Hypothesis v. Statement

Quinn Nguyen

Hi, I come across this problem in argument part questions: is a hypothesis the same thing as a statement?

I usually eliminate the wrong answer choices by matching them up to the stimulus (Ex. I eliminate the answer choice starts with "it is a premise " because I id'ed the statement as a conclusion). But some argument part questions describes statements differently (A) "This is a statement" or "this is a hypothesis for which the author supports." Should we eliminate answer choices that call it a hypothesis when it is a statement? Is there even a difference.

Ex: Is a "Fetuses develop fingernails in the third week of development" a statement?
Is " Scientists say fetuses develop fingernails in the third week" a hypothesis?

J.Y. Ping

Hey Quinn, hypothesis --> statements. In other words, statements are the superset, hypothesis are the subset. All hypotheses necessarily have to be statements.

For example, "the world is round". That is and always has been a statement. Now, we don't consider it a hypothesis, but at some point, we did. Specifically, when everyone knew the world was flat, "the world is round" was a hypothesis.

Does that help?

Quinn Nguyen

It helps! Thanks!