Which statement is a hypothesis that would best address the question "Are deer eating the young hemlocks and preventing
them from growing?

1. Deer will eat young hemlocks, but not old hemlocks.

2. Deer are eating young hemlocks.

3. If deer are eating young hemlocks, then keeping deer
away from the young trees will allow the trees to
grow

4. If the hemlocks are tasty to the deer, the deer will eat
them.