Probes, Suggested Grade Levels, Concepts, Related Disciplinary Core Ideas, and Purpose of the Probe:

PHYSICAL SCIENCE PROBES

1- Can It Reflect Light? (Grades 3-12); light, reflection; PS4.B Electromagnetic Radiation; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about reflection. The probe is designed to uncover whether students recognize that all objects we can see reflect some light. Type of Probe: Example/Non-Example Justified List Probe (Concept-Based)

2- Apple in the Dark (Grades 3-12); light, reflection, color, vision; PS4.B Electromagnetic Radiation; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about how we see objects. The probe is designed to uncover whether students know that we see an object when light reflected from the object enters the eye. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe; P-E-O Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

3- Birthday Candles (Grades 3-8); light, light source, light transmission, vision; PS4.B Electromagnetic Radiation; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about how light travels. The probe is designed to uncover whether students recognize that light travels outward in a straight line from its source, regardless of distance, until it interacts with an object. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

4- Making Sound (Grades 3-8); sound, waves, vibration; PS4.A Wave Properties; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about sound. The probe uncovers whether students generalize that sound is produced by vibrating matter. Type of Probe: Example/Non-Example Justified List Probe (Concept-Based)

5- Ice Cubes in a Bag (Grades 3-12); conservation of matter, mass, change in state, physical change, closed system; PS1.A Structure and Properties of Matter; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter. The probe uncovers whether students understand that matter is conserved during a change in state. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe, P-E-O Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

6- Lemonade (Grades 3-12); conservation of matter, weight, physical change, dissolving; PS1.A Structure and Properties of Matter; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter. The probe is designed to uncover what students think happens to the total weight when a substance is dissolved in water. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe, P-E-O Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

7- Cookie Crumbles (Grades K-5); conservation of matter, parts and wholes, weight, physical change; PS1.A Structure and Properties of Matter; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter. The probe uncovers what students think happens to the total weight when an object is broken up into pieces. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe, P-E-O Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

8- Seedlings in a Jar (Grades 6-12); conservation of matter, mass, chemical change, closed system; PS1.B Chemical Reactions, LS1.C Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about conservation of matter. The probe is designed to uncover how students think about a transformation of matter in a closed biological system. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe, P-E-O Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

9- Is It Melting? (Grades 3-8); melting, dissolving, physical change, change in state, heat; PS1.A Structure and Properties of Matter; PS3.B Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the physical process of melting. The probe is designed to uncover whether students confuse melting with other processes such as dissolving. Type of Probe: Example/Non-Example Justified List Probe (Concept and Phenomenon-Based)

10- Is It Matter (Grades 3-12); matter; PS1.A Structure and Properties of Matter; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the concept of matter. The probe is designed to uncover the characteristics students use to describe and define matter. Type of Probe: Example/Non-Example Justified List Probe (Concept-Based_

11- Is It Made of Molecules? (Grades 6-12); molecules, atoms, matter; PS1.A Structure and Properties of Matter; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about molecules. The probe is designed to uncover whether students recognize that both biological and physical objects can be made up of molecules and there is a hierarchy to organization of particulate matter. Type of Probe: Example/Non-Example Justified List Probe (Concept-Based)

12- The Rusty Nails (Grades 6-12); rust, chemical change, oxidation, corrosion, mass, open system; PS1.B Chemical Reactions; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about rusting. The probe is designed to uncover how students account for the mass of a rusty nail. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

13- Talking About Gravity (Grades 3-12); gravity; PS2.B Types of Interactions; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about gravity. The probe is designed to uncover whether students think air or an atmosphere must be present when there is a gravitational attraction. Type of Probe: Opposing Views Probe (Concept and Phenomenon-Based)

14-The Mitten Problem (Grades 3-12); heat, energy, thermal energy, transfer of energy, temperature, insulator; PS3.B Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about energy. The probe is designed to uncover how students use energy ideas to explain what happens when a thermometer is placed inside a mitten. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon, P-E-O Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

15- Objects and Temperature (Grades 6-12); temperature, energy, thermal energy, thermal equilibrium; PS3.A: Definitions of Energy; PS3.B Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about temperature. The probe is designed to uncover how students think about the temperature of objects made from different materials under the same ambient conditions. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe, P-E-O Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

LIFE SCIENCE PROBES

16- Is It an Animal? (Grades 3-8); animal, classification; LS1.A Structure and Function; LS4.D Biodiversity and Humans; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the concept of animal. The probe is designed to uncover the characteristics students use to decide if an organism is an animal. Type of Probe: Example/Non-Example Justified List Probe (Concept-Based)

17- Is It Living? (Grades 3-12); living, once living, nonliving, life processes, characteristics of life, cells; LS1.A Structure and Function; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the concept of living. The probe is designed to uncover attributes students use to determine whether something is or was once living. Type of Probe: Example/Non-Example Justified List Probe (Concept-Based)

18- Is It Made of Cells (Grades 6-12); cells, biomolecules; LS1.A Structure and Function; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about cells. The probe is designed to uncover how students think about cellular matter. Type of Probe: Example/Non-Example Justified List Probe (Concept-Based)

19- Human Body Basics (Grades 6-12); cells, structure, function, human body, levels of organization, tissues, organs, organ systems; LS1.A Structure and Function; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about levels of organization in the human body. The probe is designed to uncover whether students recognize that the cell is both the basic unit of structure and function. Type of Probe: Friendly Talk Probe (Concept-Based)

20- Functions of Living Things (Grades 6-12); life processes, functions; LS1.A Structure and Function; LS1.B Growth and Development of Organisms; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about life processes. The probe is designed to uncover how students think about processes that seemingly very different organisms share. Type of Probe: Example/Non-Example Justified List Probe (Concept-Based)

EARTH AND SPACE SCIENCE PROBES

21-Wet Jeans (Grades 3-12); water cycle, evaporation, water vapor; ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the water cycle. The probe is design to uncover what students think happens to water soon after it evaporates and whether their ideas are influenced by representations of the water cycle. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

22- Beach Sand (Grades 5-12); beach, weathering, erosion, deposition; ESS2.A Earth Materials and Systems; ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about deposition of sand on a beach. The probe is design to uncover how students think sand ends up on a beach. Type of Probe: Friendly Talk Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

23-Mountain Age (Grades 5-12); weathering, erosion, mountain formation, landforms, uplift; ESS2.A Earth Materials and Systems; ESS2.C The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes; ESS2.B Plate Tectonics and Large-Scale System Interactions; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the shape of mountains. The probe is design to uncover whether students recognize the role of long term processes in shaping mountains. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

24- Gazing at the Moon (Grades 6-12); Earth-Moon-Sun system, phases of the moon; ESS1.A The Universe and Its Stars; ESS1.B Earth and the Solar System; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the Sun-Earth-Moon system..The probe is design to uncover whether students think the phase of the moon changes with geographic location. Type of Probe: Familiar Phenomenon Probe (Phenomenon-Based)

25- Going Through a Phase (Grades 5-12); Earth-Moon-Sun system, phases of the moon; ESS1.A The Universe and Its Stars; ESS1.B Earth and the Solar System; The purpose of this probe is to elicit students’ ideas about moon phases. The probe is design to uncover how students think about the cause of moon phases. Type of Probe: Friendly Talk Probe (Phenomenon-Based)