypothesis of an anagram on the name "Arouet le jeune," or "Arouet 1.

At a time when the Cartesian system of vortices universally prevailed, he found it necessary to investigate that hypothesis , and in the course of his investigations he showed that the velocity of any stratum of the vortex is an arithmetical mean between the velocities of the strata which enclose it; and from this it evidently follows that the velocity of a filament of water moving in a pipe is an arithmetical mean between the velocities of the filaments which surround it.

This calculus was first applied to the motion of water by d'Alembert, and enabled both him and Euler to represent the theory of fluids in formulae restricted by no particular hypothesis .

Messerschmidt, editor of the best collection of Hittite texts up to date, made a tabula rasa of all systems of decipherment, asserting that only one sign out of two hundred the bisected oval, determinative of divinity - had been interpreted with any certainty; and in view of this opinion, coupled with the steady refusal of historians to apply the results of any Hittite decipherment, and the obvious lack of satisfactory verification, without which the piling of hypothesis on hypothesis may only lead further from probability, there is no choice but to suspend judgment for some time longer as to the inscriptions and all deductions drawn from them.

On the other hand the enigmatical motion of the perihelion of Mercury has not yet found any plausible explanation except on the hypothesis that the gravitation of the sun diminishes at a rate slightly greater than that of the inverse square - the most simple modification being to suppose that instead of the exponent of the distance being exactly - 2, it is - 2.000 000 161 2.

These various forms are perfectly regular if the divine name was Yahweh, and, taken altogether, they cannot be explained on any other hypothesis .

This hypothesis is not intrinsically improbable - and in Aramaic, a language closely related to Hebrew, " to be " actually is hawa - but it should be noted that in adopting it we admit that, using the name Hebrew in the historical sense, Yahweh is not a Hebrew name.

This hypothesis he verified quantitatively by experiments, performed at the end of 1761.

The development of the Ectoprocta is intelligible on the hypothesis that the Entoprocta form the starting-point of the series.

The most plausible hypothesis is that men of this type are descendants of Korean colonists who, in prehistoric times, settled in the province of Izumo, on the west coast of Japan, having made their way thither from the Korean peninsula by the island of Oki, being carried by the cold current which flows along the eastern coast of Korea.

In The Development Hypothesis (1852) he objects strongly to the incredibility of the special creation of the myriad forms of life, without, however, suggesting how development has been effected.

This is at once connected with the nebular hypothesis , and subsequently deduced "from the ultimate law of the" persistence of force,"and finally supplemented by a counter-process of dissolution, all of which appears to Spencer only as" the addition of Von Baer's law to a number of ideas that were in harmony with it."It is clear, however, that Spencer's ideas as to the nature of evolution were already pretty definite when Darwin's Origin of Species (1859) revolutionized the subject of organic evolution by adding natural selection to the direct adaptation by use and disuse, and so suggesting an intelligible method of producing modifications in the forms of life.

He was also a great physicist and had arrived at the nebular hypothesis theory of the formation of the planets and the sun long before Kant and Laplace.

He wrote a lucid account of the phenomena of phosphorescence, and adduced a molecular magnetic theory which anticipated some of the chief features of the hypothesis of to-day.

This and other reasons led to his rejection of the dualistic hypothesis and the adoption, on the ground of probability, and much more from convenience, of the tenet that " acids are particular compounds of hydrogen, in which the latter can be replaced by metals "; while, on the constitution of salts, he held that " neutral salts are those compounds of the same class in which the hydrogen is replaced by its equivalent in metal.

Reuss, but since Graf was the first to introduce it into Germany, the theory, as developed by Julius Wellhausen, has been called the GrafWellhausen hypothesis .

But in proportion as an earlier date has become more probable for Homer, the hypothesis of Ionic origin has become less tenable, and the belief better founded (I) that the poems represent accurately a welldefined phase of culture in prehistoric Greece, and (2) that this " Homeric " or " Achaean " phase was closed by some such general catastrophe as is presumed by the legends.

The hypothesis that the state was steady, so that interchanges arising from convection and collisions of the molecules produced no aggregate result, enabled him to interpret the new constants involved in this law of distribution, in terms of the temperature and its spacial differential coefficients, and thence to express the components of the kinetic stress at each point in the medium in terms of these quantities.

As far as the order to which he carried the approximations - which, however, were based on a simplifying hypothesis that the molecules influenced each other through mutual repulsions inversely as the fifth power of their distance apart--the result was that the equations of motion of the gas, considered as subject to viscous and thermal stresses, could be satisfied by a state of equilibrium under a modified internal pressure equal in all directions.

Henderson prefers the hypothesis that Lennox had lost Crawford's notes; and that the identities are explained by the "remarkably good memories of Crawford and Mary, or by the more likely supposition that Crawford, before preparing his declaration for the conference" (at Westminster, December 1568) "refreshed his memory by the letter."

Such works are to be explained on what might be called the "fragmentary hypothesis ."

Others, like the Ascension of Isaiah, betray the handiwork of successive editors, and are accordingly to be explained on the "redaction hypothesis ."

Next it is noteworthy that in the second scheme here given Volter has abandoned his theory of a redaction hypothesis in favour of a sources hypothesis --a redactor.

As a result of the preceding inquiry we conclude that the student of the Apocalypse must make use of the following methods - the contemporaryhistorical, the literary-critical (fragmentary hypothesis ), the traditional-historical and the psychological.

But this Caligula hypothesis cannot be carried out unless by a vigorous use of the critical knife, in the course of which more than a third of the chapter is excised.

These inconsistencies are best explained by the hypothesis that our author was drawing upon a literary fixed tradition.

The validity of such an hypothesis was attacked as early as the 4th century by Dionysius of Alexandria in the fragment of his treatise irEpi 7ray yeAuA;v, in Eusebius, H.E.

This hypothesis , however, does not accord with the theory of the development of the earth from the state of a sphere of molt s en rock surrounded by an atmosphere of gaseous metals by which the first-formed clouds of aqueous vapour must have been absorbed.

From the hypothesis of an external world a series of contradictions are deduced, such as that the world is both finite and infinite, is movable and immovable, &c.; and finally, Aristotle and various other philosophers are quoted, to show that the external matter they dealt with, as mere potentiality, is just nothing at all.

In like manner, after the French mathematicians had attempted, with more or less ingenuity, to construct a theory of elastic solids from the hypothesis that they consist of atoms in equilibrium under the action of their mutual forces, Stokes and others showed that all the results of this hypothesis , so far at least as they agreed with facts, might be deduced from the postulate that elastic bodies exist, and from the hypothesis that the smallest portions into which we can divide them are sensibly homogeneous.

This hypothesis is introduced for the sake of simplicity, but is known to be unjustifiable in fact.

It carries the war into the camp of the enemy by seeking to demonstrate that the completely determined action which is set over against freedom as the basis of explanation in the material world is merely a hypothesis which, while it serves sufficiently well the limited purpose for which it is devised, is incapable of verification in the ultimate constituents of physical nature.

Thus in 1864 the spectroscope yielded him evidence that planetary and irregular nebulae consist of luminous gas - a conclusion tending to support the nebular hypothesis of the origin of stars and planets by condensation from glowing masses of fluid material.

That these purely mechanical arrangements have any psychic, occult or predictive meaning is a fantastic imagination, which seems to have a peculiar attraction for certain types of mind, and as there can be no fundamental hypothesis of correlation, its discussion does not lie within the province of reason.

When they are proved to do so, Tisserand's hypothesis will hold the field.

Eichhorn in favour of the "borrowing hypothesis " of the origin of the synoptical gospels, maintaining the priority of Matthew, the present Greek text having been the original.

The facts of the problem would all appear covered by the hypothesis that John the presbyter, the eleven being all dead, wrote the book of Revelation (its more ancient Christian portions) say in 69, and died at Ephesus say in loo; that the author of the Gospel wrote the first draft, here, say in 97; that this book, expanded by him, first circulated within a select Ephesian Christian circle; and that the Ephesian church officials added to it the appendix and published it in 110 -120.

Gauss, that the definite results attainable by the hypothesis of mutual atomic attractions really reposed on much wider and less special principles - those, namely, connected with the modern doctrine of energy.

The wider view, according to which the hypothesis of direct transmission of physical influences expresses only part of the facts, is that all space is filled with physical activity, and that while an influence is passing across from a body, A, to another body, B, there is some dynamical process in action in the intervening region, though it appears to the senses to be mere empty space.

This statement constitutes the famous hypothesis of Fresnel, which thus ensures that all phenomena of ray-path and refraction, and all those depending on phase, shall be unaffected by uniform convection of the material medium, in accordance with the results of experiment.

In this place it must suffice to indicate the gist of the more recent developments of the electro-optical theory, which involve the dynamical verification of Fresnel's hypothesis regarding optical convection and the other relations above described.

It is specially directed to the question of hypothesis , and holds that a hypothesis is justifiable only on the ground that it provides an explanation.

Giesbrecht and Hansen have shown that the mouth-organs consist of mandibles, first and second maxillae and maxillipeds; and Claus himself relinquished his long-maintained hypothesis that the last two pairs were the separated exopods and endopods of a single pair of appendages.

Even this verbal flaw would be obviated if Giesbrecht could prove his tentative hypothesis , that the Gymnoplea may have lost a pre-genital segment of the abdomen, and the Podoplea may have lost the last segment of the thorax.

The above sketch of the growth and general character of the Pauline Epistles is based upon the hypothesis that all thirteen are genuine.

On our hypothesis the Logia would have been a sort of Christian manual used with a similar object.

The phenomena which are sometimes supposed to require the hypothesis of an Ur-Marcus are more simply and satisfactorily explained as incidents in the transmission of the Marcan text.

The present writer is inclined to think the latter hypothesis not proven.

The phenomenon is perfectly intelligible without any such hypothesis .

It is difficult to explain this phrasing in any other hypothesis than that Layamon pictured to himself Arthur's hall as open on one side, and that, on a great feast-day, owing to the number of guests, the table extended beyond the covering afforded by the roof.

And we find accordingly in his great work a combination of inductive inquiry with a priori speculation founded on the "Nature" hypothesis .

It was Alcide Dessalines d'Orbigny (1802-1857) who pushed to an extreme Cuvier's ideas of the fixity of species and of successive extinctions, and finally developed the wild hypothesis of twenty-seven distinct creations.

This was nothing less than the foundation of a new astronomy, in which physical cause should replace arbitrary hypothesis .

This easily passes into the further and still more sceptical hypothesis that the works, as we have them, under Aristotle's name, are rather the works of the Peripatetic school, from Aristotle, Theophrastus and Eudemus downwards.

To save his hypothesis of late composition, Zeller resorts to the vagueness of the word " now " (vuv).

Aristotle had imputed to all living beings a soul, though to plants only in the sense of a vegetative, not a sensitive, activity, and in Moleschott's time many scientific men still accepted some sort of vital principle, not exactly soul, yet over and above bodily forces in organisms. Moleschott, like Lotze, not only resisted the whole hypothesis of a vital principle, but also, on the basis of Lavoisier's discovery that respiration is combustion, argued that the heat so produced is the only force developed in the organism, and that matter therefore rules man.

Thus in presence of the problem which is the crux of materialism, the origin of consciousness, he first propounds a gratuitous hypothesis that everything has mind, and then gives up the origin of conscious mind after all.

