CHM 1032 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Scientific Law, Falsifiability, Antoine Lavoisier
Document Summary
Observations lead scientists to formulate a hypothesis, a tentative interpretation or explanation of the observations. A good hypothesis is falsifiable, which means that further testing has the potential to prove it wrong. Hypotheses are tested by experiments, highly controlled observations designed to validate or invalidate hypotheses. The results of an experiment may confirm a hypothesis or show it to be mistaken in some way. The hypothesis may have to be modified or discarded and replaced by an alternative. The new or revised hypothesis must also be tested through further experimentation. A number of similar observations lead to the development of a scientific law, a brief statement that synthesizes past observations and predicts future ones. Lavoisier developed the law of conservation of mass, which states, In a chemical reaction, matter is neither created nor destroyed. One or more well-established hypotheses may form the basis for a scientific theory. Theories provide a broader and deeper explanation for observations and laws.
