How to Write a Hypothesis for a Science Project

At some point in their education, people will most likely have to do a science project. There are generally 10 different sections of a science project: the title, purpose, research, hypothesis, procedure, experiment, data collecting, conclusion, display and presentation. This process is known as the scientific method. The hypothesis is your prediction of what you think will happen in the experiment based on your research. You will form your hypothesis fairly early in your science project.

Things You'll Need

• Research material
• Experiment materials
• Display board

Instructions

1. Pick a topic for your science project.

2. Perform some basic research on the project. This will help you determine what may happen when you conduct the actual experiment. You will form your hypothesis based on this research.

3. Pick a dependent variable and an independent variable for your experiment. These will determine what you say in your hypothesis. For example, in an experiment testing if a plant will grow better with more sunlight, the sunlight is your independent variable and the plant growth is your dependent variable.

4. Form your hypothesis. Make sure your hypothesis is testable since you will be trying to prove or disprove your hypothesis in the experiment. You should state the hypothesis in this form: "If this independent variable is changed, then a change in the dependent variable will also result." In our sample experiment you may state: "If a plant is given more sunlight, then it may grow more." Use the word "may" since your hypothesis is only a prediction at this point.

5. Conduct your experiment. Analyze the results with what you expected in your hypothesis. Make sure to mention in your conclusion if your hypothesis was proved or disproved.

6. Present your hypothesis on a display board with the rest of your scientific method. Put it on a background that will stand out from your display board.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't worry if your hypothesis is not proved. You still conducted an experiment using the scientific method and most likely still learned something.

References

• sciencebuddies.org, "Steps of the Scientific Method"
• sciencebuddies.org, "Hypothesis"
• accessexcellence.org, "Writing a Hypothesis, Student Lesson"