The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the cycling of matter. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize that once-living matter breaks down and cycles through ecosystems without subtracting or adding mass to the Earth.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about decay and decomposers. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize the need for a biological agent to break down once-living material as it uses it for energy.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about respiration. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize respiration as a process that all living things use in order to obtain energy or whether they have a restricted macroscopic meaning of respiration.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about growth. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize that growth occurs as a result of cell division, which increases the number of body cells.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the size of cells. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize how small a cell is relative to other things.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about life cycles. The probe can be used to determine whether students recognize that although life cycles vary in length and developmental stages, all multicellular organisms go through a life cycle.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about hypotheses. The probe is designed to find out if students understand what a hypothesis is, when it is used, and how it is developed.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about scientific investigations. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that scientists investigate the natural world in a variety of ways depending on the question they pose and that there is no fixed sequence of steps called the “scientific method” that all scientists use and follow rigidly.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the nature of science. The probe is designed to find out if students distinguish scientific theories from the common use of the word theory and if they understand how theories differ from laws.