A scientist is studying PCBs in tertiary consumers. She wants to determine if PCBs can be found in tertiary consumers even though these compounds were banned in the United States in the 1970s. Which of the following best identifies a testable hypothesis for the study?
a. PCBs are highly soluble in water, sok is unlikely that the compounds will be found in the liver or kidneys of tertiary consumers because the compounds have been banned
b. PCBs are persistent organk compounds that are fat-soluble, so they should be found in the fatty tissues of tertiary consumers even though the compounds have been banned for decades.
c. PCBs have synergistic effects with other toxins in the environment and are broken down in water and soll, so most tertiary consumers are not directly exposed to them
d. PCBs are acutely toxic to most forms of ute and quickly kill most organisms upon exposure therefore, tertiary consumers today would be expected to have high levels of the compound in the tissues

Answer: b. PCBs are persistent organic compounds that are fat-soluble, so they should be found in the fatty tissues of tertiary consumers even though the compounds have been banned for decades.

Explanation:

A hypothesis is a statement based on the research topic that can either be disproved or proven by the findings of the research. In this instance therefore, a proper hypothesis would be one that talks about whether or not PCBs would be found in tertiary consumers even though they have been banned.

The hypothesis usually includes the reason for the inference being made which will be tested as well by the research and these have to be logical. Based on these descriptions, the best answer is option b.

PCBs are persistent organic compounds that are fat-soluble, so they should be found in the fatty tissues of tertiary consumers even though the compounds have been banned for decades identifies a testable hypothesis for the study.    

The hypothesis is a statement that could be proved true or false depending on the data analysis and scientific methodologies used in research.

Therefore, in the above case, a valid hypothesis would be to evaluate whether PCBs would be found in tertiary consumers even though they have been banned or not.

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