JoinUncovering Student Ideas Probes
Physical Science
Latest Physical Science Probes
Physical Science Probes
Lesson Plan
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter. The probe is designed to reveal whether students think matter is conserved when a substance is dissolved in a liquid. ...
By Page Keeley
Lesson Plan
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. ...
By Page Keeley
Lesson Plan
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about sound. The probe is designed to reveal whether students recognize that sound is produced by vibrating matter. ...
Lesson Plan
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about density. The probe is designed to find out whether students have commonly held ideas about mass, volume, shape, and other properties that interfere with their conceptual unders...
By Page Keeley and Susan Cooper
Lesson Plan
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about reflection of light. The probe can be used to examine how students use ideas about light to explain how we see objects in a mirror. ...
By Page Keeley
Lesson Plan
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about temperature change in a system. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize that heat moves from the warm water to the cool water until they both reach the sam...
By Page Keeley
Lesson Plan
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the particle model of matter. The probe is designed to find out if students recognize that air is made up of particles that are widely spaced with empty space between the parti...
By Page Keeley and Susan Cooper
Lesson Plan
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter during a chemical change (oxidation). The probe is designed to find out if students think the mass changes as rust forms inside a closed system. ...
By Page Keeley
Lesson Plan
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 temperatur...
By Page Keeley
Lesson Plan
The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the properties of atoms. The probe is designed to determine whether students can distinguish between the microscopic properties of an atom and the macroscopic properties of a s...
By Page Keeley