 key ideas prerequisites and misconceptions key ideas introduced in this unit a hypothesis grows out of some type of model models are generated through a series of related questions hypotheses are neither right nor wrong they are either supported or not supported questions can be answered by setting up an experiment collecting data and analyzing results concepts and relationship  students should have an idea of which organisms would contain greater amounts of mercury have an idea of where organisms are on the food chain who eats whom have a good idea of the mercury cycle be able to relate their study site to more abstract concepts that drive mercury bioaccumulation and patterns for example think about whether their site has a lot of wetlands and recall that scientists think wetlands are hotspots for mercury methylation and transport  vocabulary  hypothesis an educated well reasoned guess at the answer to a research question claim an assertion of something evidence the medium of proof reasoning the drawing of inferences or conclusions words to avoid  fact prove true right wrong good bad we want to avoid using words like those above because they reinforce the notion that science and the interpretation of data are absolute or black and white really we are gathering evidence that supports or does not support a hypothesis we can never know everything about every part of a system so there s always a chance we ll find out something new down the road that will change how we think the system works for example newton thought that light was made up of particles for good logical reasons later when scientists observed diffraction they started to wonder if it wasn t a wave instead we now think it travels as both particles and waves newton wasn t wrong he was basing his hypothesis on sound evidence but as new evidence came to light our understanding shifted somewhat it may shift again as we record new observations and phenomena regarding the properties of light student prerequisites  how to measure volume and square inches how to convert units such as g g to ppb or ppm see introduction to mercury in the environment essential activity why do we care   proportions averages ranges computer skills library skills misconceptions about mercury  hypotheses are difficult to develop if the data don t support my hypothesis i got it wrong or if the data do support my hypothesis i got it right   mercury in watersheds hypothesis key ideas  