1. A scientific law is a statement of fact that describes an action or set of actions. Laws are accepted as fact because they are always observed to be true. Examples of scientific laws are Newton's laws of motion. These laws describe the motion of moving objects. a) Give an example of a scientific law you have studied or heard of. (Think about what happens when an apple falls from a tree.) (2 points)

b) How do you know that this is a law in scientific terms? Read through the definition of law in the question above. (2 points)

2. A hypothesis is an educated guess based upon observation. It is an explanation of a single event based upon what is observed. A hypothesis has not been proved but can be supported by experimentation.

a) Suppose that out of 10 trees planted in a yard, only five survived. What kind of hypothesis could you make about this observation or event? Remember that a hypothesis needs to have a certain format. (2 point)

b) How could you test this hypothesis? What type of experiment could you perform? (2 points)

c) How would this hypothesis be different from a scientific law? Review the definitions of law and hypothesis to help you. (2 points)

3. In science, a theory is more like a scientific law than a hypothesis. A theory explains a set of observations or events. It must be verified multiple times by many different scientists. One scientist cannot create a theory on his or her own.

a) Look back at your hypothesis from question 2. Could this hypothesis become a theory if you repeated your experiment 100 different times and got the same results? Can a theory be created by just one person? (2 points)

b. What two things would need to happen for your hypothesis to eventually become a theory? Look back over the definition of a theory. (2 points)

c) What is the difference between a scientific theory and a scientific law? Look closely at the definitions of theory and law and try to see what is different. (2 points)

4. Think about the concept of evolution.

a) Would you say this is a hypothesis or a theory? Think about the difference between a theory and a hypothesis and try to apply it to the concept of evolution. (2 points)

b) If the concept of evolution is defined as a scientific theory, what must be true about the concept of evolution? Look over your answers in question 3 and try to apply these ideas to the theory of evolution. (2 points)