Hypothesis

Once you have a good experiment question, it is time to make predictions about how your experiment will turn out. As a scientist you want to think about all possible answers your experiment might give you. To do this we write several hypotheses.

Null Hypothesis

H0: There is no differencebetween your two groups ( they are =)

Alternative Hypothesis 1

Ha1: One of the groups is the winner

Alternative Hypothesis 2

Ha2: The other group is the winner

Example:

Are there more arachnids (spiders) in my basement or are there more centipedes?

H0: There are equal numbers of arachnids and centipedes in my basement

Ha1: There are more arachnids in my basement than centipedes

Ha2: There are more centipedes than arachnids in my basement

Take these experiment questions and make them into good hypotheses.

1. Are there more bacteria on the toilet handle or on my science desk?

H0: ________________________________________________________

Ha1: ________________________________________________________

Ha2: _________________________________________________________

2. Which lunch will give me more energy, chicken patty or meatloaf?

H0: ________________________________________________________

Ha1: ________________________________________________________

Ha2: _________________________________________________________

3. Do birds with longer or shorter wings fly faster?

H0: ________________________________________________________

Ha1: ________________________________________________________

Ha2: _________________________________________________________

4. Will a plant inside a closed plastic bag grow taller than a regular plant

H0: ________________________________________________________

Ha1: ________________________________________________________

Ha2: _________________________________________________________

5. Which crayfish has the longer pinchers, male or female?

H0: ________________________________________________________

Ha1: ________________________________________________________

Ha2: _________________________________________________________

6. Does caterpillar feces weigh the same as the leaf they ate?

H0: ________________________________________________________

Ha1: ________________________________________________________

Ha2: _________________________________________________________