Scientific Method step 2-hypothesis

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The second step of the scientific method is to from a hypothesis based on our observations made in step 1. A hypothesis is a clear principle which will predict a certain outcome or effect and can be used to explain a certain phenomenon or phenomena. A hypothesis is formed using inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning is when a generalization based on specific details.

An example of a good hypothesis would be "Obesity increases the chances of diabetes". A poor hypothesis could be "some obese people have diabetes."

When a hypothesis involves a cause-and-effect relationship, we state our hypothesis to indicate there is no effect. A hypothesis, which asserts no effect, is called a null hypothesis.

A hypothesis must be able to be proven or proven false by experiment.

A hypothesis should have the following characteristics:• It should be a general principle that holds across space and time

• It should be a tentative idea

• It should agree with available observations

• It should be kept as simple as possible.

• It should be testable and potentially falsifiable. In other words, there should be a way to show the hypothesis is false; a way to disprove the hypothesis.

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