Imagine you are sitting at a table with a red apple in front of you. Your friend closes the door and turns off all the lights. It is totally dark in the room. There are no windows in the room or cracks around the door. No light can enter the room.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about reflection. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that all objects we can see reflect some light.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the product of photosynthesis. The probe is designed to reveal (1) whether students recognize that the food a plant makes is the food it uses and (2) whether students have a biological concept of food.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about different ways to optimize a design that has been successful in the past, but that still needs improvement. The probe is designed to see if students recognize that there are multiple pathways to iterating and optimizing a design.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ initial ideas and attitudes about the procedure that should be followed when testing models to determine if a design solves the problem. The probe is designed to see if students recognize how a design can be improved based on a careful analysis of the result of the test. 

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about how science and math are both used in engineering. The probe is designed to get students to think about the various ways science and math are applied to designing a physical structure such as a bridge.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to provide practice in using a decision matrix. The probe is designed to see if students are able to interpret a decision matrix and to help you determine difficulties they may encounter.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about different types of models commonly developed by engineers. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that just like scientists, engineers make and use a variety of model types, including physical, conceptual, and mathematical models. 

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the life cycle of a product. The probe is designed to see how students apply the concept of life cycle analysis to determine the impact of a product on the environment. 

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about trade-offs. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that trade-offs involve sacrificing one or more things in favor of another.