The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about biological evolution. The probe is designed to find out if students distinguish the theory of biological evolution from ideas about the origin of life and the mechanism for biological evolution.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about food. The probe is designed to find out if students use a scientific definition of food to distinguish food items from nonfood items.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about systems. The probe is designed to find out whether students can recognize that things with parts that interact or influence each other are systems.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about models. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that models can take a variety of forms besides physical replicas.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about magnetism. The probe is specifically designed to determine whether students believe air is necessary for magnets to work.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about weight and pressure. The probe is designed to determine whether students think their weight changes when the force exerted per unit area (pressure) on a scale changes.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about thermal energy. The probe is designed to find out whether students think cold things can have energy.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about temperature in the context of phases of matter. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that the temperature of a substance does not change when two phases are present.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about crystalline solids. The probe is specifically designed to determine how students think atoms are arranged and move in a crystalline lattice.