実験 and 試験: Testing a Hypothesis and a Material's Durability
Compare a simple experiment and the return of its equipment with preparing for tomorrow's exam and testing a new material. Follow the purpose and object without restricting tests to people or treating a test as a successful result.
実験: A stated purpose and equipment returned
実験 (じっけん) means experiment. 「仮説を確かめるために簡単な実験を行った。」 — “We performed a simple experiment to test the hypothesis.” A simple experiment was performed to examine the hypothesis. Preserve the action performed and its purpose, without turning that purpose into a finding that the hypothesis was true.
「実験で使った器具を元の棚に戻した。」 — “We returned the equipment used in the experiment to its original shelf.” The equipment used in an experiment was returned to its original shelf. Returning it is the reported action, without an assessment that the experiment was accurate or successful.
試験: Preparation for an exam and a test of material
試験 (しけん) means test or exam. 「明日の試験に備えて早めに寝る。」 — “I will go to bed early in preparation for tomorrow's exam.” 明日 places the exam tomorrow, and the English will presents going to bed early as preparation. This does not report sleep already completed or an exam already taken.
「新しい材料の耐久性を試験した。」 — “We tested the durability of the new material.” The new material's durability is the object of the test. 試験 therefore includes an example concerning material rather than a human examinee, without stating a passing or failing result.
Read the purpose and object, not an exclusive category
The experiment examines a hypothesis, while the material test examines durability. Exam preparation and returning equipment belong to separate examples; they do not form one stated experimental schedule.
Do not divide 実験 into activities exclusively involving objects and 試験 into activities exclusively involving people. Follow the hypothesis being examined, the exam being prepared for, or the material being tested in the individual sentence.
What do the 実験 for a hypothesis and the 試験 of a new material's durability each examine?
Show the answer and why
The first is a simple experiment performed to examine the hypothesis; the second tests the new material's durability. Their purposes and objects differ, without establishing that the hypothesis was true or the material passed. Equipment return and preparation for tomorrow's exam are separate examples.