Plural of hypothesis; educated guesses or proposed explanations that scientists test through experiments to see if they're true.
From Greek 'hypothesis,' combining 'hypo-' (under) and 'thesis' (something put forth). Originally meaning 'a foundation' or 'a provisional assumption,' it evolved into the scientific term for testable predictions.
The scientific method depends on hypotheses—without a specific prediction to test, you're just randomly experimenting, which is why even failed hypotheses are scientifically valuable because they teach us what isn't true.
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