Hypothesis Testing_820L_01R

Testing a hypothesis sounds complicated. Simply put, it is merely running a test to determine if there is support for your prediction. You can think of a hypothesis as a rule that scientists are attempting to test. In other words, does it hold up under scrutiny?

It is also important to realize that scientists use the terms ‘support’ and ‘reject’ to describe the outcome of an experiment. Scientists should never use the term ‘prove’. A hypothesis must also be testable and falsifiable. For now, you should think about how to change an inference into a testable statement.

You may hold a ball up at some height and then let it go. What would be your hypothesis as to the ball’s action? Of course, you expect the ball to fall to the floor based on your past experience. Therefore, your hypothesis might be, “When I drop the ball, it will fall to the ground.” Now, after releasing the ball from your hands, the ball falls to the ground. In this instance, your observation has supported your claim.

Stating your observation is proof of your claim is not appropriate. You have not traveled to every place in the universe to test your claim. This broad statement about proof is too extreme. Scientists realize that not every test can be done to rule out every possibility. By their very nature, claims of proof are outside the scope of Science.

Imagine you are holding a ball in your hand. If you let go of the ball, what do you predict will happen? What if, when you dropped the ball, it shot off horizontally? Having expected it to fall to the floor, you would have been shocked by these results. This would be a situation where the claim would not be supported. In this case, you would reject your claim that all items will fall to the floor when dropped.