He supposes that this evolution does not remain cosmic, but becomes organic. In accordance with Lamarck's hypothesis , he supposes an evolution of organisms by hereditary adaptation to the environment (which he considers necessary to natural selection), and even the possibility of an evolution of life, which, according to him, is the continuous adjustment of internal to external relations.

By changing the meaning of "noumenon " from the thing apprehended (voouµevov) to the thought (vOnya), and in the hypothesis of a common consciousness, he started the view that a thing is not yours or my thought, but a common thought of all mankind, and led to the wider view of Schelling and Hegel that the world is an absolute thought of infinite mind.

The noumenal idealists of Germany assumed, like all psychological idealists, the unproved hypothesis that there is no sense of body, but there is a sense of sensations; and they usually accepted Kant's point, that to get from such sensations to knowledge there is a synthesis contributing mental elements beyond the mental data of sense.

On Schelling's idealistic pantheism, or the hypothesis that there is nothing but one absolute reason identifying the opposites of subjectivity and objectivity, Hegel based his panlogism.

Nevertheless he was too much a child of his age to keep things known steadily before him; having asked the metaphysical question he proceeded to find a psychological answer in a theory of sensation, which asserted the mere hypothesis that the being which we ascribe to things on the evidence of sensation consists in their being felt.

He really accepted, like Kant, the hypothesis of a sense of sensations which led to the Kantian conclusion that the Nature we know in time and space is mere sensible appearances in us.

This hypothesis of an acquired perception of a space mentally constructed by " local signs " supplied Lotze and many succeeding idealists, including Wundt, with a new argument for metaphysical idealism.

Secondly, he accepted the Leibnitzian hypothesis of immaterial elements without accepting their self-action.

Herbart and Lotze, both deeply affected by the Leibnitzian hypothesis of indivisible monads, supposed that man's soul is seated at a central point in the brain; and Lotze supposed that this supposition is necessary to explain the unity of consciousness.

At the very outset he started with his previous metaphysical hypothesis of parallelistic identity without interaction.

But by the hypothesis of the inclusion of spirit in spirit, he was further able to hold that what is unconscious in one spirit is conscious in a higher spirit, while everything whatever is in the consciousness of the highest spirit of God, who is the whole of reality of which the spirits are parts, while the so-called physical world is merely outer appearance of one spirit to another.

But his substitute was his own hypothesis of panpsychism, from which he deduced a "cosmorganic " evolution from a " cosmorganic " or original condition of the world as a living organism into the inorganic, by the principle of tendency to stability.

Shall we resign our traditional belief that the greater part of the world is mere body, but that its general adaptability to conscious organisms proves its creation and government by God, and take to the new hypothesis , which, by a transfer of design from God to Nature, supposes that everything physical is alive, and conducts its life by psychical impulses of its own?

This influence extended from Germany to Denmark, where it was embraced by Hoff ding, and to England, where it was accepted by Romanes, and in a more qualified manner as " a working hypothesis " by Stout.

He admits, indeed, Kant's hypothesis that by inner sense we are conscious only of mental states, but he contends that this very consciousness is a knowledge of a thing in itself.

Riehl, who in Der philosophische Kriti .cis- mus (1876, &c.) proposes the non-Kantian hypothesis that, though things in themselves are unknowable through reason alone, they are knowable by empirical intuition, and therefore also by empirical thought starting from intuition.

But, on the hypothesis that knowledge contains no inferences beyond experience, it follows that all the objects of knowledge, being objects of experience, are, or have been, or can be, present to an experiencing subject.

Immanent Philosophy is the hypothesis that the world is not transcendent, but immanent in consciousness.

At the same time Schuppe's hypothesis of one common consciousness uniting the given by a priori categories could hardly be accepted by Avenarius as pure experience, or as a natural view of the world.

Lastly, though the personal idealists are right in rejecting the hypothesis of one mind, they are too hasty in supposing that the hypothesis is useless for idealistic purposes.

Two psychological errors, among many others, constantly meet us in the history of idealism - the arbitrary hypothesis of a sense of sensations, or of ideas, and the intolerable neglect of logical inference.

It is spoilt by Locke's hypothesis that we do not perceive things but qualities implying things.

The three evidences, which are fatal to intuitive realism, do not prove hypothetical realism, or the hypothesis that we perceive something mental, but infer something bodily.

The observations of Moller, &c., on the germination cannot be assumed to negative the sexual hypothesis for the sexual cells of Ulothrix and Ectocarpus, for example From Strasburger's Lehrbuch der Botanik, by permission of Gustav Fischer.

Again, on the hypothesis that Christianity is true, the statistics at a particular period are no test of success at all.

Probably the latter hypothesis is the one more generally accepted now.

Nash, "he carried a sweeping hypothesis into the examination of the New Testament."

This gross misrepresentation has made hypothesis a kind of logical fashion.

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The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

Related Articles

A hypothesis is a stepping stone to proving a theory. There are numerous types of hypotheses that can be employed when seeking to prove a theory. Additionally, there are many hypothesis examples that can help you form your own hypothesis.

The primary difference between a hypothesis and a theory is the point at which they are formed in the scientific process. A hypothesis is made before an experiment while a theory is formed after collecting a lot of scientific evidence. Explore how these terms differ from each other and similar science terms.

Words near hypothesis in the Dictionary

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• hypothenuse
• hypothermal
• hypothermia
• hypothermic
• hypothesise
• hypothesised
• hypothesises
• hypothesising
• hypothesize

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Hypothesis Examples

A hypothesis is a prediction of the outcome of a test. It forms the basis for designing an experiment in the scientific method . A good hypothesis is testable, meaning it makes a prediction you can check with observation or experimentation. Here are different hypothesis examples.

Null Hypothesis Examples

The null hypothesis (H 0 ) is also known as the zero-difference or no-difference hypothesis. It predicts that changing one variable ( independent variable ) will have no effect on the variable being measured ( dependent variable ). Here are null hypothesis examples:

• Plant growth is unaffected by temperature.
• If you increase temperature, then solubility of salt will increase.
• Incidence of skin cancer is unrelated to ultraviolet light exposure.
• All brands of light bulb last equally long.
• Cats have no preference for the color of cat food.
• All daisies have the same number of petals.

Sometimes the null hypothesis shows there is a suspected correlation between two variables. For example, if you think plant growth is affected by temperature, you state the null hypothesis: “Plant growth is not affected by temperature.” Why do you do this, rather than say “If you change temperature, plant growth will be affected”? The answer is because it’s easier applying a statistical test that shows, with a high level of confidence, a null hypothesis is correct or incorrect.

Research Hypothesis Examples

A research hypothesis (H 1 ) is a type of hypothesis used to design an experiment. This type of hypothesis is often written as an if-then statement because it’s easy identifying the independent and dependent variables and seeing how one affects the other. If-then statements explore cause and effect. In other cases, the hypothesis shows a correlation between two variables. Here are some research hypothesis examples:

• If you leave the lights on, then it takes longer for people to fall asleep.
• If you refrigerate apples, they last longer before going bad.
• If you keep the curtains closed, then you need less electricity to heat or cool the house (the electric bill is lower).
• If you leave a bucket of water uncovered, then it evaporates more quickly.
• Goldfish lose their color if they are not exposed to light.
• Workers who take vacations are more productive than those who never take time off.

Is It Okay to Disprove a Hypothesis?

Yes! You may even choose to write your hypothesis in such a way that it can be disproved because it’s easier to prove a statement is wrong than to prove it is right. In other cases, if your prediction is incorrect, that doesn’t mean the science is bad. Revising a hypothesis is common. It demonstrates you learned something you did not know before you conducted the experiment.

Test yourself with a Scientific Method Quiz .

• Mellenbergh, G.J. (2008). Chapter 8: Research designs: Testing of research hypotheses. In H.J. Adèr & G.J. Mellenbergh (eds.), Advising on Research Methods: A Consultant’s Companion . Huizen, The Netherlands: Johannes van Kessel Publishing.
• Popper, Karl R. (1959). The Logic of Scientific Discovery . Hutchinson & Co. ISBN 3-1614-8410-X.
• Schick, Theodore; Vaughn, Lewis (2002). How to think about weird things: critical thinking for a New Age . Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. ISBN 0-7674-2048-9.
• Tobi, Hilde; Kampen, Jarl K. (2018). “Research design: the methodology for interdisciplinary research framework”. Quality & Quantity . 52 (3): 1209–1225. doi: 10.1007/s11135-017-0513-8

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General Education

Think about something strange and unexplainable in your life. Maybe you get a headache right before it rains, or maybe you think your favorite sports team wins when you wear a certain color. If you wanted to see whether these are just coincidences or scientific fact, you would form a hypothesis, then create an experiment to see whether that hypothesis is true or not.

But what is a hypothesis, anyway? If you’re not sure about what a hypothesis is--or how to test for one!--you’re in the right place. This article will teach you everything you need to know about hypotheses, including: 

• Defining the term “hypothesis” 
• Providing hypothesis examples 
• Giving you tips for how to write your own hypothesis

So let’s get started!

What Is a Hypothesis?

Merriam Webster defines a hypothesis as “an assumption or concession made for the sake of argument.” In other words, a hypothesis is an educated guess . Scientists make a reasonable assumption--or a hypothesis--then design an experiment to test whether it’s true or not. Keep in mind that in science, a hypothesis should be testable. You have to be able to design an experiment that tests your hypothesis in order for it to be valid. 

As you could assume from that statement, it’s easy to make a bad hypothesis. But when you’re holding an experiment, it’s even more important that your guesses be good...after all, you’re spending time (and maybe money!) to figure out more about your observation. That’s why we refer to a hypothesis as an educated guess--good hypotheses are based on existing data and research to make them as sound as possible.

Hypotheses are one part of what’s called the scientific method .  Every (good) experiment or study is based in the scientific method. The scientific method gives order and structure to experiments and ensures that interference from scientists or outside influences does not skew the results. It’s important that you understand the concepts of the scientific method before holding your own experiment. Though it may vary among scientists, the scientific method is generally made up of six steps (in order):

• Observation
• Asking questions
• Forming a hypothesis
• Analyze the data
• Communicate your results

You’ll notice that the hypothesis comes pretty early on when conducting an experiment. That’s because experiments work best when they’re trying to answer one specific question. And you can’t conduct an experiment until you know what you’re trying to prove!

Independent and Dependent Variables 

After doing your research, you’re ready for another important step in forming your hypothesis: identifying variables. Variables are basically any factor that could influence the outcome of your experiment . Variables have to be measurable and related to the topic being studied.

There are two types of variables:  independent variables and dependent variables. I ndependent variables remain constant . For example, age is an independent variable; it will stay the same, and researchers can look at different ages to see if it has an effect on the dependent variable. 

Speaking of dependent variables... dependent variables are subject to the influence of the independent variable , meaning that they are not constant. Let’s say you want to test whether a person’s age affects how much sleep they need. In that case, the independent variable is age (like we mentioned above), and the dependent variable is how much sleep a person gets. 

Variables will be crucial in writing your hypothesis. You need to be able to identify which variable is which, as both the independent and dependent variables will be written into your hypothesis. For instance, in a study about exercise, the independent variable might be the speed at which the respondents walk for thirty minutes, and the dependent variable would be their heart rate. In your study and in your hypothesis, you’re trying to understand the relationship between the two variables.

Elements of a Good Hypothesis

The best hypotheses start by asking the right questions . For instance, if you’ve observed that the grass is greener when it rains twice a week, you could ask what kind of grass it is, what elevation it’s at, and if the grass across the street responds to rain in the same way. Any of these questions could become the backbone of experiments to test why the grass gets greener when it rains fairly frequently.

