 |
What is a theory? |
by Mya Kagan (whyzz writer) >> more about the author
In theory…
There are different ways in which people use the word “theory.” – In casual, everyday use, the word “theory” mostly refers to an idea or an unproven possibility. You could say you have a “theory” on why it never rains on your birthday, or that there are many “theories” about how the butterfly got its name.
When it’s used in science, however, the word “theory” has a different meaning. A scientific theory is an explanation that is testable, and which can explain something while properly accounting for other facts, laws, and hypotheses of science. Scientific theories have to work properly with new related discoveries, or else they have to be changed. – A good example of a scientific theory that you might already be familiar with is gravity! The theory of gravity allows us to explain why a ball you throw up in the air falls back down again, and why your pigtails still point towards the ground even when you’re hanging upside-down on the monkey bars!
In theory…
Think about some of the ways in which you’ve recently used this word, or ways in which you’ve heard it used.
Which of the two definitions does each example apply to, and why? Is there one version of the word you seem to use more often than the other??
