When an overwhelming body of observations and measurements supports a scientific hypothesis or group of related hypotheses, it becomes a(n) _________.

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

When evaluating how scientific ideas become established, it's important to trace the progression from idea to consensus.
Option 1: 'hypothesis' — A hypothesis is an initial, testable statement or educated guess. If it gains extensive support, it is no longer just a hypothesis, but the reasoning typically moves further toward a more comprehensive framework. This option describes an early stage rather than the matured status.
Option 2: 'scientific law' — A law describes invariant relationships or patterns in nature, often expressible with a concise mathematical relationship. Laws summarize what happens under certain conditions but do not usually explain why; they arise from patterns observed in data. An overwhelming body of observations supporting a hypothesis addresses explanation and integration, not merely an invariant description.
Option 3: 'scientific theory' — A theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate laws, hypotheses, and evidence from multiple observations and experiments. When a large and robust body of evidence accumulates in support of a hypothesis or related hypotheses, the explanatory framework gains breadth and confidence, aligning with the concept of a theory.
Option 4: 'conclusion' — A conclusion is a judgment drawn from data in a specific study or analysis. It is a result of a particular inquiry, not a status attained by a broad, repeatedly tested set of observations across disciplines. It does not capture the evolved, predictive explanatory power described by theories.
Option 5: 'scientific variable' — A variable is any factor that can be changed or measured in an experiment. It is a component of research design, not a descriptor of the mature, evidence-backed status of a hypothesis or set of hypotheses. This is not the term for the consolidated body of supported ideas.
In summary, the phrasing points to a mature, explanatory framework that integrates extensive evidence, which aligns with the notion of a scientific theory rather than a hypothesis, law, conclusion, or variable.

11:375:101:R1 INTRO ENV SCIENCE Quiz #3

When an overwhelming body of observations and measurements supports a scientific hypothesis or group of related hypotheses, it becomes a(n) _________.

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