As you’re asking more questions about your first observation, make sure you’re also making more observations . If it doesn’t rain for two weeks and the grass still looks green, that’s an important observation that could influence your hypothesis. You'll continue observing all throughout your experiment, but until the hypothesis is finalized, every observation should be noted.

Finally, you should consult secondary research before writing your hypothesis . Secondary research is comprised of results found and published by other people. You can usually find this information online or at your library. Additionally, m ake sure the research you find is credible and related to your topic. If you’re studying the correlation between rain and grass growth, it would help you to research rain patterns over the past twenty years for your county, published by a local agricultural association. You should also research the types of grass common in your area, the type of grass in your lawn, and whether anyone else has conducted experiments about your hypothesis. Also be sure you’re checking the quality of your research . Research done by a middle school student about what minerals can be found in rainwater would be less useful than an article published by a local university.

Writing Your Hypothesis

Once you’ve considered all of the factors above, you’re ready to start writing your hypothesis. Hypotheses usually take a certain form when they’re written out in a research report.

When you boil down your hypothesis statement, you are writing down your best guess and not the question at hand . This means that your statement should be written as if it is fact already, even though you are simply testing it.

The reason for this is that, after you have completed your study, you'll either accept or reject your if-then or your null hypothesis. All hypothesis testing examples should be measurable and able to be confirmed or denied. You cannot confirm a question, only a statement! 

In fact, you come up with hypothesis examples all the time! For instance, when you guess on the outcome of a basketball game, you don’t say, “Will the Miami Heat beat the Boston Celtics?” but instead, “I think the Miami Heat will beat the Boston Celtics.” You state it as if it is already true, even if it turns out you’re wrong. You do the same thing when writing your hypothesis.

Additionally, keep in mind that hypotheses can range from very specific to very broad.  These hypotheses can be specific, but if your hypothesis testing examples involve a broad range of causes and effects, your hypothesis can also be broad.  

The Two Types of Hypotheses

Now that you understand what goes into a hypothesis, it’s time to look more closely at the two most common types of hypothesis: the if-then hypothesis and the null hypothesis.

#1: If-Then Hypotheses

First of all, if-then hypotheses typically follow this formula:

If ____ happens, then ____ will happen.

The goal of this type of hypothesis is to test the causal relationship between the independent and dependent variable. It’s fairly simple, and each hypothesis can vary in how detailed it can be. We create if-then hypotheses all the time with our daily predictions. Here are some examples of hypotheses that use an if-then structure from daily life: 

• If I get enough sleep, I’ll be able to get more work done tomorrow.
• If the bus is on time, I can make it to my friend’s birthday party. 
• If I study every night this week, I’ll get a better grade on my exam. 

In each of these situations, you’re making a guess on how an independent variable (sleep, time, or studying) will affect a dependent variable (the amount of work you can do, making it to a party on time, or getting better grades). 

You may still be asking, “What is an example of a hypothesis used in scientific research?” Take one of the hypothesis examples from a real-world study on whether using technology before bed affects children’s sleep patterns. The hypothesis read s:

“We hypothesized that increased hours of tablet- and phone-based screen time at bedtime would be inversely correlated with sleep quality and child attention.”

It might not look like it, but this is an if-then statement. The researchers basically said, “If children have more screen usage at bedtime, then their quality of sleep and attention will be worse.” The sleep quality and attention are the dependent variables and the screen usage is the independent variable. (Usually, the independent variable comes after the “if” and the dependent variable comes after the “then,” as it is the independent variable that affects the dependent variable.) This is an excellent example of how flexible hypothesis statements can be, as long as the general idea of “if-then” and the independent and dependent variables are present.

#2: Null Hypotheses

Your if-then hypothesis is not the only one needed to complete a successful experiment, however. You also need a null hypothesis to test it against. In its most basic form, the null hypothesis is the opposite of your if-then hypothesis . When you write your null hypothesis, you are writing a hypothesis that suggests that your guess is not true, and that the independent and dependent variables have no relationship .

One null hypothesis for the cell phone and sleep study from the last section might say: 

“If children have more screen usage at bedtime, their quality of sleep and attention will not be worse.” 

In this case, this is a null hypothesis because it’s asking the opposite of the original thesis! 

Conversely, if your if-then hypothesis suggests that your two variables have no relationship, then your null hypothesis would suggest that there is one. So, pretend that there is a study that is asking the question, “Does the amount of followers on Instagram influence how long people spend on the app?” The independent variable is the amount of followers, and the dependent variable is the time spent. But if you, as the researcher, don’t think there is a relationship between the number of followers and time spent, you might write an if-then hypothesis that reads:

“If people have many followers on Instagram, they will not spend more time on the app than people who have less.”

In this case, the if-then suggests there isn’t a relationship between the variables. In that case, one of the null hypothesis examples might say:

“If people have many followers on Instagram, they will spend more time on the app than people who have less.”

You then test both the if-then and the null hypothesis to gauge if there is a relationship between the variables, and if so, how much of a relationship. 

4 Tips to Write the Best Hypothesis

If you’re going to take the time to hold an experiment, whether in school or by yourself, you’re also going to want to take the time to make sure your hypothesis is a good one. The best hypotheses have four major elements in common: plausibility, defined concepts, observability, and general explanation.

#1: Plausibility

At first glance, this quality of a hypothesis might seem obvious. When your hypothesis is plausible, that means it’s possible given what we know about science and general common sense. However, improbable hypotheses are more common than you might think. 

Imagine you’re studying weight gain and television watching habits. If you hypothesize that people who watch more than  twenty hours of television a week will gain two hundred pounds or more over the course of a year, this might be improbable (though it’s potentially possible). Consequently, c ommon sense can tell us the results of the study before the study even begins.

Improbable hypotheses generally go against  science, as well. Take this hypothesis example: 

“If a person smokes one cigarette a day, then they will have lungs just as healthy as the average person’s.” 

This hypothesis is obviously untrue, as studies have shown again and again that cigarettes negatively affect lung health. You must be careful that your hypotheses do not reflect your own personal opinion more than they do scientifically-supported findings. This plausibility points to the necessity of research before the hypothesis is written to make sure that your hypothesis has not already been disproven.

#2: Defined Concepts

The more advanced you are in your studies, the more likely that the terms you’re using in your hypothesis are specific to a limited set of knowledge. One of the hypothesis testing examples might include the readability of printed text in newspapers, where you might use words like “kerning” and “x-height.” Unless your readers have a background in graphic design, it’s likely that they won’t know what you mean by these terms. Thus, it’s important to either write what they mean in the hypothesis itself or in the report before the hypothesis.

Here’s what we mean. Which of the following sentences makes more sense to the common person?

If the kerning is greater than average, more words will be read per minute.

If the space between letters is greater than average, more words will be read per minute.

For people reading your report that are not experts in typography, simply adding a few more words will be helpful in clarifying exactly what the experiment is all about. It’s always a good idea to make your research and findings as accessible as possible. 

Good hypotheses ensure that you can observe the results. 

#3: Observability

In order to measure the truth or falsity of your hypothesis, you must be able to see your variables and the way they interact. For instance, if your hypothesis is that the flight patterns of satellites affect the strength of certain television signals, yet you don’t have a telescope to view the satellites or a television to monitor the signal strength, you cannot properly observe your hypothesis and thus cannot continue your study.

Some variables may seem easy to observe, but if you do not have a system of measurement in place, you cannot observe your hypothesis properly. Here’s an example: if you’re experimenting on the effect of healthy food on overall happiness, but you don’t have a way to monitor and measure what “overall happiness” means, your results will not reflect the truth. Monitoring how often someone smiles for a whole day is not reasonably observable, but having the participants state how happy they feel on a scale of one to ten is more observable. 

In writing your hypothesis, always keep in mind how you'll execute the experiment.

#4: Generalizability 

Perhaps you’d like to study what color your best friend wears the most often by observing and documenting the colors she wears each day of the week. This might be fun information for her and you to know, but beyond you two, there aren’t many people who could benefit from this experiment. When you start an experiment, you should note how generalizable your findings may be if they are confirmed. Generalizability is basically how common a particular phenomenon is to other people’s everyday life.

Let’s say you’re asking a question about the health benefits of eating an apple for one day only, you need to realize that the experiment may be too specific to be helpful. It does not help to explain a phenomenon that many people experience. If you find yourself with too specific of a hypothesis, go back to asking the big question: what is it that you want to know, and what do you think will happen between your two variables?

Hypothesis Testing Examples

We know it can be hard to write a good hypothesis unless you’ve seen some good hypothesis examples. We’ve included four hypothesis examples based on some made-up experiments. Use these as templates or launch pads for coming up with your own hypotheses.

Experiment #1: Students Studying Outside (Writing a Hypothesis)

You are a student at PrepScholar University. When you walk around campus, you notice that, when the temperature is above 60 degrees, more students study in the quad. You want to know when your fellow students are more likely to study outside. With this information, how do you make the best hypothesis possible?

You must remember to make additional observations and do secondary research before writing your hypothesis. In doing so, you notice that no one studies outside when it’s 75 degrees and raining, so this should be included in your experiment. Also, studies done on the topic beforehand suggested that students are more likely to study in temperatures less than 85 degrees. With this in mind, you feel confident that you can identify your variables and write your hypotheses:

If-then: “If the temperature in Fahrenheit is less than 60 degrees, significantly fewer students will study outside.”

Null: “If the temperature in Fahrenheit is less than 60 degrees, the same number of students will study outside as when it is more than 60 degrees.”

These hypotheses are plausible, as the temperatures are reasonably within the bounds of what is possible. The number of people in the quad is also easily observable. It is also not a phenomenon specific to only one person or at one time, but instead can explain a phenomenon for a broader group of people.

To complete this experiment, you pick the month of October to observe the quad. Every day (except on the days where it’s raining)from 3 to 4 PM, when most classes have released for the day, you observe how many people are on the quad. You measure how many people come  and how many leave. You also write down the temperature on the hour. 

After writing down all of your observations and putting them on a graph, you find that the most students study on the quad when it is 70 degrees outside, and that the number of students drops a lot once the temperature reaches 60 degrees or below. In this case, your research report would state that you accept or “failed to reject” your first hypothesis with your findings.

Experiment #2: The Cupcake Store (Forming a Simple Experiment)

Let’s say that you work at a bakery. You specialize in cupcakes, and you make only two colors of frosting: yellow and purple. You want to know what kind of customers are more likely to buy what kind of cupcake, so you set up an experiment. Your independent variable is the customer’s gender, and the dependent variable is the color of the frosting. What is an example of a hypothesis that might answer the question of this study?

Here’s what your hypotheses might look like: 

If-then: “If customers’ gender is female, then they will buy more yellow cupcakes than purple cupcakes.”

Null: “If customers’ gender is female, then they will be just as likely to buy purple cupcakes as yellow cupcakes.”

This is a pretty simple experiment! It passes the test of plausibility (there could easily be a difference), defined concepts (there’s nothing complicated about cupcakes!), observability (both color and gender can be easily observed), and general explanation ( this would potentially help you make better business decisions ).

Experiment #3: Backyard Bird Feeders (Integrating Multiple Variables and Rejecting the If-Then Hypothesis)

While watching your backyard bird feeder, you realized that different birds come on the days when you change the types of seeds. You decide that you want to see more cardinals in your backyard, so you decide to see what type of food they like the best and set up an experiment. 

