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Book Chapter
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about chemical cells. It is designed to reveal what students think is happening inside a common battery as it gets “used up.” The word weight is used instead of mass in order to ...
Book Chapter
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about electric charge. The probe is designed to determine how fast students think electric charges in a wire move. It is best used with high school students. If materials are availab...
Book Chapter
Can Magnets Push or Pull Without Touching?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetic force. It is designed to find out whether students recognize that magnets can push (repel) or pull (attract) certain objects at a distance without touching the object....
Book Chapter
Can You Pick It up With a Magnet?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetic materials. The probe is designed to find out which types of materials students think interact with magnets and whether they think all metals interact with magnets. Thi...
Book Chapter
Does a Magnet Pick up Any Kind of Metal?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetic materials. It is designed to determine whether students recognize that only certain metals interact with magnets. Use a steel fork—not stainless steel—to demonstra...
Book Chapter
What Happens When You Wrap a Magnet With Aluminum Foil?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetic force. It is designed to reveal students’ ideas about how magnetism passes through some materials. Before beginning show students how the magnet interacts with the p...
Book Chapter
What Happens If You Use the Other End of the Magnet?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetic interactions. It is designed to find out whether students think the pole of a magnet determines whether it will attract or repel magnetic material. It is best used wit...
Book Chapter
Does a Magnet Work Without Air?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetism. It is designed to reveal whether students think air is necessary for magnetic interaction. Because some students think gravity affects magnetism and also believe gra...
Book Chapter
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetic interactions. It is designed to find out whether students recognize that a magnet and magnetic materials attract each other. The probe is best used with middle school ...
Book Chapter
How Would a Magnet Work on the Moon?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetism. It is designed to reveal whether students think gravity has an effect on magnetism. Before using the probe, it’s important that students know how conditions on the...
Book Chapter
What Happens When You Hold a Magnet Near a Refrigerator?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetic interactions. It is designed to find out how students visually represent magnetic interactions. If materials are available, consider demonstrating the probe scenario a...
Book Chapter
What Happens When a Magnet is Brought Near a Charged Ball?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetic interactions. It is designed to find out whether students confuse electrostatic effects with magnetic effects and is best used for discussion at the start of a unit on...
Book Chapter
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetic interactions. It is designed to find out whether students recognize that it’s a force between magnetic objects that causes them to “stick.” The probe is best use...
Book Chapter
What Happens When a Magnet Breaks?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the properties of magnets. The probe is designed to find out how students would represent the poles of a broken magnet. It is best used with middle and high school students and...
Book Chapter
How Can You Represent a Magnetic Field?
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetic fields. It is designed to find out how students would represent a magnetic field using magnetic field lines. The probe is best used with middle and high school student...