Hypothesis
MCAT glossary · Critical Analysis & Reasoning Skills
Definition
A testable, falsifiable prediction.
Hypothesis in plain English
A hypothesis is a specific guess you set up so that reality can prove it WRONG — that's the whole point. It's not just any hunch; it has to make a clear prediction you could actually check, like "plants near a window grow taller than plants in a closet." That's "testable" (you can run the experiment) and "falsifiable" (if the closet plants grew taller, your guess would be busted). A statement you can never disprove no matter what happens isn't a real scientific hypothesis, because science only trusts ideas that stuck their neck out and survived the test.
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