However, one morning, you notice that, while some cardinals are present, blue jays are eating out of your backyard feeder filled with millet. You decide that, of all of the other birds, you would like to see the blue jays the least. This means you'll have more than one variable in your hypothesis. Your new hypotheses might look like this: 

If-then: “If sunflower seeds are placed in the bird feeders, then more cardinals will come than blue jays. If millet is placed in the bird feeders, then more blue jays will come than cardinals.”

Null: “If either sunflower seeds or millet are placed in the bird, equal numbers of cardinals and blue jays will come.”

Through simple observation, you actually find that cardinals come as often as blue jays when sunflower seeds or millet is in the bird feeder. In this case, you would reject your “if-then” hypothesis and “fail to reject” your null hypothesis . You cannot accept your first hypothesis, because it’s clearly not true. Instead you found that there was actually no relation between your different variables. Consequently, you would need to run more experiments with different variables to see if the new variables impact the results.

Experiment #4: In-Class Survey (Including an Alternative Hypothesis)

You’re about to give a speech in one of your classes about the importance of paying attention. You want to take this opportunity to test a hypothesis you’ve had for a while: 

If-then: If students sit in the first two rows of the classroom, then they will listen better than students who do not.

Null: If students sit in the first two rows of the classroom, then they will not listen better or worse than students who do not.

You give your speech and then ask your teacher if you can hand out a short survey to the class. On the survey, you’ve included questions about some of the topics you talked about. When you get back the results, you’re surprised to see that not only do the students in the first two rows not pay better attention, but they also scored worse than students in other parts of the classroom! Here, both your if-then and your null hypotheses are not representative of your findings. What do you do?

This is when you reject both your if-then and null hypotheses and instead create an alternative hypothesis . This type of hypothesis is used in the rare circumstance that neither of your hypotheses is able to capture your findings . Now you can use what you’ve learned to draft new hypotheses and test again! 

Key Takeaways: Hypothesis Writing

The more comfortable you become with writing hypotheses, the better they will become. The structure of hypotheses is flexible and may need to be changed depending on what topic you are studying. The most important thing to remember is the purpose of your hypothesis and the difference between the if-then and the null . From there, in forming your hypothesis, you should constantly be asking questions, making observations, doing secondary research, and considering your variables. After you have written your hypothesis, be sure to edit it so that it is plausible, clearly defined, observable, and helpful in explaining a general phenomenon.

Writing a hypothesis is something that everyone, from elementary school children competing in a science fair to professional scientists in a lab, needs to know how to do. Hypotheses are vital in experiments and in properly executing the scientific method . When done correctly, hypotheses will set up your studies for success and help you to understand the world a little better, one experiment at a time.

What’s Next?

If you’re studying for the science portion of the ACT, there’s definitely a lot you need to know. We’ve got the tools to help, though! Start by checking out our ultimate study guide for the ACT Science subject test. Once you read through that, be sure to download our recommended ACT Science practice tests , since they’re one of the most foolproof ways to improve your score. (And don’t forget to check out our expert guide book , too.)

If you love science and want to major in a scientific field, you should start preparing in high school . Here are the science classes you should take to set yourself up for success.

If you’re trying to think of science experiments you can do for class (or for a science fair!), here’s a list of 37 awesome science experiments you can do at home

Ashley Sufflé Robinson has a Ph.D. in 19th Century English Literature. As a content writer for PrepScholar, Ashley is passionate about giving college-bound students the in-depth information they need to get into the school of their dreams.

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• How to Write a Strong Hypothesis | Guide & Examples

How to Write a Strong Hypothesis | Guide & Examples

Published on 6 May 2022 by Shona McCombes .

A hypothesis is a statement that can be tested by scientific research. If you want to test a relationship between two or more variables, you need to write hypotheses before you start your experiment or data collection.

Table of contents

What is a hypothesis, developing a hypothesis (with example), hypothesis examples, frequently asked questions about writing hypotheses.

A hypothesis states your predictions about what your research will find. It is a tentative answer to your research question that has not yet been tested. For some research projects, you might have to write several hypotheses that address different aspects of your research question.

A hypothesis is not just a guess – it should be based on existing theories and knowledge. It also has to be testable, which means you can support or refute it through scientific research methods (such as experiments, observations, and statistical analysis of data).

Variables in hypotheses

Hypotheses propose a relationship between two or more variables . An independent variable is something the researcher changes or controls. A dependent variable is something the researcher observes and measures.

In this example, the independent variable is exposure to the sun – the assumed cause . The dependent variable is the level of happiness – the assumed effect .

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Step 1: ask a question.

Writing a hypothesis begins with a research question that you want to answer. The question should be focused, specific, and researchable within the constraints of your project.

Step 2: Do some preliminary research

Your initial answer to the question should be based on what is already known about the topic. Look for theories and previous studies to help you form educated assumptions about what your research will find.

At this stage, you might construct a conceptual framework to identify which variables you will study and what you think the relationships are between them. Sometimes, you’ll have to operationalise more complex constructs.

Step 3: Formulate your hypothesis

Now you should have some idea of what you expect to find. Write your initial answer to the question in a clear, concise sentence.

Step 4: Refine your hypothesis

You need to make sure your hypothesis is specific and testable. There are various ways of phrasing a hypothesis, but all the terms you use should have clear definitions, and the hypothesis should contain:

• The relevant variables
• The specific group being studied
• The predicted outcome of the experiment or analysis

Step 5: Phrase your hypothesis in three ways

To identify the variables, you can write a simple prediction in if … then form. The first part of the sentence states the independent variable and the second part states the dependent variable.

In academic research, hypotheses are more commonly phrased in terms of correlations or effects, where you directly state the predicted relationship between variables.

If you are comparing two groups, the hypothesis can state what difference you expect to find between them.

Step 6. Write a null hypothesis

If your research involves statistical hypothesis testing , you will also have to write a null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is the default position that there is no association between the variables. The null hypothesis is written as H 0 , while the alternative hypothesis is H 1 or H a .

Hypothesis testing is a formal procedure for investigating our ideas about the world using statistics. It is used by scientists to test specific predictions, called hypotheses , by calculating how likely it is that a pattern or relationship between variables could have arisen by chance.

A hypothesis is not just a guess. It should be based on existing theories and knowledge. It also has to be testable, which means you can support or refute it through scientific research methods (such as experiments, observations, and statistical analysis of data).

A research hypothesis is your proposed answer to your research question. The research hypothesis usually includes an explanation (‘ x affects y because …’).

A statistical hypothesis, on the other hand, is a mathematical statement about a population parameter. Statistical hypotheses always come in pairs: the null and alternative hypotheses. In a well-designed study , the statistical hypotheses correspond logically to the research hypothesis.

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scientific hypothesis

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• National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - On the scope of scientific hypotheses
• LiveScience - What is a scientific hypothesis?
• The Royal Society - On the scope of scientific hypotheses

scientific hypothesis , an idea that proposes a tentative explanation about a phenomenon or a narrow set of phenomena observed in the natural world. The two primary features of a scientific hypothesis are falsifiability and testability, which are reflected in an “If…then” statement summarizing the idea and in the ability to be supported or refuted through observation and experimentation. The notion of the scientific hypothesis as both falsifiable and testable was advanced in the mid-20th century by Austrian-born British philosopher Karl Popper .

The formulation and testing of a hypothesis is part of the scientific method , the approach scientists use when attempting to understand and test ideas about natural phenomena. The generation of a hypothesis frequently is described as a creative process and is based on existing scientific knowledge, intuition , or experience. Therefore, although scientific hypotheses commonly are described as educated guesses, they actually are more informed than a guess. In addition, scientists generally strive to develop simple hypotheses, since these are easier to test relative to hypotheses that involve many different variables and potential outcomes. Such complex hypotheses may be developed as scientific models ( see scientific modeling ).

Depending on the results of scientific evaluation, a hypothesis typically is either rejected as false or accepted as true. However, because a hypothesis inherently is falsifiable, even hypotheses supported by scientific evidence and accepted as true are susceptible to rejection later, when new evidence has become available. In some instances, rather than rejecting a hypothesis because it has been falsified by new evidence, scientists simply adapt the existing idea to accommodate the new information. In this sense a hypothesis is never incorrect but only incomplete.

The investigation of scientific hypotheses is an important component in the development of scientific theory . Hence, hypotheses differ fundamentally from theories; whereas the former is a specific tentative explanation and serves as the main tool by which scientists gather data, the latter is a broad general explanation that incorporates data from many different scientific investigations undertaken to explore hypotheses.

Countless hypotheses have been developed and tested throughout the history of science . Several examples include the idea that living organisms develop from nonliving matter, which formed the basis of spontaneous generation , a hypothesis that ultimately was disproved (first in 1668, with the experiments of Italian physician Francesco Redi , and later in 1859, with the experiments of French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur ); the concept proposed in the late 19th century that microorganisms cause certain diseases (now known as germ theory ); and the notion that oceanic crust forms along submarine mountain zones and spreads laterally away from them ( seafloor spreading hypothesis ).

Writing a hypothesis and prediction

Part of Biology Working scientifically

• A hypothesis is an idea about how something works that can be tested using experiments.
• A prediction says what will happen in an experiment if the hypothesis is correct.

Why do scientists ask questions?

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To help find things out and solve problems.

Watch this video about how to make a scientific prediction.

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While you are watching, look out for how different types of variables are identified and used to make a prediction

Video Transcript Video Transcript

Presenter 1: We are going to look at the two words "prediction" and "hypothesis". It's important to know the difference between them.

Presenter 2: A hypothesis is an idea about how something works that can be tested using experiments.

Presenter 1: A prediction is a statement of what we think will happen if the hypothesis is correct.

Presenter 2: So you use your hypothesis to make a prediction.

Student 1: I reckon, because there's more oxygen, it'll last longer. So, I'm thinking maybe 40 seconds?

Presenter 1: Here, my hypothesis is that the more air and oxygen candles have, the longer they stay alight.

Presenter 2: So, if my hypothesis is correct, then my prediction is that candles in larger measuring beakers will burn for longer.

Presenter 1: As the volume of air increases, then the time the candle takes to go out also increases. Our graph shows us the pattern in our results.

Presenter 2: The bigger the measuring beaker, the more air and the longer the candle burnt.

Presenter 1: So, we have seen an experiment looking at how long a candle burns under different beakers.

Presenter 2: We have formed a hypothesis and then we have tested it, looking at the difference between the meaning of the word "hypothesis" and the word "prediction".

What's the question?

Science is all about asking questions and then trying to find answers to them. For example:

• Why are there so many different animals on Earth?
• Why is the sky blue?
• Will humans need to live on the moon?

Science can provide answers to some questions, by using observations close Observation Something that can be seen happening. and experiments. Data is collected to help answer these questions.

The scientific method is a useful way of guiding scientists through an investigation. A hypothesis is developed from an idea or question based on an observation . A prediction is then made, an experiment carried out to test this, then the results are analysed and conclusions can be drawn.

A prediction suggests that there is a relationship between which two types of variables?

Independent and dependent variables.

Prediction and hypothesis

More on Working scientifically

Find out more by working through a topic

Planning an experiment

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Maths skills for science

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Drawing scientific apparatus

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Observation and measurement skills

• count 7 of 11

How To Use “Hypothesis” In A Sentence: Breaking Down Usage

Speaking of discussing the usage of hypothesis in a sentence, it is important to understand the correct approach. Hypothesis, a term commonly used in scientific and research contexts, refers to a proposed explanation or prediction that can be tested through experimentation or observation. In this article, we will explore the proper way to incorporate hypothesis in a sentence, providing you with a clear understanding of its usage and significance.

