A teacher writes on the board: "When one object pushes on another, the second object pushes back with an equal force in the opposite direction." What kind of statement is this?

A biology textbook states: "All living things are built from cells, and every new cell comes from a cell that already existed." How should this statement be classified?

Before starting, Liam writes: "If I wrap a cup of hot water in a wool sleeve, it will stay warmer than an unwrapped cup after 20 minutes." What has Liam written?

A lab poster reads: "Energy is never created or destroyed; it only transfers between objects or changes form." Which term fits this statement?

A doctor tells a class: "Many illnesses spread because tiny organisms, far too small to see, get into the body and multiply there." What is this statement best called?

In her notebook, Nadia writes: "Seeds kept in a warm cupboard will sprout sooner than the same seeds left on a cold windowsill." What kind of statement is this?

A field guide states: "In undisturbed layers of sedimentary rock, each layer is older than the layer resting on top of it." How would a scientist label this statement?

A chemistry text explains: "Matter is made of tiny particles that are always moving, and they move faster when the matter is hotter." What kind of statement is this?

A physics reference states: "Light striking a flat mirror leaves the mirror at the same angle at which it arrived." What kind of statement is this?

Maya writes before her investigation: "The classroom fish will eat more pellets on days when the tank water is warmer." What has Maya written?

A gas is sealed inside a syringe. A reference book says: "At the same temperature, pressing a sealed gas into half the space doubles its pressure." What kind of statement is this?

During a lab, Sam records in his data table: "At 9:00 a.m. the thermometer in the beaker read 21 degrees Celsius." What has Sam written?

An engineer wants to predict the size of the pull Earth exerts on a falling ball, working from the masses involved and the distance between them. What does that job call for?

Astronomers observe that distant galaxies are moving away from us. A student wants to explain why, using an idea about how the universe began and has been spreading out ever since. What does that job need?

Two bean seedlings grown in the same classroom ended up very different heights. Before investigating, a student needs one proposed explanation she can actually test this week.

A textbook chapter must explain why species of living things change over many generations, using an explanation that a large body of evidence already supports. What does the chapter need?

A student seals vinegar and baking soda in a zip bag with a total mass of 150 grams. She must predict the mass of the closed bag after the fizzing stops. What kind of statement lets her predict it?

A museum display must explain why most earthquakes and volcanoes happen along the edges of huge, slowly moving pieces of Earth's crust. What kind of statement is that display presenting?

Priya wants a statement she can check this afternoon with two identical cups of water, one covered and one left open. What is she writing?

A designer needs to work out how far a spring scale will stretch when the hanging load on it is doubled. What kind of statement gives that relationship?

A research team has recorded the same pattern in 500 careful measurements. It now wants one short statement of the pattern itself, without saying why the pattern happens.

Before collecting any data, a student needs to write a statement that one fair test could show to be wrong. What kind of statement is that?

Ravi tells his group that a scientific theory is "just a guess nobody has checked yet." Which correction is accurate?

During a class discussion, Ella claims that once a scientific theory has been proven, it turns into a scientific law. Which correction is accurate?

In a group write-up, Tom states that a scientific law explains why an event happens. What should his group tell him?

Asked to write a hypothesis, Deepa says that any guess at all will count. Which correction is accurate?

Jonas argues that scientific laws are more trustworthy than scientific theories because laws have been proved. How should this be corrected?

Ana writes that scientists have proved the particle theory of matter true for all time. Which correction is accurate?

Lena's data did not support her hypothesis, so she tells her partner the whole investigation failed. What should her partner say?

Marco says that once scientists accept a scientific theory, it can never change. Which correction is accurate?

Ivy tells her group that one successful experiment is enough to make a statement a scientific law. What should her group tell her?

Owen says his hypothesis will turn into a theory the moment his one test supports it. Which correction is accurate?

A class must pick a hypothesis it can actually test with classroom equipment over two weeks. Which proposal could the class test?

Ben proposes: "Seedlings given fertilizer grow taller than seedlings given none." What makes his proposal testable?

Ada's proposal reads: "Music affects plants." Her teacher says it is not yet testable. What change would make it testable?

Two students each write a statement about a paper airplane investigation. Which statement is a hypothesis rather than an opinion?

A student is about to write a hypothesis about which of two drinks cools faster in a cold room. What should the hypothesis be based on?

A proposal about a pond reads: "Somewhere in this pond lives a creature that nobody will ever be able to detect." Why is this not a scientific hypothesis?

Sara wants the statement she writes before her investigation to count as a scientific hypothesis. What must be possible for that statement?

Jae writes: "If the ramp is made steeper, the toy car will roll a greater distance across the floor." What makes this hypothesis testable?