Name _________________________
Date: ____________
Pre-Assessment Activity for the Concept of Scale
1. Arrange the items on the cards in order from smallest to largest in terms of their actual
size. Remember that the drawings are not the same size as the actual objects. Describe
any reasons you used to order the objects. Record the letters of the objects in the spaces
below:
_____ < _____ < _____ <_____ < _____ < _____ <_____ < _____ <_____ < _____
Smallest
Largest
Reasons:
2. Imagine that you have been shrunken to one-thousandth of your current size. How would
your perspectives about and interactions with the world around you be different?
3. Give an example of a situation where a change in surface area affects the behavior of a
substance and describe the change in behavior that occurs.
Andersen & Schmidt, 2011
4. What is scale? Why is it important? Create a web of what you understand about scale by
depicting ideas and how they relate in the circles provided.
_____
_____
_____
_____
____
_____
_____
Scale
_____
_____
_____
_____
A
Length of a
grain of rice
F
B
Diameter of a
carbon nanotube
G
C
Diameter of
an animal cell
H
D
E
Diameter of
Diameter of a
a quarter
water molecule
I
J
Length of
Diameter of
Diameter of
Diameter of a
a penny
an amoeba
Cards for object sorting task in the Scale Pre-Assessment
Hydrogen atom
Diameter of
an ant
a virus
Pre-Assessment for Scale - Rubric
1. (9 points) Correct Ranking from smallest to largest: H, E, B, I, F, C, J, A, G, D.
 (up to 4 points) Correctly arranging groups of items: human-sized (nickel,
penny); small but visible with your eye (hair, ant); microscale (bacterium,
animal cell); nanoscale (virus, carbon nanotube); picoscale (oxygen atom,
water molecule).
i. 1 point – coins are the largest
ii. 1 point – atoms and molecules are the smallest
iii. 1 point – visible > microscale & nanoscale items
iv. 1 point – microscale > nanoscale
 (5 points) Correctly arranging objects within a group. Groups are listed from
largest to smallest.
i. Human-sized (quarter > penny)
ii. Visible (rice > ant)
iii. Microscale (cell > amoeba)
iv. Nanoscale (virus > carbon nanotube)
v. Picoscale (water molecule > hydrogen atom)
2. (2 points) One point for each:
 Understanding that objects that were once small to you will now seem large.
 Indication of complications or obstacles as a result of your change in size and
perspective. For example, you could fall into a crack in the sidewalk.
3. (3 points) One point for:
 correct situation that uses a change in surface area (eg. Cutting up a hot
potato, crushed ices vs. cube ice, etc…)
 describing the behavior change (eg. Potato cools quicker, Ice melts faster,
etc.)
 relating this to the change in the proportion of surface area to inner volume.
4. Rate student concept attainment using the rubric:
Beginning
Developing
Competent
Proficient
Level of
Understanding
The learner
communicates
the term
associated with
the abstract
concept.
The learner
paraphrases
the definition of
the concept.
The learner
provides
examples and
nonexamples of
the concept.
TLP key
attributes that
distinguish the
concept
category.
TL links the
concept with
other related
concepts.
Example
Scale
Scale is a
classification of
size that
groups objects
by common
rules that
govern
interactions
and behavior.
Examples:
Picoscale
Nanoscale
Microscale
Human scale
Properties
Behavior
Interactions
“Objects that
are at different
scales have
unique
properties that
are beneficial in
creating new
technologies.”
Nonexamples:
Marbles
compared to
bowling balls,
although there is
a difference in
size, both objects
are on the human
scale.
Note: Item 1 Adapted from (Tretter, Jones, Negishi, & Minogue, 2006)
Concept Attainment Rubric from Parallel Curriculum Model
Expert
Post-Assessment Activity for the Concept of Scale
1. Arrange the items on the cards in order from smallest to largest in terms of their actual
size. Remember that the drawings are not the same size as the actual objects. Describe
any reasons you used to order the objects. Record the letters of the objects in the spaces
below:
_____ < _____ < _____ <_____ < _____ < _____ <_____ < _____ <_____ < _____
Smallest
Largest
Reasons:
2. How is the nanoscale world different from the human scale word? Give an example and
explain why the difference occurs.
3. Give an example of a situation where surface area to volume ratio affects behavior at the
nanoscale and describe the change in behavior that occurs.
4. What is scale? Why is it important? Create a web of what you understand about scale by
depicting ideas and how they relate in the circles provided.
_____
_____
_____
_____
____
_____
_____
Scale
_____
_____
_____
_____
A
B
C
D
E
Thickness of a
Diameter of a
human hair
carbon nanotube
Diameter of
Diameter of an
Diameter of a
a nickel
water molecule
I
J
animal cell
F
G
H
Length of
Length of
a bacterium
Diameter of
Diameter of
a penny
an Oxygen atom
Cards for object sorting task in the Scale Post-Assessment
Diameter of
an ant
a virus
Post-Assessment for Scale - Rubric
1.
(9 points) Correct order from smallest to largest: H, E, B, I, F, C, A, J, G, D.
a. (up to 4 points) Correctly arranging groups of items: human-sized (nickel, penny);
small but visible with your eye (hair, ant); microscale (bacterium, animal cell);
nanoscale (virus, carbon nanotube); picoscale (oxygen atom, water molecule).
i. 1 point – coins are the largest
ii. 1 point – atoms and molecules are the smallest
iii. 1 point – visible > microscale & nanoscale items
iv. 1 point – microscale > nanoscale
b. (5 points) Correctly arranging objects within a group. Groups are listed from
largest to smallest.
i. Human-sized (nickel > penny)
ii. Visible (ant > hair)
iii. Microscale (cell > bacterium)
iv. Nanoscale (virus > carbon nanotube)
v. Picoscale (water molecule > oxygen atom)
vi.
2. (2 points) One point for each:
 Example of a difference that occurs at the nanoscale. Examples include:
substances are more reactive, color changes, or other property change.
 Correct explanation for that difference. For example: substances are more
reactive because surface area to volume ratio is much larger, more exposed
surface. Color changes because of electron configurations, etc.
3. (3 points) One point for:
 a correct situation that uses a change in surface area (eg. Colloidal silver,
etc…)
 describing the behavior change (eg. Colloidal silver is more reactive, etc.)
 relating this to the change in the proportion of surface area to inner volume.

Rate student concept attainment using the rubric:
Beginning
Developing
Competent
Proficient
Level of
Understanding
The learner
communicates
the term
associated with
the abstract
concept.
The learner
paraphrases
the definition of
the concept.
The learner
provides
examples and
nonexamples of
the concept.
TLP key
attributes that
distinguish the
concept
category.
TL links the
concept with
other related
concepts.
Example
Scale
Scale is a
classification of
size that
groups objects
by common
rules that
govern
interactions
and behavior.
Examples:
Picoscale
Nanoscale
Microscale
Human scale
Properties
Behavior
Interactions
“Objects that
are at different
scales have
unique
properties that
are beneficial in
creating new
technologies.”
Nonexamples:
Marbles
compared to
bowling balls,
although there is
a difference in
size, both objects
are on the human
scale.
Note: Item 1 Adapted from (Tretter, Jones, Negishi, & Minogue, 2006)
Concept Attainment Rubric from Parallel Curriculum Model
Expert