Definition Of Hypothesis

A hypothesis is a statement or proposition that is put forward as a possible explanation for a phenomenon or a set of facts. It serves as a starting point for further investigation and is typically based on limited evidence or prior knowledge. In the scientific method, a hypothesis is formulated to test a specific prediction or answer a research question.

Historically, the concept of hypothesis dates back to ancient Greece, where philosophers such as Aristotle and Plato used it in their philosophical inquiries. However, it was Francis Bacon, the English philosopher and scientist, who popularized the term “hypothesis” in the 17th century. Since then, the understanding and usage of hypothesis have evolved significantly in various fields, including science, social sciences, and statistics.

In different contexts, the term “hypothesis” may have slightly different meanings. In scientific research, a hypothesis is a proposed explanation that can be tested through experimentation or observation. In statistics, a hypothesis refers to a statement about the population based on a sample. In social sciences, a hypothesis often involves predicting relationships between variables. Despite these nuances, the core idea of hypothesis remains consistent across disciplines.

How To Properly Use Hypothesis In A Sentence

When it comes to using the word “hypothesis” in a sentence, it is important to understand the grammatical rules associated with this term. As a noun, “hypothesis” refers to a proposed explanation or theory that is based on limited evidence and serves as a starting point for further investigation. In scientific research, a hypothesis plays a crucial role in formulating experiments and drawing conclusions. However, it is worth noting that “hypothesis” can also function as a verb in certain contexts, although this usage is less common.

Grammatical Rules For Using “Hypothesis” As A Noun

When using “hypothesis” as a noun, there are a few grammatical rules to keep in mind:

• Article Usage: In most cases, “hypothesis” is preceded by the indefinite article “a” or “an.” For example, you could say, “She proposed a hypothesis to explain the observed phenomenon.”
• Singular or Plural: “Hypothesis” can be used in both singular and plural forms. When referring to a single proposed explanation, use the singular form, as in, “The hypothesis suggests that…” However, when discussing multiple proposed explanations, the plural form “hypotheses” is appropriate, such as, “Several hypotheses were tested in the study.”
• Modifiers: “Hypothesis” can be modified by various adjectives or adjectival phrases to provide more specific information. For instance, you might say, “Her groundbreaking hypothesis challenged existing theories.”

Using “Hypothesis” As A Verb

Although less common, “hypothesis” can also be used as a verb. When used in this way, it means to propose or formulate a hypothesis. However, it is important to note that this verb form is not as widely recognized or employed as its noun counterpart. Therefore, it is advisable to use the noun form of “hypothesis” in most cases to ensure clarity and precision in your writing.

In conclusion, understanding the grammatical rules associated with “hypothesis” is crucial for effectively using this term in a sentence. Whether used as a noun or a verb, “hypothesis” serves as a fundamental concept in scientific research and inquiry, enabling researchers to propose explanations and test their validity.

Examples Of Using Hypothesis In A Sentence

When it comes to understanding how to use “hypothesis” in a sentence, it is crucial to showcase its versatility and various contexts. By incorporating a mix of simple and complex sentences, we can effectively demonstrate the different meanings and nuances associated with this word.

• 1. The scientist formulated a hypothesis to explain the observed phenomenon, which stated that increased sunlight exposure would lead to accelerated plant growth.
• 2. Despite lacking concrete evidence, the detective developed a hypothesis suggesting that the suspect had a motive for the crime.
• 3. In the field of psychology, researchers often propose hypotheses to test their theories and gain deeper insights into human behavior.
• 4. The economist’s hypothesis posited that an increase in interest rates would result in a decline in consumer spending.
• 5. By conducting a series of experiments, the team was able to confirm their hypothesis that regular exercise improves cognitive function.

These examples illustrate how “hypothesis” can be utilized in various fields and situations. From scientific research to criminal investigations, hypotheses play a fundamental role in formulating theories, making predictions, and advancing knowledge.

Edge Cases Or Things To Consider

When it comes to using hypotheses in a sentence, there are certain edge cases and considerations to keep in mind. By being aware of common mistakes people make and understanding the potential cultural or regional differences, you can ensure the effective use of hypotheses in your writing.

Common Mistakes People Make When Using Hypothesis

While using hypotheses may seem straightforward, there are some common mistakes that people often make. By avoiding these errors, you can strengthen the impact of your sentences and enhance the clarity of your message.

Here are a few common mistakes to watch out for:

• Confusing hypothesis with theory: One common mistake is using the term “hypothesis” interchangeably with “theory.” It is important to remember that a hypothesis is a proposed explanation or prediction, while a theory is a well-substantiated explanation based on extensive research and evidence. Make sure to use the term “hypothesis” correctly to maintain accuracy in your writing.
• Using vague or ambiguous language: Another mistake is formulating a hypothesis that is unclear or lacks specificity. A hypothesis should be precise and concise, clearly stating the relationship or expected outcome. Avoid using vague terms or ambiguous language that can lead to confusion or misinterpretation.
• Failure to test the hypothesis: A hypothesis is meant to be tested and evaluated. Failing to conduct experiments or gather data to support or refute your hypothesis weakens its validity. Ensure that you provide evidence or logical reasoning to support your hypothesis whenever possible.
• Not considering alternative hypotheses: It is essential to acknowledge and consider alternative hypotheses when formulating your own. Ignoring other potential explanations or outcomes can limit the comprehensiveness of your hypothesis. Take the time to explore alternative possibilities and address them in your writing.

By avoiding these common mistakes, you can present your hypotheses in a more accurate, precise, and compelling manner.

Cultural Or Regional Differences

When it comes to using hypotheses in a sentence, it is crucial to consider potential cultural or regional differences that may impact their interpretation. Language, context, and cultural norms can influence how hypotheses are understood and received by different audiences.

Here are a few cultural or regional differences to keep in mind:

By being mindful of these cultural or regional differences, you can ensure that your hypotheses are appropriately framed and effectively communicated across diverse audiences.

Synonyms Or Alternates To Use

When it comes to expressing the concept of hypothesis in a sentence, there are several synonyms or alternate words that can be used. Each of these words carries a distinct connotation and may be preferred in specific contexts. Here are four alternatives to the term hypothesis:

The word “theory” is often used interchangeably with hypothesis, but it holds a slightly different meaning. While a hypothesis is a proposed explanation or prediction based on limited evidence, a theory is a well-supported and widely accepted explanation of a phenomenon. The key distinction lies in the level of evidence and consensus behind each term. In scientific discourse, a hypothesis precedes a theory, as a hypothesis is tested and validated to become a theory.

Example: “The theory of relativity was initially proposed as a hypothesis by Albert Einstein.”

2. Assumption

An assumption, similar to a hypothesis, is an idea or belief that is taken for granted or accepted without proof. However, an assumption typically lacks the systematic testing and validation process that characterizes a hypothesis. Assumptions are often based on personal beliefs, opinions, or prior knowledge, rather than empirical evidence.

Example: “The success of the marketing campaign was based on the assumption that consumers prefer eco-friendly products.”

3. Supposition

A supposition refers to a tentative belief or assumption made in the absence of complete evidence. Like a hypothesis, it is a proposition that requires further investigation to confirm or refute. However, a supposition is often based on limited information or speculative reasoning.

Example: “Her supposition that the suspect was innocent turned out to be incorrect.”

4. Postulate

A postulate is a statement or proposition that is accepted as true without proof or demonstration. It is often used in mathematical or philosophical contexts. While a hypothesis is specific to scientific inquiry, a postulate can be more general and apply to various fields of study.

Example: “Euclid’s postulates form the foundation of plane geometry.”

It is essential to consider the subtle differences in meaning and usage when selecting an alternate word for hypothesis. Depending on the specific context and the level of evidence or acceptance required, one synonym may be more appropriate than another.

Related Phrases Or Idioms

When it comes to incorporating the word “hypothesis” into phrases or idioms, the English language offers a few interesting options. These expressions not only add color to our conversations but also provide a deeper understanding of the concept of hypothesis. Let’s explore some of these phrases and idioms and delve into their meanings with illustrative examples:

1. “Hypothesize About”

Meaning: To make an educated guess or propose a theory about something.

Example: “Scientists often hypothesize about the potential effects of climate change on marine ecosystems.”

2. “In The Realm Of Speculation”

Meaning: Referring to something that is based on conjecture or hypothesis rather than concrete evidence.

Example: “The author’s theory about the existence of parallel universes remains in the realm of speculation.”

3. “Cast Doubt On”

Meaning: To question or challenge a hypothesis or belief.

Example: “The new evidence presented in the study casts doubt on the previously accepted hypothesis.”

4. “Wild Conjecture”

Meaning: Referring to a hypothesis or theory that lacks solid evidence and is based on imaginative or unfounded ideas.

Example: “The conspiracy theory circulating online is nothing more than wild conjecture.”

5. “Under The Guise Of A Hypothesis”

Meaning: Describing a situation where a hypothesis is used as a cover or pretext for something else.

Example: “He conducted the experiment under the guise of a hypothesis, but his true intention was to gather data for his personal project.”

6. “Prove Or Disprove”

Meaning: To provide evidence that supports or refutes a hypothesis.

Example: “The research team conducted a series of experiments to either prove or disprove their initial hypothesis.”

These phrases and idioms offer a glimpse into how the word “hypothesis” is used in various contexts. Incorporating them into your vocabulary can help you express ideas related to hypothesis more effectively and add depth to your conversations.

Using a hypothesis correctly is of utmost importance in various fields of study and research. Whether you are a scientist, a student, or simply someone seeking to enhance their critical thinking skills, understanding how to use hypothesis in a sentence is a valuable tool.

A well-constructed hypothesis allows us to formulate educated guesses, make predictions, and test our assumptions. It serves as a foundation for scientific investigations, guiding researchers towards meaningful conclusions. By using hypothesis in a sentence, we can effectively communicate our ideas and hypotheses to others, fostering collaboration and the exchange of knowledge.

Furthermore, the proper use of hypothesis promotes logical reasoning and helps us avoid making unfounded claims or assumptions. It encourages us to think critically, consider alternative explanations, and approach problems with an open mind.

To truly grasp the power of hypothesis, it is essential to practice using it in our own sentences. By doing so, we can refine our ability to articulate hypotheses clearly and concisely. This practice not only enhances our communication skills but also strengthens our analytical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

So, I encourage you, dear readers, to embrace the art of using hypothesis in your everyday language. Challenge yourself to construct hypotheses and incorporate them into your conversations, written works, and scientific endeavors. By doing so, you will unlock a world of possibilities and deepen your understanding of the world around you.

Shawn Manaher is the founder and CEO of The Content Authority. He’s one part content manager, one part writing ninja organizer, and two parts leader of top content creators. You don’t even want to know what he calls pancakes.

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How to Write a Great Hypothesis

Hypothesis Definition, Format, Examples, and Tips

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Amy Morin, LCSW, is a psychotherapist and international bestselling author. Her books, including "13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do," have been translated into more than 40 languages. Her TEDx talk,  "The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong," is one of the most viewed talks of all time.

Verywell / Alex Dos Diaz

• The Scientific Method

Hypothesis Format

Falsifiability of a hypothesis.

• Operationalization

Hypothesis Types

Hypotheses examples.

• Collecting Data

A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables. It is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in a study. It is a preliminary answer to your question that helps guide the research process.

