Learn the Language of Science

Learn the Language of Science

Words have precise meanings in science. For example, 'theory', 'law', and 'hypothesis' don't all mean the same thing. Outside of science, you might say something is 'just a theory', meaning it's supposition that may or may not be true. In science, a theory is an explanation that generally is accepted to be true. Here's a closer look at these important, commonly misused terms.

Hypothesis
A hypothesis is an educated guess, based on observation. Usually, a hypothesis can be supported or refuted through experimentation or more observation. A hypothesis can be disproven, but not proven to be true.

Example: If you see no difference in the cleaning ability of various laundry detergents, you might hypothesize that cleaning effectiveness is not affected by which detergent you use. You can see this hypothesis can be disproven if a stain is removed by one detergent and not another.
On the other hand, you cannot prove the hypothesis. Even if you never see a difference in the cleanliness of your clothes after trying a thousand detergents, there might be one you haven't tried that could be different.

Theory
A scientific theory summarizes a hypothesis or group of hypotheses that have been supported with repeated testing. A theory is valid as long as there is no evidence to dispute it. Therefore, theories can be disproven. Basically, if evidence accumulates to support a hypothesis, then the hypothesis can become accepted as a good explanation of a phenomenon. One definition of a theory is to say it's an accepted hypothesis.

Example: It is known that on June 30, 1908 in Tunguska, Siberia, there was an explosion equivalent to the detonation of about 15 million tons of TNT. Many hypotheses have been proposed for what caused the explosion. It is theorized that the explosion was caused by a natural extraterrestrial phenomenon, and was not caused by man. Is this theory a fact? No. The event is a recorded fact. Is this this theory generally accepted to be true, based on evidence to-date? Yes. Can this theory be shown to be false and be discarded? Yes.

Law
A law generalizes a body of observations. At the time it is made, no exceptions have been found to a law. Scientific laws explain things, but they do not describe them. One way to tell a law and a theory apart is to ask if the description gives you a means to explain 'why'.

http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistry101/a/lawtheory.htm

What I have to Say?
All these words can be really handy when you need to express something, like your opinion. It's always fun to learn, don't you think so?

For every new things that we learn, we started with definition. Once you get it, everything will get in well. However, we always ignore the importance of definitions. In fact, i found it boring to learn what is hypothesis and theory when i first entered Form 4. Worse still, i didn't pay effort to make myself understand. Yes, this is what we call laziness. The consequence is obvious, I spent longer times to understand one theory. Others get it once they did the experiment, while i have to ask and seek for help. Hey, i am always lucky to have nice classmates.

Yup, i have been really silly for wasting times. It's not refundable, it's gone, so, ya, learnt the lesson. Right now, i really want to be a better student. Wah, i have a goal... Which is so unbelievable.