Question

What is a law? What is a theory? What is a hypothesis? What are the differences between these three? ​

Answer 1

• Law: A statement based on repeated experimental observations that describes some phenomenon of nature. Proof that something happens and how it happens, but not why it happens. Example: Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation.
• Theory: A well-substantiated explanation acquired through the scientific method and repeatedly tested and confirmed through observation and experimentation. Example: “When the sun is out, it tends to make it bright outside.”
• Hypothesis: A proposed explanation for a phenomenon made as a starting point for further investigation. Example: “It’s bright outside because the sun is probably out.”

A hypothesis is a tentative explanation that can be tested by further investigation.

A theory is a well-supported explanation of observations.

A scientific law is a statement that summarizes the relationship between variables.

Remember, theories are explanations and laws are patterns we see in large amounts of data, frequently written as an equation. A theory will always remain a theory; a law will always remain a law.