Relevant CAT: Conceptual Diagnostic Test

Discipline: Physics

Description:
The Mechanics Baseline Test (MBT) instrument is an advanced companion to the Force Concept Inventory (FCI). FCI questions are designed to be meaningful to students without formal training in mechanics, and to elicit their preconceptions about the subject in a qualitative way. In contrast, MBT questions are designed to probe concepts and principles that cannot be grasped without formal knowledge about mechanics, and require a quantitative approach to answer them that is more involved than plugging in numbers to formulas. The two tests together assess student conceptual understanding of basic Newtonian mechanics that are generally covered in an introductory physics course. The forced-choice MBT has 26 questions that were based upon interviews with students about their misconceptions on basic topics in Newtonian mechanics. The test covers concepts in kinematics (linear and curvilinear motion), basic principles (Newtons' First, Second, and Third Laws, superposition principle, energy conservation, impulse-momentum, and work) and special forces (gravity and friction).

The MBT is available in ten languages as of March 2010: English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Malaysian, Persian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish.


Tool:

The MBT is available to educators and can be accessed at the Modeling Instruction Program at Arizona State University: http://modeling.asu.edu/R&E/Research.html

Authors:
David Hestenes (Research Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Arizona State University)

Malcolm Wells (Deceased, Department of Science, Arizona State University)


Selected References:
Hestenes, D. & Wells, M. (1992). A Mechanics Baseline Test. The Physics Teacher, 30, 159-165.

Modeling Workshop Project. Modeling Instruction Program at Arizona State University. 12 December 2001. http://modeling.la.asu.edu/R&E/Research.html