Experiments cannot validate hypotheses, only falsify them. The statement above can be restated in which of the following ways?
A.
a. Until disproved, an explanation for an observation is valid.
B.
b. Certain concepts cannot be subjected to direct experimentation.
C.
c. A hypothesis that has not been falsified remains provisional.
D.
d. Proving a hypothesis exempts it from further testing
The statement “Experiments cannot validate hypotheses, only falsify them” can be restated as:
C. A hypothesis that has not been falsified remains provisional.
Explanation:
A. This statement suggests that a hypothesis is valid until disproven, but it doesn’t address the idea that experiments are used to test hypotheses, not to prove them definitively.
B. This statement pertains to the limits of direct experimentation rather than the nature of hypothesis testing.
D. This statement incorrectly suggests that proving a hypothesis exempts it from further testing, whereas scientific hypotheses remain provisional and subject to further testing and falsification.
In science, hypotheses are considered provisional and are tested to find evidence that could potentially falsify them. If a hypothesis has not been falsified through testing, it remains a working explanation but is always open to revision or rejection based on new evidence