Hypothesis

The rough draft of the hypothesis is due on Friday. It should be handwritten in the rough draft section of your folder. Your hypothesis is pretty simple to write, but you should put some thought into what you think will happen and it should be based on the research you did.

Your hypothesis is an "If, then" statement followed by another sentence explaining why, based on your research. The general format is

• If ____________ is done, then __________ will happen. Based on research...

For example:

• If fertilizer is added to plants, then the plants will grow faster and be healthier than plants without fertilizer. Based on research, plants need certain nutrients that fertilizer provides (should be more specific, but you get the idea).
• If the temperature of water is increased, then tea will brew faster. Research shows that as temperature increases, the energy of the molecules increases, making them move faster; when the molecules move faster there are more collisions between the water and the tea.

Notice, there are NO pronouns. DO NOT WRITE "I THINK!" This is a big, big no-no! Pronouns should not be used anywhere in your project.

The final draft of the variables and operational definition are also due on Friday. These should be signed by a parent or guardian and should be proof-read and corrected if necessary. Almost everyone got these typed and printed in class, so all that is left is getting a signature!