How Are Hypotheses Written?
Chocolate may cause pimples.
Salt in soil may affect plant growth.
Plant growth may be affected by the color of the light.
Bacterial growth may be affected by temperature.
Ultra violet light may cause skin cancer.
Temperature may cause leaves to change color.
All of these are examples of hypotheses because they use the tentative word "may.". However, their form is not particularly useful. Using the word may does not suggest how you would go about proving it. If these statements had not been written carefully, they may not have even been hypotheses at all. For example, if we say "Trees will change color when it gets cold." we are making a prediction. Or if we write, "Ultraviolet light causes skin cancer." could be a conclusion. One way to prevent making such easy mistakes is to formalize the form of the hypothesis.
Formalized Hypotheses example: If skin cancer is related to ultraviolet light , then people with a high exposure to uv light will have a higher frequency of skin cancer.
If leaf color change is related to temperature , then exposing plants to low temperatures will result in changes in leaf color.
Notice that these statements contain the words , if and then. They are necessary in a formalized hypothesis. But not all if-then statements are hypotheses. For example, "If I play the lottery, then I will get rich." This is a simple prediction. In a formalized hypothesis, a tentative relationship is stated. For example, if the frequency of winning is related to frequency of buying lottery tickets. "Then" is followed by a prediction of what will happen if you increase or decrease the frequency of buying lottery tickets. If you always ask yourself that if one thing is related to another, then you should be able to test it.Formalized hypotheses contain two variables. One is "independent" and the other is "dependent." The independent variable is the one you, the "scientist" control and the dependent variable is the one that you observe and/or measure the results. In the statements above the dependent variable is blue and the independent variable is red.
The ultimate value of a formalized hypothesis is it forces us to think about what results we should look for in an experiment.
Rewrite the first four hypotheses using the formalized style shown above. Single underline the dependent variable and double underline the independent variable in the If clause of each hypothesis. When you are done, write one more original hypothesis of your own.
Also, use these sites as a guide:
How to Write a Hypothesis | eHow.com
How to Write a Hypothesis
Formatting Hypotheses -
Is that what you wanted to know? Good luck.