Library Word of the Week ... Words of the SAT

The SATs are a part of the college application process. Most of our seniors are done with them (congrats to our seniors who have applied and gotten in to colleges! Let's repeat our 100% acceptance rate!). 

Our juniors and sophomores should be practicing for SATs, and our freshmen should be thinking about it. The best way to practice is to simply read. Read books and articles that have words you don't understand. Figure out those words using either context clues or by looking them up. 

One of my favorite common SATs words comes up in vocabulary, math, and science (all around word!): 

Hypothesis 

A hypothesis (plural hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. For a hypothesis to be a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it. Scientists generally base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot satisfactorily be explained with the available scientific theories. Even though the words "hypothesis" and "theory" are often used synonymously, a scientific hypothesis is not the same as a scientific theory. A working hypothesis is a provisionally accepted hypothesis proposed for further research.^[1]

A different meaning of the term hypothesis is used in formal logic, to denote the antecedent of a proposition; thus in the proposition "If P, then Q", P denotes the hypothesis (or antecedent); Q can be called a consequent. P is the assumption in a (possibly counterfactual) What If question.

The adjective hypothetical, meaning "having the nature of a hypothesis", or "being assumed to exist as an immediate consequence of a hypothesis", can refer to any of these meanings of the term "hypothesis".

(from Wikipedia)

For a list of common SAT words, click here: The 100 Most Common SAT Words

Don't forget about our Reading Challenge! The school library is teamed with GoodReads to bring you the 2015 Reading Challenge. Sign up on GoodReads to keep track. Check in with Ms. D to update your books!