______________________ is Piaget's formal-operational concept that adolescents have the cognitive ability to develop hypotheses,or best guesses,about ways to solve problems,such as an algebraic equation.

A) Concrete operational
B) Seriation
C) Hypothetical-deductive reasoning
D) Transitivity

Hypothetical-deductive Reasoning

A method of problem-solving or decision-making that involves forming hypotheses and deducing their implications to see which best fits the evidence.

Cognitive Ability

Refers to the capacity of an individual to perform mental processes such as reasoning, problem-solving, and learning.

Algebraic Equation

A mathematical statement that shows the equality of two expressions, which are connected by an equals sign and involve at least one variable.