A proposed explaination for an observation is called a hypothesis.
Hypothesis
A hypothesis
What is a hypothesis? (plural: hypotheses) I'll take Science Experiment terms for $1,000, Alex.
The hypothesis (high-POTH-uh-suss) is a proposed scientific explanation of a phenomenon. It must be tested to determine if the explanation is true, or not.
Is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A hypothesis must be tested for it to be a scientific hypothesis.
A theory is a proposed idea as an explaination to a problem. A scientific law is a tested and experimentally proven idea that can be considered as truth; until experimentally disproven. Newton's law of gravity was law, proven by experimental observations, right up until Einstein developed special relativity and it was experimentally proven. Thus disproving Newton's "law". String theory is an idea that is quite appealing to physicists, but there is no experimental proof to its validity, so it remains as just a theory.
Philosophy is not a science. Scientific ideas are tested experimentally, and philosophical ideas are generally too abstract to test experimentally, they are only tested intellectually.
The statement that it is characteristic of a scientific theory is that is well tested is false. A scientific theory is a proposed explanation of certain circumstances in nature.
A hypothesis is actually a "proposed explanation" of observed phenomena which can be tested for accuracy. For example: Spines on cacti reduce herbivore damage
Scientific data that has not been experimentally tested is unreliable.
verifiable/provable, hypothesis
A hypothesis is an important part of the scientific process because it is the initial generation of a proposed explanation for a natural phenomenon and can be tested by experiments.