Consider a study designed to examine the relationship between sleep deprivation and test performance. The hypothesis might be: "This study is designed to assess the hypothesis that sleep-deprived people will perform worse on a test than individuals who are not sleep-deprived."

At a Glance

A hypothesis is crucial to scientific research because it offers a clear direction for what the researchers are looking to find. This allows them to design experiments to test their predictions and add to our scientific knowledge about the world. This article explores how a hypothesis is used in psychology research, how to write a good hypothesis, and the different types of hypotheses you might use.

The Hypothesis in the Scientific Method

In the scientific method , whether it involves research in psychology, biology, or some other area, a hypothesis represents what the researchers think will happen in an experiment. The scientific method involves the following steps:

• Forming a question
• Performing background research
• Creating a hypothesis
• Designing an experiment
• Collecting data
• Analyzing the results
• Drawing conclusions
• Communicating the results

The hypothesis is a prediction, but it involves more than a guess. Most of the time, the hypothesis begins with a question which is then explored through background research. At this point, researchers then begin to develop a testable hypothesis.

Unless you are creating an exploratory study, your hypothesis should always explain what you  expect  to happen.

In a study exploring the effects of a particular drug, the hypothesis might be that researchers expect the drug to have some type of effect on the symptoms of a specific illness. In psychology, the hypothesis might focus on how a certain aspect of the environment might influence a particular behavior.

Remember, a hypothesis does not have to be correct. While the hypothesis predicts what the researchers expect to see, the goal of the research is to determine whether this guess is right or wrong. When conducting an experiment, researchers might explore numerous factors to determine which ones might contribute to the ultimate outcome.

In many cases, researchers may find that the results of an experiment  do not  support the original hypothesis. When writing up these results, the researchers might suggest other options that should be explored in future studies.

In many cases, researchers might draw a hypothesis from a specific theory or build on previous research. For example, prior research has shown that stress can impact the immune system. So a researcher might hypothesize: "People with high-stress levels will be more likely to contract a common cold after being exposed to the virus than people who have low-stress levels."

In other instances, researchers might look at commonly held beliefs or folk wisdom. "Birds of a feather flock together" is one example of folk adage that a psychologist might try to investigate. The researcher might pose a specific hypothesis that "People tend to select romantic partners who are similar to them in interests and educational level."

Elements of a Good Hypothesis

So how do you write a good hypothesis? When trying to come up with a hypothesis for your research or experiments, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is your hypothesis based on your research on a topic?
• Can your hypothesis be tested?
• Does your hypothesis include independent and dependent variables?

Before you come up with a specific hypothesis, spend some time doing background research. Once you have completed a literature review, start thinking about potential questions you still have. Pay attention to the discussion section in the  journal articles you read . Many authors will suggest questions that still need to be explored.

How to Formulate a Good Hypothesis

To form a hypothesis, you should take these steps:

• Collect as many observations about a topic or problem as you can.
• Evaluate these observations and look for possible causes of the problem.
• Create a list of possible explanations that you might want to explore.
• After you have developed some possible hypotheses, think of ways that you could confirm or disprove each hypothesis through experimentation. This is known as falsifiability.

In the scientific method ,  falsifiability is an important part of any valid hypothesis. In order to test a claim scientifically, it must be possible that the claim could be proven false.

Students sometimes confuse the idea of falsifiability with the idea that it means that something is false, which is not the case. What falsifiability means is that  if  something was false, then it is possible to demonstrate that it is false.

One of the hallmarks of pseudoscience is that it makes claims that cannot be refuted or proven false.

The Importance of Operational Definitions

A variable is a factor or element that can be changed and manipulated in ways that are observable and measurable. However, the researcher must also define how the variable will be manipulated and measured in the study.

Operational definitions are specific definitions for all relevant factors in a study. This process helps make vague or ambiguous concepts detailed and measurable.

For example, a researcher might operationally define the variable " test anxiety " as the results of a self-report measure of anxiety experienced during an exam. A "study habits" variable might be defined by the amount of studying that actually occurs as measured by time.

These precise descriptions are important because many things can be measured in various ways. Clearly defining these variables and how they are measured helps ensure that other researchers can replicate your results.

Replicability

One of the basic principles of any type of scientific research is that the results must be replicable.

Replication means repeating an experiment in the same way to produce the same results. By clearly detailing the specifics of how the variables were measured and manipulated, other researchers can better understand the results and repeat the study if needed.

Some variables are more difficult than others to define. For example, how would you operationally define a variable such as aggression ? For obvious ethical reasons, researchers cannot create a situation in which a person behaves aggressively toward others.

To measure this variable, the researcher must devise a measurement that assesses aggressive behavior without harming others. The researcher might utilize a simulated task to measure aggressiveness in this situation.

Hypothesis Checklist

• Does your hypothesis focus on something that you can actually test?
• Does your hypothesis include both an independent and dependent variable?
• Can you manipulate the variables?
• Can your hypothesis be tested without violating ethical standards?

The hypothesis you use will depend on what you are investigating and hoping to find. Some of the main types of hypotheses that you might use include:

• Simple hypothesis : This type of hypothesis suggests there is a relationship between one independent variable and one dependent variable.
• Complex hypothesis : This type suggests a relationship between three or more variables, such as two independent and dependent variables.
• Null hypothesis : This hypothesis suggests no relationship exists between two or more variables.
• Alternative hypothesis : This hypothesis states the opposite of the null hypothesis.
• Statistical hypothesis : This hypothesis uses statistical analysis to evaluate a representative population sample and then generalizes the findings to the larger group.
• Logical hypothesis : This hypothesis assumes a relationship between variables without collecting data or evidence.

A hypothesis often follows a basic format of "If {this happens} then {this will happen}." One way to structure your hypothesis is to describe what will happen to the  dependent variable  if you change the  independent variable .

The basic format might be: "If {these changes are made to a certain independent variable}, then we will observe {a change in a specific dependent variable}."

A few examples of simple hypotheses:

• "Students who eat breakfast will perform better on a math exam than students who do not eat breakfast."
• "Students who experience test anxiety before an English exam will get lower scores than students who do not experience test anxiety."​
• "Motorists who talk on the phone while driving will be more likely to make errors on a driving course than those who do not talk on the phone."
• "Children who receive a new reading intervention will have higher reading scores than students who do not receive the intervention."

Examples of a complex hypothesis include:

• "People with high-sugar diets and sedentary activity levels are more likely to develop depression."
• "Younger people who are regularly exposed to green, outdoor areas have better subjective well-being than older adults who have limited exposure to green spaces."

Examples of a null hypothesis include:

• "There is no difference in anxiety levels between people who take St. John's wort supplements and those who do not."
• "There is no difference in scores on a memory recall task between children and adults."
• "There is no difference in aggression levels between children who play first-person shooter games and those who do not."

Examples of an alternative hypothesis:

• "People who take St. John's wort supplements will have less anxiety than those who do not."
• "Adults will perform better on a memory task than children."
• "Children who play first-person shooter games will show higher levels of aggression than children who do not." 

Collecting Data on Your Hypothesis

Once a researcher has formed a testable hypothesis, the next step is to select a research design and start collecting data. The research method depends largely on exactly what they are studying. There are two basic types of research methods: descriptive research and experimental research.

Descriptive Research Methods

Descriptive research such as  case studies ,  naturalistic observations , and surveys are often used when  conducting an experiment is difficult or impossible. These methods are best used to describe different aspects of a behavior or psychological phenomenon.

Once a researcher has collected data using descriptive methods, a  correlational study  can examine how the variables are related. This research method might be used to investigate a hypothesis that is difficult to test experimentally.

Experimental Research Methods

Experimental methods  are used to demonstrate causal relationships between variables. In an experiment, the researcher systematically manipulates a variable of interest (known as the independent variable) and measures the effect on another variable (known as the dependent variable).

Unlike correlational studies, which can only be used to determine if there is a relationship between two variables, experimental methods can be used to determine the actual nature of the relationship—whether changes in one variable actually  cause  another to change.

The hypothesis is a critical part of any scientific exploration. It represents what researchers expect to find in a study or experiment. In situations where the hypothesis is unsupported by the research, the research still has value. Such research helps us better understand how different aspects of the natural world relate to one another. It also helps us develop new hypotheses that can then be tested in the future.

Thompson WH, Skau S. On the scope of scientific hypotheses .  R Soc Open Sci . 2023;10(8):230607. doi:10.1098/rsos.230607

Taran S, Adhikari NKJ, Fan E. Falsifiability in medicine: what clinicians can learn from Karl Popper [published correction appears in Intensive Care Med. 2021 Jun 17;:].  Intensive Care Med . 2021;47(9):1054-1056. doi:10.1007/s00134-021-06432-z

Eyler AA. Research Methods for Public Health . 1st ed. Springer Publishing Company; 2020. doi:10.1891/9780826182067.0004

Nosek BA, Errington TM. What is replication ?  PLoS Biol . 2020;18(3):e3000691. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3000691

Aggarwal R, Ranganathan P. Study designs: Part 2 - Descriptive studies .  Perspect Clin Res . 2019;10(1):34-36. doi:10.4103/picr.PICR_154_18

Nevid J. Psychology: Concepts and Applications. Wadworth, 2013.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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How to Write a Strong Hypothesis in 6 Simple Steps

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A hypothesis is an important part of the scientific method. It’s an idea or a proposal based on limited evidence. What comes next is the exciting part. The idea or proposal must be proven through facts, direct testing and evidence. Since the hypothesis acts as the foundation for future research, learn how to write a hypothesis through steps and examples.

What Is a Hypothesis Statement?

A hypothesis statement tells the world what you predict will happen in research. One of the most important elements of a hypothesis is that it must be able to be tested . Sure, you might hypothesize that unicorn horns are made of white gold. But, if you can’t test the independent and dependent variables , your hypothesis will have to remain in your dreams.

If, however, you hypothesize that rose quartz and other crystals possess healing powers, then you might be able to perform a few tests and carry on with your hypothesis. You will have some evidence that either supports or does not support your hypothesis. Now that you know what it is, it’s time to learn how to write a hypothesis.

Steps for How to Write a Hypothesis

When it comes to writing a hypothesis, there are six basic steps:

• Ask a question.
• Gather preliminary research.
• Formulate an answer.
• Write a hypothesis.
• Refine your hypothesis.
• Create a null hypothesis.

1. Ask a Question

In the scientific method , the first step is to ask a question. Frame this question using the classic six: who, what, where, when, why, or how. Sample questions might include:

• How long does it take carrots to grow?
• Why does the sky get darker earlier in winter?
• What happened to the dinosaurs?
• How did we evolve from monkeys?
• Why are students antsier on Friday afternoon?

How does sleep affect motivation?

• Why do IEP accommodations work in schools?

You want the question to be specific and focused. It also needs to be researchable, of course. Once you know you can research your question from several angles, it’s time to start some preliminary research.

2. Gather Preliminary Research

It’s time to collect data. This will come in the form of case studies and academic journals , as well as your own experiments and observations .

Remember, it’s important to explore your question from all sides. Don’t let conflicting research deter you. You might come upon many naysayers as you gather background information. That doesn’t invalidate your hypothesis. In fact, you can use their findings as potential rebuttals and frame your study in such a way as to address these concerns.

For example, if you are looking at the question: "How does sleep affect motivation?", you might find studies with conflicting research about eight hours vs. six hours of sleep. You can use these conflicting points to help to guide the creation of your hypothesis.

