The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the water cycle. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that water goes into the air around us after it evaporates.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about life processes. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that plants and animals share several life functions, even though they are seemingly very different organisms.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about levels of organization in the human body. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize cells as the basic unit of both structure and function in living organisms.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about cells. The probe is designed to find out how students think about matter composed of cells.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about living and nonliving. It is designed to find out what attributes students consider when determining if something is living or was once living.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about animals. The probe is designed to find out what characteristics students use to determine whether an organism is classified as an animal.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about temperature. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that non–heat-producing objects exposed to the same ambient conditions will have the same temperature regardless of the material they are made of.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about energy. The probe is designed to find out whether students think “warm clothes,” like a mitten, produce their own energy, manifested as heat.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about gravity. The probe is designed to determine whether students recognize that gravity is a universal force that exists everywhere on Earth and in space, regardless of whether air is present.

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about a common phenomenon—rusting. The probe is designed to find out what students think happens to the mass of iron nails after a chemical change.