Question

law vs. hypothesis vs. theory
directions: for the following statements below, label each one as a hypothesis with a “
” or theory with a “t” or law with a “l”.
remember that a hypothesis is an “if/then” prediction, a theory explains “why or how”
and a law is a simple statement describing “what” happens.

1. for every action, there will be an equal and opposite reaction.
2. if a basketball is dropped from 5 meters then it always bounces back up to the same

height.

1. light from some stars appears to bend as it travels through space. this is caused by black ho
2. if one solar panel is used then it can replace two aa size batteries.
3. it is thought that the dinosaurs were killed off by a meteor strike.
4. force equals mass times acceleration (f = ma).
5. newtons laws of motion explain why orbits are ellipses.

Explanation:

1. This is Newton's third - law of motion, a simple statement of what happens, so it's a law.
2. It's an "if/then" prediction, so it's a hypothesis.
3. It explains why light bends, so it's a theory.
4. It's an "if/then" prediction, so it's a hypothesis.
5. It's an explanation for why dinosaurs went extinct, so it's a theory.
6. It's a simple statement of what force is, so it's a law.
7. Newton's laws explain why orbits are ellipses, so it's a theory.

Answer:

1. L
2. H
3. T
4. H
5. T
6. L
7. T