Question

The salinity of a body of water suddenly starts increasing. A chemist believes that upstream contaminants are polluting the lake. A geologist believes that underground formations might be leaching into the body of water. Why are both of these options valid scientific hypotheses?
A)Scientists with different educational backgrounds may put forth different hypothesis to explain the same data.
B) Neither one is a valid hypothesis since they were made before data collection.
C)The scientific community never discards a hypothesis even if it is unsupported by data.
D) Both scientists underwent the same training and, therefore, have equally valid scientific hypotheses regardless of the available data.

Answer 1

The reason both of these are valid scientific hypotheses is because A) scientists with different educational backgrounds may put forth different hypotheses to explain the same data.
This approach in science is vital in making progress and has helped to explain many phenomena in the past. When scientists explain data using different approaches, they come to a more comprehensive conclusion.