3. Formulate an Answer To Your Question

After completing all your research, think about how you will answer your question and defend your position. For example, say the question you posed was:

As you start to collect basic observations and information, you'll find that a lack of sleep creates a negative impact on learning. It decreases thought processes and makes it harder to learn anything new. Therefore, when you are tired, it's harder to learn and requires more effort. Since it is harder, you can be less motivated to do it. Additionally, you discover that there is a point where sleep affects functioning. You use this research to answer your question.

Getting less than eight hours of sleep makes it harder to learn anything new and make new memories. This makes learning harder so you are less likely to be motivated.

4. Write a Hypothesis

With the answer to your question at the ready, it’s time to formulate your hypothesis. To write a good hypothesis, it should include:

• Relevant variables
• Predicted outcome
• Who/what is being studied

Remember that your hypothesis needs to be a statement, not a question. It’s an idea, proposal or prediction. For example, a research hypothesis is formatted in an if/then statement:

If a person gets less than eight hours of sleep, then they will be less motivated at work or school.

This statement shows you:

• who is being studied - a person
• the variables - sleep and motivation
• your prediction - less sleep means less motivation

5. Refine Your Hypothesis

While you might be able to stop at writing your research hypothesis, some hypotheses might be a correlation study or studying the difference between two groups. In these instances, you want to state the relationship or difference you expect to find.

A correlation hypothesis might be:

Getting less than eight hours of sleep has a negative impact on work or school motivation.

A hypothesis showing difference might be:

Those with seven or fewer hours of sleep are less motivated than those with eight or more to complete tasks.

6. Create a Null Hypothesis

Depending on your study, you may need to perform some statistical analysis on the data you collect. When forming your hypothesis statement using the scientific method, it’s important to know the difference between a null hypothesis vs. the alternative hypothesis, and how to create a null hypothesis.

• A null hypothesis , often denoted as H 0 , posits that there is no apparent difference or that there is no evidence to support a difference. Using the motivation example above, the null hypothesis would be that sleep hours have no effect on motivation.
• An alternative hypothesis , often denoted as H 1 , states that there is a statistically significant difference, or there is evidence to support such a difference. Going back to the same carrot example, the alternative hypothesis is that a person getting six hours of sleep has less motivation than someone getting eight hours of sleep.

Good and Bad Hypothesis Examples

Here are a few examples of good and bad hypotheses to get you started.

Tips for Writing a Hypothesis

To write a strong hypothesis, keep these important tips in mind.

• Don’t just choose a topic randomly. Find something that interests you.
• Keep it clear and to the point.
• Use your research to guide you.
• Always clearly define your variables.
• Write it as an if-then statement. If this, then that is the expected outcome.

How to Make a Hypothesis

A hypothesis involves a statement about what you will do, but also what you expect to happen or speculation about what could occur. Once you’ve written your hypothesis, you’ll need to test it, analyze the data and form your conclusion. To read more about hypothesis testing, explore good examples of hypothesis testing .

What Are Examples of a Hypothesis?

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A hypothesis is an explanation for a set of observations. Here are examples of a scientific hypothesis.

Although you could state a scientific hypothesis in various ways, most hypotheses are either "If, then" statements or forms of the null hypothesis . The null hypothesis is sometimes called the "no difference" hypothesis. The null hypothesis is good for experimentation because it's simple to disprove. If you disprove a null hypothesis, that is evidence for a relationship between the variables you are examining.

Examples of Null Hypotheses

• Hyperactivity is unrelated to eating sugar.
• All daisies have the same number of petals.
• The number of pets in a household is unrelated to the number of people living in it.
• A person's preference for a shirt is unrelated to its color.

Examples of If, Then Hypotheses

• If you get at least 6 hours of sleep, you will do better on tests than if you get less sleep.
• If you drop a ball, it will fall toward the ground.
• If you drink coffee before going to bed, then it will take longer to fall asleep.
• If you cover a wound with a bandage, then it will heal with less scarring.

Improving a Hypothesis to Make It Testable

You may wish to revise your first hypothesis in order to make it easier to design an experiment to test. For example, let's say you have a bad breakout the morning after eating a lot of greasy food. You may wonder if there is a correlation between eating greasy food and getting pimples. You propose the hypothesis:

Eating greasy food causes pimples.

Next, you need to design an experiment to test this hypothesis. Let's say you decide to eat greasy food every day for a week and record the effect on your face. Then, as a control, you'll avoid greasy food for the next week and see what happens. Now, this is not a good experiment because it does not take into account other factors such as hormone levels, stress, sun exposure, exercise, or any number of other variables that might conceivably affect your skin.

The problem is that you cannot assign cause to your effect . If you eat french fries for a week and suffer a breakout, can you definitely say it was the grease in the food that caused it? Maybe it was the salt. Maybe it was the potato. Maybe it was unrelated to diet. You can't prove your hypothesis. It's much easier to disprove a hypothesis.

So, let's restate the hypothesis to make it easier to evaluate the data:

Getting pimples is unaffected by eating greasy food.

So, if you eat fatty food every day for a week and suffer breakouts and then don't break out the week that you avoid greasy food, you can be pretty sure something is up. Can you disprove the hypothesis? Probably not, since it is so hard to assign cause and effect. However, you can make a strong case that there is some relationship between diet and acne.

If your skin stays clear for the entire test, you may decide to accept your hypothesis . Again, you didn't prove or disprove anything, which is fine

• Null Hypothesis Examples
• Difference Between Independent and Dependent Variables
• Examples of Independent and Dependent Variables
• What Is a Hypothesis? (Science)
• Null Hypothesis Definition and Examples
• The 10 Most Important Lab Safety Rules
• What Are the Elements of a Good Hypothesis?
• Understanding Simple vs Controlled Experiments
• What Is a Testable Hypothesis?
• What 'Fail to Reject' Means in a Hypothesis Test
• Scientific Method Vocabulary Terms
• Scientific Hypothesis Examples
• How To Design a Science Fair Experiment
• Six Steps of the Scientific Method
• An Example of a Hypothesis Test

Hypothesis in a Sentence  🔊

Definition of Hypothesis

a proposed explanation or theory that is studied through scientific testing

Examples of Hypothesis in a sentence

The scientist’s hypothesis did not stand up, since research data was inconsistent with his guess.  🔊

Each student gave a hypothesis and theorized which plant would grow the tallest during the study.  🔊

A hypothesis was presented by the panel, giving a likely explanation for why the trial medicine didn’t seem to have much of an effect on the patients.  🔊

During the study, the researcher changed her hypothesis to a new assumption that fit with current data.  🔊

To confirm his hypothesis on why the dolphin wasn’t eating, the marine biologists did several tests over a week’s time.  🔊

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What is a scientific hypothesis?

It's the initial building block in the scientific method.

Hypothesis basics

What makes a hypothesis testable.

• Types of hypotheses
• Hypothesis versus theory

Additional resources

Bibliography.

A scientific hypothesis is a tentative, testable explanation for a phenomenon in the natural world. It's the initial building block in the scientific method . Many describe it as an "educated guess" based on prior knowledge and observation. While this is true, a hypothesis is more informed than a guess. While an "educated guess" suggests a random prediction based on a person's expertise, developing a hypothesis requires active observation and background research. 

The basic idea of a hypothesis is that there is no predetermined outcome. For a solution to be termed a scientific hypothesis, it has to be an idea that can be supported or refuted through carefully crafted experimentation or observation. This concept, called falsifiability and testability, was advanced in the mid-20th century by Austrian-British philosopher Karl Popper in his famous book "The Logic of Scientific Discovery" (Routledge, 1959).

A key function of a hypothesis is to derive predictions about the results of future experiments and then perform those experiments to see whether they support the predictions.

A hypothesis is usually written in the form of an if-then statement, which gives a possibility (if) and explains what may happen because of the possibility (then). The statement could also include "may," according to California State University, Bakersfield .

Here are some examples of hypothesis statements:

• If garlic repels fleas, then a dog that is given garlic every day will not get fleas.
• If sugar causes cavities, then people who eat a lot of candy may be more prone to cavities.
• If ultraviolet light can damage the eyes, then maybe this light can cause blindness.

A useful hypothesis should be testable and falsifiable. That means that it should be possible to prove it wrong. A theory that can't be proved wrong is nonscientific, according to Karl Popper's 1963 book " Conjectures and Refutations ."

An example of an untestable statement is, "Dogs are better than cats." That's because the definition of "better" is vague and subjective. However, an untestable statement can be reworded to make it testable. For example, the previous statement could be changed to this: "Owning a dog is associated with higher levels of physical fitness than owning a cat." With this statement, the researcher can take measures of physical fitness from dog and cat owners and compare the two.

Types of scientific hypotheses

In an experiment, researchers generally state their hypotheses in two ways. The null hypothesis predicts that there will be no relationship between the variables tested, or no difference between the experimental groups. The alternative hypothesis predicts the opposite: that there will be a difference between the experimental groups. This is usually the hypothesis scientists are most interested in, according to the University of Miami .

For example, a null hypothesis might state, "There will be no difference in the rate of muscle growth between people who take a protein supplement and people who don't." The alternative hypothesis would state, "There will be a difference in the rate of muscle growth between people who take a protein supplement and people who don't."

If the results of the experiment show a relationship between the variables, then the null hypothesis has been rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis, according to the book " Research Methods in Psychology " (​​BCcampus, 2015). 

There are other ways to describe an alternative hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis above does not specify a direction of the effect, only that there will be a difference between the two groups. That type of prediction is called a two-tailed hypothesis. If a hypothesis specifies a certain direction — for example, that people who take a protein supplement will gain more muscle than people who don't — it is called a one-tailed hypothesis, according to William M. K. Trochim , a professor of Policy Analysis and Management at Cornell University.

Sometimes, errors take place during an experiment. These errors can happen in one of two ways. A type I error is when the null hypothesis is rejected when it is true. This is also known as a false positive. A type II error occurs when the null hypothesis is not rejected when it is false. This is also known as a false negative, according to the University of California, Berkeley . 

A hypothesis can be rejected or modified, but it can never be proved correct 100% of the time. For example, a scientist can form a hypothesis stating that if a certain type of tomato has a gene for red pigment, that type of tomato will be red. During research, the scientist then finds that each tomato of this type is red. Though the findings confirm the hypothesis, there may be a tomato of that type somewhere in the world that isn't red. Thus, the hypothesis is true, but it may not be true 100% of the time.

Scientific theory vs. scientific hypothesis

The best hypotheses are simple. They deal with a relatively narrow set of phenomena. But theories are broader; they generally combine multiple hypotheses into a general explanation for a wide range of phenomena, according to the University of California, Berkeley . For example, a hypothesis might state, "If animals adapt to suit their environments, then birds that live on islands with lots of seeds to eat will have differently shaped beaks than birds that live on islands with lots of insects to eat." After testing many hypotheses like these, Charles Darwin formulated an overarching theory: the theory of evolution by natural selection.

"Theories are the ways that we make sense of what we observe in the natural world," Tanner said. "Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts." 

• Read more about writing a hypothesis, from the American Medical Writers Association.
• Find out why a hypothesis isn't always necessary in science, from The American Biology Teacher.
• Learn about null and alternative hypotheses, from Prof. Essa on YouTube .

Encyclopedia Britannica. Scientific Hypothesis. Jan. 13, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/science/scientific-hypothesis

Karl Popper, "The Logic of Scientific Discovery," Routledge, 1959.

