Question

Which of the following best completes the hypothesis?
Increasing the salt concentration in a solution..

A. May be harmful or helpful
B. Will not have an effect
C. Will decrease the amount of bacteria in the solution
D. Makes the solution taste saltier

Answer 1

The answer you're looking for here is probably C.

A hypothesis is a specific statement you make ahead of time based on how you think some manipulation will affect a variable of interest.

A is wrong because it isn't specific. B is technically a null hypothesis (the statement that your manipulation will do nothing), but this is never the hypothesis you're testing when you're actually doing an experiment (why would you do the experiment if you don't expect anything to happen?). D isn't really describing an outcome of interest, because it's an outcome that's already obvious and doesn't really require experimentation.