Outside of science, the definition of a theory is a thought that may or may not be true. In the science community, a scientific theory is defined as a hypothesis or a group of hypotheses about some phenomena that have been supported through research using the scientific method.
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Does anyone have a good theory for where missing socks go when you do laundry? A theory is a set of accepted beliefs or organized principles that explain and guide analysis and one of the ways that theory is defined is that it is different from practice, when certain principles are tested.
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“scientific theories must be falsifiable”. (cosmology) the theory that the universe originated sometime between 10 billion and 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small volume of matter at extremely high density and temperature.
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In this lesson, you'll learn the definition and characteristics of a scientific theory and understand how theories are formulated. You'll see examples of scientific theories, and after the lesson you can test your knowledge with a brief quiz.
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Although there are many characteristics of scientific theories, there are five basic characteristics that can help you understand how they work. A scientific theory should be: Testable: Theories can be supported through a series of scientific research projects or experiments.
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(physics) the theory that light is transmitted as a stream of particles. (physics) a theory that gases consist of small particles in random motion. (physics) the theory that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts. (physics) a theory that tries to link the four fundamental forces.
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Newton's theory of gravitation, gravitational theory, theory of gravitation, theory of gravity. (physics) the theory that any two particles of matter attract one another with a force directly proportional to the product of their masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.
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Example of a Theory. Let's give an example of why a theory can be tested but cannot be proven. You go to the grocery store and observe many different brands of green beans. You taste no difference in the green beans no matter what brand name is on the beans.
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Einstein's theory of relativity, relativity, relativity theory, theory of relativity. (physics) the theory that space and time are relative concepts rather than absolute concepts. (physics) a theory that tries to link the four fundamental forces.
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However, in the scientific community, a scientific theory is an explanation of a phenomenon that has been tested over time. A theory begins as an educated guess, known formally as a hypothesis. A theory is a scientist's interpretation of the observations about a phenomenon.
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theory definition science
In science, theory is defined as a scientist's interpretation of the observations about a phenomenon.