Final answer:
An observation is the act of noticing something in the natural world, whereas a hypothesis is a testable explanation for an observation. The statement that they are the same until tested is false.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that 'an observation is the same thing as a hypothesis but it just hasn't been tested yet' is FALSE. An observation is noting and recording something about the natural world using the senses or tools, while a hypothesis is a testable educated guess that explains an observation. An observation might lead to a question, but a hypothesis goes further by proposing a tentative explanation that can be tested.
A hypothesis is informed by scientific knowledge and must be logical, testable, and falsifiable. It should not conflict with what is already known, and it is helpful if it is simple. As part of the scientific method, a hypothesis is often used to predict an outcome. For example, if someone observes that they start sneezing around cats and posits that 'exposure to cats causes sneezing because of an allergy', that is a testable hypothesis.