Final answer:
The correct choice for what a theory does is 'c. organizes; predicts,' as theories are structured explanations that help understand observations and make predictions about natural phenomena.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct option is c. organizes; predicts.
A scientific theory is a coherent group of propositions formulated to explain a group of facts or phenomena in the natural world and repeatedly confirmed through experiment or observation. This means that theories are frameworks within which scientists organize and predict relationships among natural phenomena. Contrary to being mere guesses or hypotheses, scientific theories are well-established and highly reliable explanations, after being subjected to rigorous and repeated testing and observation.
Theories also evolve and are refined over time as new evidence is incorporated and better explanations are formulated. This iterative process involves the scrutiny of hypotheses and the systematic evaluation of facts, leading to the construction of a robust theoretical framework. As such, a theory encompasses a much broader scope than a hypothesis, which is an initial tentative explanation that is then tested through scientific methods. Among the options provided, the one that best encapsulates the function of a scientific theory is option c, as theories indeed organize observations and predict events.