Question

Several phones have been stolen from student backpacks. The school's dean has a theory about what happened. How is his "every day" theory different from a scientific theory?

1. The Dean's theory is an untested idea that he will investigate; scientific theories have already been investigated.
2. The Dean can investigate his theory; scientific theories cannot be investigated.
3. The Dean's theory can be supported by evidence; scientific theories are not supported by evidence.
4. The Dean's theory is an educated guess; scientific theories are just hunches.

Answer 1

1. The Dean's theory is an untested idea that he will investigate; scientific theories have already been investigated.

Step-by-step explanation:

Scientific theory by definition is something that can be tested. However, in science, a scientific theory generally is something that has already been tested (hence the scientific definition). Remember from math, Theorem is something that can be tested, Postulate is something you can't. By prescribing theorem on it, it means that you can test whether it is true or not.

As for the Dean, he has a "theory" of why phones are being stolen from student backpacks. However, it seems that he did not test for it (i.e., install security cameras, etc.). This means that, without testing, he cannot say it is a scientific theory.