Hypothesis

Before you conduct the experiment, you must make a hypothesis about your results. The hypothesis is a scientific prediction about the outcome of an experiment based on prior knowledge or observations. The hypothesis is not simply a prediction, because a prediction could be a random guess. Before you create a hypothesis, you should use your prior knowledge about the topic. For example, if you have played with magnets before, you may know that larger magnets are typically stronger than smaller magnets. If you were conducting an experiment on the strength of magnets, you should use your observations from before and not randomly guess on what size of magnet is stronger.

The hypothesis must be written in a proper format that explains the independent variable and dependent variable. The hypothesis should be written as an IF, THEN statement. If you change the IV, then predict the DV. Look at the example below.

Does the weight of a magnet affect the number of paper clips it can hold?

Hypothesis:
If IV, then DV.
If I test magnets with different weights, then the heaviest magnet will pick up the most paperclips.