So we had to submit our hypthesis today (monday) and we received a "corrected" paper but we are so confused now.
The original hypothesis read: If increasing the temperature of a magnet reduces it's strength, then reducing the temperature of a magnet will increase the amount of steal washers that will stick to the magnet.
*Teacher said not to use "I' in your statement.
We got this back: If the temperature of a magnet increases, then it will affect the magnetic strength by increasing the force because......
No idea how to re-correct this. Any ideas? The letter grade was already dropped to a B because the teacher had to correct this....
We have to re-submit on Wednesday.
Thanks!
Hypothesis Statement with "Because"
Moderators: AmyCowen, kgudger, bfinio, MadelineB, Moderators
Re: Hypothesis Statement with "Because"
Honestly, I think your hypothesis is a perfectly reasonable one, and I don't understand what the teacher is getting at.
I'll guess, however, that the teacher wants some kind of background research on what the physical mechanism is which produces the effect. That's not really part of the hypothesis, but it's always good to do research on your topic and understand what has been done before. In that regard, there is a Science Buddies project idea that covers this topic, which has some interesting background that might be useful: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p025.shtml
I'll guess, however, that the teacher wants some kind of background research on what the physical mechanism is which produces the effect. That's not really part of the hypothesis, but it's always good to do research on your topic and understand what has been done before. In that regard, there is a Science Buddies project idea that covers this topic, which has some interesting background that might be useful: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... p025.shtml
../ray\..
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Craig_Bridge
- Former Expert
- Posts: 1297
- Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:47 am
Re: Hypothesis Statement with "Because"
Look up the meanings of the word "If". I'm serious, get out a collegate or unabridged dictionary, the older the better. Scientists have to do a lot of reading and writing that requires a critical attention to precise meanings.
Any hypothesis with the word "If" in it has an embedded assumption! "If <assumption is true> ... then ..." What if the assumption is WRONG? You can't start out trying to prove or disprove something if you are predicating the prediction on an unproved assumption. There is an extreme historical example of this:
At one point in time, the Catholic Church held the belief that the earth was the center of their universe. Galileo was excommunicated for even considering that the Sun was the center of our solar system. You can't do science starting with an unproven assumption! It was only in my lifetime, hundreds of years later, that the Catholic Church publicly admitted it was wrong in the handling of Galileo (died in 1642).
So lets gramatically analyze your hypothesis "If increasing the temperature of a magnet reduces it's strength, then reducing the temperature of a magnet will increase the amount of steal washers that will stick to the magnet."
What "If increasing the temperature of a magnet reduces it's strength," is WRONG! You don't want a bad assumption to affect your experiment. Do you even need this assumption?
Possible simplified hypothesis: "reducing the temperature of a magnet will increase the amount of steal [steel] washers that will stick to the magnet."
IMO: "Because" also has no place in a hypothesis that isn't specifically included because the intent is to prove/disprove a mechanism of action for a previously observed result.
Proving/disproving mechanisms of action are complex problems that are well beyond what should be attempted at this grade level. Hypothesis with the word "because" in them are very expensive to prove or disprove and future scientific knowledge can reverse or modify their worth or accuracy.
IMO: The correction was equally bad in terms of a good hypothesis because of the word "because".
I give your teacher a "C" (average) for not taking the time to explain the problems with using "if" in a hypothesis so you understood why.
-Craig
Any hypothesis with the word "If" in it has an embedded assumption! "If <assumption is true> ... then ..." What if the assumption is WRONG? You can't start out trying to prove or disprove something if you are predicating the prediction on an unproved assumption. There is an extreme historical example of this:
At one point in time, the Catholic Church held the belief that the earth was the center of their universe. Galileo was excommunicated for even considering that the Sun was the center of our solar system. You can't do science starting with an unproven assumption! It was only in my lifetime, hundreds of years later, that the Catholic Church publicly admitted it was wrong in the handling of Galileo (died in 1642).
So lets gramatically analyze your hypothesis "If increasing the temperature of a magnet reduces it's strength, then reducing the temperature of a magnet will increase the amount of steal washers that will stick to the magnet."
What "If increasing the temperature of a magnet reduces it's strength," is WRONG! You don't want a bad assumption to affect your experiment. Do you even need this assumption?
Possible simplified hypothesis: "reducing the temperature of a magnet will increase the amount of steal [steel] washers that will stick to the magnet."
IMO: "Because" also has no place in a hypothesis that isn't specifically included because the intent is to prove/disprove a mechanism of action for a previously observed result.
Proving/disproving mechanisms of action are complex problems that are well beyond what should be attempted at this grade level. Hypothesis with the word "because" in them are very expensive to prove or disprove and future scientific knowledge can reverse or modify their worth or accuracy.
IMO: The correction was equally bad in terms of a good hypothesis because of the word "because".
I give your teacher a "C" (average) for not taking the time to explain the problems with using "if" in a hypothesis so you understood why.
-Craig
-Craig