Final answer:
Scientific explanations must be testable and falsifiable; they rely on objective observations related to the physical world and are not based on opinions or the supernatural. They lead to the creation of hypotheses that are tested through controlled experiments to provide measurable results and can give yes or no answers.
Step-by-step explanation:
One of the essential features of scientific explanations is that they must be testable and capable of being disproven, often referred to as being falsifiable. This means that a proposed hypothesis must lead to experimental predictions that can be observed and measured.
Scientific explanations are strictly related to the physical world and rely on objective observations for their validity. This indicates that they should not be based on opinion, values, or unobservable entities like the supernatural. Question option 'd' from the Check Your Understanding part states, 'Once supported by observation, they can be viewed as a fact,' which is not an essential feature since scientific knowledge is subject to modification as new evidence emerges. Thus, scientific explanations must provide measurable results and can be used to form a hypothesis that leads to further testing and refinement.
To conduct a valid test of a hypothesis, a researcher uses experiments with variables and controls. Variables can change during the experiment, and the control group is utilized to establish a baseline for comparison. For example, testing whether the air conditioning is working involves checking if it is on and if it is functional, thereby providing a yes or no answer. Conducting such experiments and observing whether the outcomes align with the predictions allow scientists to reject or support various hypotheses.