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Hypothesis

Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 6:11 pm
by thelady9699
Can you tell me how to help write a hypothesis using if, then, or because for a 6th grade middle school student?
Thanks
I don't even know where to begin to help her.
Christy

Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2007 6:31 pm
by deleted-2131
Christy,

I'm glad to hear that you are taking the time to put together a well-thought out hypothesis. Good work!

Your hypothesis should, as you have said, consist of an if-then statement. The "if" part of your hypothesis should tell what you are changing in your independent variable and the "then" part should tell what you think will happen in your dependent variable.

For example, if you were studying how pill bugs respond to moisture, you might say "If I put the pill bugs on a wet paper towel, thenthey will crawl to the dry side."

Here is another example:"If I increase the amount of water in the fish tank, then the fish will burn more calories each day."

Notice that each hypothesis depends on knowing what your dependent and independent variables are. If you need help figuring this out, let us know!

Here are some sites that may be useful for you:

For help with variables see: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... bles.shtml

For help with formulating a hypothesis, see: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentorin ... esis.shtml.

For a brief outline of the science fair process, see http://whizkidsfoundation.org/how_to_get_started.html.

Let me know if I can be of assistance!