What is the difference between scientific theory and hypothesis?

Answer 1

An hypothesis is something which you make out of your careful observation which everyone will agree easily. But that will become a theory only when it is proved practically with experiments. I give an example , It is generally observed that whenever we have dark black clouds it is going to rain at some nearby place. It becomes a theory only when it is both explained scientifically and proved upon experiments by cloud seeding etc....I hope you get the point.

Answer 2

There are three levels of conjecture in science: Hypothesis, theory, and law.

Hypothesis: An educated guess/statement, generally in if-then form (note: HAS NOT been tested, IS NOT proven to be true or false yet). Simple example:

- If you throw a ball up, then it will come down.

Theory: This is a hypothesis that has "evolved" like a Pokemon, if you will. A theory has been tested and, so far, has not been proven to be false as of yet (note: has not been proven false, but HAS been tested and proven true SO FAR). Simple example:

- When you throw a ball up, it must come down.

Law: This is an absolute law of our universe (think: final evolution of a Pokemon) used to describe phenomena on massive scales, such as gravity (note: HAS been proven definitively true, CAN NOT be proven false unless a new discovery is made disproving it). Simple example:

- F = ma (i.e. "force" = "mass" * "acceleration")