Most of us have heard the term “cause and effect,” which refers to the correlation between a cause and its effect. For instance, if you hit a tennis ball with a racket, the ball will move away from the racket as a result of the force from the impact. The cause is the impact from the racket, and the effect is the ball moving away from it. In a similar vein, an explanation for why something occurred is called a(n) cause.
A cause is essentially an explanation as to why something happened. It is the thing that initiated or triggered the effect. A cause can be considered a reason or a motivation that leads to an outcome. Causes can be broken down into two types: external and internal causes. External causes are a result of things outside of an individual, like an accident or a crime. Internal causes, on the other hand, are things that are within an individual, like mental illness or a health problem.
A cause can also refer to a hypothesis or a theory. Hypotheses are tentative explanations about why something is observed. In order for them to be scientific, hypotheses must be tested and studied and are typically used to suggest new research. Theories, on the other hand, are a set of principles used to explain a phenomenon or an event. They are more concrete than hypotheses, but they are still considered to be testable and could be proven wrong.
Last but not least, a cause can also refer to a law. Laws are statements that describe the relationship between two or more phenomena or events. They are used to predict or explain how something will happen based on a set of conditions. Unlike theories and hypotheses, laws are generally accepted to be true and are not usually tested.
In conclusion, an explanation for why something occurred is called a(n) cause. This could be anything from an external or internal factor, to a hypothesis, a theory, or a law. It is important to understand the distinction between each of these causes in order to fully understand an event or phenomenon.