Hypothesis
The hypothesis, or the model is a way for us to make sense of the data. We try to fit the data into some kind of model, and that model is our hypothesis.
Predictions
A
key component to the scientific method is the ability to predict. We
can make predictions about something, and then test those predictions to
see if they are correct. If the predictions are true, it's likely that
the hypothesis is correct.
Theorems Are not
part of the scientific method but may be a cause of some confusion. Most
theorems have two components, called the hypotheses and the
conclusions. The proof of the theorem is a logical argument
demonstrating that the conclusions are a necessary consequence of the
hypotheses, in the sense that if the hypotheses are true then the
conclusions must also be true, without any further assumptions. The
concept of a theorem is therefore fundamentally deductive, in contrast
to the notion of a scientific theory, which is empirical.
