Question

If an experiment or observation contradicts a scientific theory, then

A) the theory is still considered correct as long as the vast majority of experiments still agree with the theory.
B) the experiment or observation must be wrong because a theory cannot be contradicted by any measurement.
C) the theory must be revised to account for the new data, or discarded.
D) it must not have been a scientific theory, but pseudoscience.

Answer 1

When an experiment contradicts a scientific theory, the theory must be revised or discarded based on the new data. The scientific method requires hypotheses to be tested through experimentation, and inconsistent results indicate that the hypothesis is incorrect. The correct option is c.

Step-by-step explanation:

When an experiment or observation contradicts a scientific theory, the theory must be revised to account for the new data or discarded.

This is because the scientific method requires that hypotheses be tested through experimentation, and if the experimental results contradict the predictions of the hypothesis, then the hypothesis is considered incorrect.

Scientists must then develop an alternative hypothesis that better explains the observations. It is important to note that the acceptance or rejection of a scientific theory is based on the accumulation of evidence from multiple experiments, not just a single contradicting observation. The correct option is c.