California State University, Bakersfield, "Formatting a testable hypothesis." https://www.csub.edu/~ddodenhoff/Bio100/Bio100sp04/formattingahypothesis.htm  

Karl Popper, "Conjectures and Refutations," Routledge, 1963.

Price, P., Jhangiani, R., & Chiang, I., "Research Methods of Psychology — 2nd Canadian Edition," BCcampus, 2015.‌

University of Miami, "The Scientific Method" http://www.bio.miami.edu/dana/161/evolution/161app1_scimethod.pdf  

William M.K. Trochim, "Research Methods Knowledge Base," https://conjointly.com/kb/hypotheses-explained/  

University of California, Berkeley, "Multiple Hypothesis Testing and False Discovery Rate" https://www.stat.berkeley.edu/~hhuang/STAT141/Lecture-FDR.pdf  

University of California, Berkeley, "Science at multiple levels" https://undsci.berkeley.edu/article/0_0_0/howscienceworks_19

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Biology library

Course: biology library   >   unit 1, the scientific method.

• Controlled experiments
• The scientific method and experimental design

Introduction

• Make an observation.
• Ask a question.
• Form a hypothesis , or testable explanation.
• Make a prediction based on the hypothesis.
• Test the prediction.
• Iterate: use the results to make new hypotheses or predictions.

Scientific method example: Failure to toast

1. make an observation., 2. ask a question., 3. propose a hypothesis., 4. make predictions., 5. test the predictions..

• If the toaster does toast, then the hypothesis is supported—likely correct.
• If the toaster doesn't toast, then the hypothesis is not supported—likely wrong.

Logical possibility

Practical possibility, building a body of evidence, 6. iterate..

• If the hypothesis was supported, we might do additional tests to confirm it, or revise it to be more specific. For instance, we might investigate why the outlet is broken.
• If the hypothesis was not supported, we would come up with a new hypothesis. For instance, the next hypothesis might be that there's a broken wire in the toaster.

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Computer Science > Computation and Language

Title: what do language models learn in context the structured task hypothesis.

Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) exhibit an intriguing ability to learn a novel task from in-context examples presented in a demonstration, termed in-context learning (ICL). Understandably, a swath of research has been dedicated to uncovering the theories underpinning ICL. One popular hypothesis explains ICL by task selection. LLMs identify the task based on the demonstration and generalize it to the prompt. Another popular hypothesis is that ICL is a form of meta-learning, i.e., the models learn a learning algorithm at pre-training time and apply it to the demonstration. Finally, a third hypothesis argues that LLMs use the demonstration to select a composition of tasks learned during pre-training to perform ICL. In this paper, we empirically explore these three hypotheses that explain LLMs' ability to learn in context with a suite of experiments derived from common text classification tasks. We invalidate the first two hypotheses with counterexamples and provide evidence in support of the last hypothesis. Our results suggest an LLM could learn a novel task in context via composing tasks learned during pre-training.

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Take a look at the first prison-yard photo snapped of Elizabeth Holmes after she started her 11-year sentence in Texas

• Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes was seen in prison in Bryan, Texas, for the first time.
• Holmes was photographed with her hair loose, bespectacled, and wearing drab khakis in a prison yard.
• She was sentenced to 11 years in prison on four counts of fraud.

Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has been photographed for the first time since she began her 11-year prison sentence.

The photo shows Holmes dressed in a brown T-shirt and khaki-colored pants, with her hair down. Her only accessories were a blue lanyard around her neck, a simple black watch, and a pair of glasses. 

The photos, taken by the agency Splash News and published on June 2 by DailyMail.com , were the first glimpse of what Holmes looked like as she started her new life behind bars. 

On May 30, Holmes reported to the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, a minimum-security women's prison.

In prison, the former healthcare mogul is  expected to abide by a 6 a.m. wake-up call daily , dress in khaki clothes and dispense with any jewelry exceeding $100 in value, per  an inmate admission and orientation handbook . She is set to also work in a prison job related to packing food in a factory line, which could pay as little as 12 cents per hour .

Once hailed as the world's youngest self-made billionaire who yielded the power to revolutionize healthcare, Holmes' reputation crashed in 2015 after The Wall Street Journal published an exposé  revealing that she had been lying about the capabilities of the Theranos machines.

Holmes was convicted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy in January last year. She and her ex-boyfriend Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani were ordered to pay $452 million to the victims of Theranos-related frauds.

Holmes' representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside of regular business hours. 

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Mongabay Series: Asian Rhinos

Javan rhino poacher gets 12 years in record sentence for wildlife crime in Indonesia

• A court in Indonesia has sentenced the head of a rhino poaching gang, Sunendi, to 12 years in jail for killing six rhinos, as well as stealing camera traps and illegal possession of firearms.
• At trial, it was revealed that Sunendi tracked down the rhinos after drawing up a map of their likely locations based on the data from the stolen camera traps.
• The sentence is the longest ever meted out in Indonesia for wildlife crime, and conservationists say they hope it will act as a determent.
• However, the loss of so many Javan rhinos — Sunendi’s and another gang claim to have killed a combined 26 rhinos, out of a population of 70-odd — puts the species closer to extinction than it has been since 2012.

A court in Indonesia has sentenced a man to 12 years in prison for poaching six critically endangered Javan rhinos, in what’s been hailed as the harshest punishment handed down for wildlife crime to date.

Poaching carries a maximum sentence of five years under Indonesian law, and prosecutors had sought this figure in the case against Sunendi , 32, along with a 10 million rupiah ($616) fine. However, the defendant also faced additional charges of theft and of illegal firearm possession, the latter of which carries a maximum penalty of death.

The presiding judge in the case, Joni Mauludin Saputra, said it was the gun possession charge that “carried the most weight” in the court’s decision to hand down the 12-year sentence and 100 million rupiah ($6,160).

“This case [is] clearly the biggest jail-time punishment for wildlife crime in Indonesia,” said Timer Manurung, the founder and director of the local NGO Auriga Nusantara, which last year published a report warning that poachers were operating with impunity in the park.

The Javan rhino ( Rhinoceros sondaicus ) is one of the most endangered mammals on the planet and is found only in Ujung Kulon National Park, at the western tip of the island of Java.

The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) praised the sentencing, noting that it was “particularly surprising considering most Indonesian court sentences are less than what the prosecutors recommend.”

Sunendi was found to have killed six rhinos as the leader of a poaching gang from 2019-2023, slaughtering five male rhinos and one female, the court found. He has a week to decide if he will appeal the sentence. Interestingly, the killings highlight the sexual imbalance in the park. Conservationists believe there are about twice as many male Javan rhinos as females, putting the species at increasing risk.

But Sunendi’s gang wasn’t the only one operating in the park for years. Another gang, allegedly run by a man named Suhar, was also out there killing rhinos. Based on statements from a dozen alleged poachers arrested in recent months, law enforcement has announced that a total of 26 rhinos were slaughtered by the two gangs since 2019. If verified, this would mean poachers have killed around one-third of all Javan rhinos on Earth in four years — an incredible loss for conservationists and the Indonesian government.

Indonesia hasn’t released a population census of Javan rhinos since 2019, which claimed 72 rhinos in the park. The 2023 report by Auriga Nusantara found that officials were counting numerous rhinos that hadn’t been spotted on camera trap for years, including some that were known to be dead.

Given the number of killed rhinos and recent births, it’s possible there are now fewer than 50 Javan rhinos left on our planet. If accurate, this puts Javan rhino conservation back more than a decade: in 2012, officials counted 40 rhinos.

“This punishment won’t bring back the poached rhinos, but it sends a strong message and should act as a deterrent to anyone considering wildlife crime in Indonesia,” Nina Fascione, executive director of the IRF, said in a statement. Police have also arrested two middlemen for fencing rhino horns allegedly for sale to China.

Sunendi’s trial uncovered a sophisticated poaching operation that exploited the park’s network of camera traps set up for conservation purposes. The theft charge he faced pertained to four camera traps that he stole from the park. From these, the court found, he extracted data of rhino sightings dating from 2020-2023 and used that data to draw up a map of where the animals were most likely to be found. He also had a map of park patrol routes, which he and his gang used to evade capture.

In the end, though, it was also a camera trap that was his undoing: Sunendi was apprehended last November after a camera trap photographed him illegally in the park with weapons. According to the court, he was also in possession of a Javan rhino skull and various rhino bones.

Since the confirmation of poachers in the park last year, officials have increased security, including closing the park to tourists.

Timer said he’s grateful to government officials who took this case seriously, including the current staff and head of Ujung Kulon National Park, as well as the prosecutors and the judges who pushed for a longer sentence. But there “is still [a] long way to go,” he said, and called on police and prosecutors to treat upcoming cases as they would organized crime, in order to “punish the mastermind and all its enablers.”

“It will take time to undo the damage done by these criminals, but we have brought Javan rhinos back from the brink of extinction once, and we can do so again,” Fascione said. “We know that despite this poaching activity, Javan rhinos continue to breed and have calves, so if stronger protections are put in place, and we put an end to poaching, they’ll rebound again. This strong sentence is a significant step to ensuring no one tries to poach a rhino in Indonesia again.”

Still, questions remain. Chief among them: how could poachers operate so easily in the park for four years without capture, especially given the number of rangers protecting rhinos and the level of monitoring with camera traps?

Banner image: A Javan rhino spotted on camera trap in Ujung Kulon National Park. Image courtesy of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

Poachers claim to have killed one-third of all Javan rhinos, Indonesian police say

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Special series

Forest trackers.

• Narco activity takes heavy toll on Colombia’s protected forests, satellite data show
• Photos confirm narcotraffickers operating in Peru’s Kakataibo Indigenous Reserve
• Bolivia’s El Curichi Las Garzas protected area taken over by land-grabbers
• Authorities struggle to protect Bolivian national park from drug-fueled deforestation

• Report: Illegal fishing and labor abuse rampant in China’s Indian Ocean fleet
• Restoring Indigenous aquaculture heals both ecosystems and communities in Hawai‘i
• Peru approves the creation of long-awaited marine protected area
• Thai plan to relax fishing law stokes fear of return to illegal catches, worker abuse

Amazon Conservation

• New bill to expand farmlands in the Amazon may derail Brazil’s green efforts
• Bird populations are mysteriously declining at an Amazon park in Ecuador & beyond
• New ban threatens traditional fishers in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state
• Deforestation haunts top Peruvian reserve and its Indigenous communities

Land rights and extractives

• Critics see payback in Indonesia’s plan to grant mining permits to religious groups
• Impunity and pollution abound in DRC mining along the road to the energy transition
• Women weave a culture of resistance and agroecology in Ecuador’s Intag Valley
• Hyundai ends aluminum deal with Adaro Minerals following K-pop protest

Endangered Environmentalists

• Mongabay video screening at Chile’s Supreme Court expected to help landmark verdict in Brazil
• Indonesian activist freed in hate speech case after flagging illegal shrimp farms
• Final cheetah conservationists freed in Iran, but the big cat’s outlook remains grim
• Indonesian activists face jail over FB posts flagging damage to marine park

Indonesia's Forest Guardians

• On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
• Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
• In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
• Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo

Conservation Effectiveness

• The conservation sector must communicate better (commentary)
• Thailand tries nature-based water management to adapt to climate change
• Forest restoration to boost biomass doesn’t have to sacrifice tree diversity
• How scientists and a community are bringing a Bornean river corridor back to life

Southeast Asian infrastructure

• Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
• Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
• Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
• To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest

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