The Science P Reasoning Inventory (SPR-I)

Form B

An instrument for measuring conceptual advances

in primary school scientific reasoning

Christopher Osterhaus
Susanne Koerber · Beate Sodian
 The Science P Reasoning Inventory (SPR-I)

Form B

Christopher Osterhaus
Susanne Koerber
Beate Sodian

All authors contributed equally to this work.

The SPR-I was developed in the project Science-P—“Development of Science

Competencies in Primary School,” which was funded by the German Research Council
(DFG) within the Priority Program “Models of Competencies for Assessment of
Individual Learning Outcomes and the Evaluation of Educational Processes”
(SPP 1293, SO 213/29-2; KO 2276/4-3).

For further information on test construction and administration, see the manual as
well as Osterhaus, Koerber, & Sodian (2020). Additional materials can be obtained
from osf.io/34dsk/

Osterhaus, C., Koerber, S., & Sodian, B. (2020). The Science-P Reasoning Inventory
(SPR-I): Measuring Emerging Scientific-Reasoning Skills in Primary School.
Supplementary Material. International Journal of Science Education.
doi:10.1080/09500693.2020.1748251

By using this material, you agree to cite the published

version of the instrument.

© The Authors, 2020

A01: Scientist (NOS)

Luke, Marc, and Tom want to become scientists.

They have several ideas about what a scientist does.

Do they have a good idea about what a scientist does?

Not
A good
a good
idea
idea

1. Luke believes: Many scientists

invent new things and help
people.

2. Marc believes: Many scientists try

to find explanations for what they
can observe in the world.

3. Tom believes: Many scientists do

experiments in order to find
something out.

Who has the best idea of what a scientist does? No.______

2
A02: Airplane (Experimentation)

Mr. Miller builds airplanes. He wants

them to use as little fuel as possible.

He has various ideas about what

influences the fuel consumption of an
airplane.
He thinks: round nose sharp nose

A plane can have a round or a sharp

nose.

He thinks:
tail wing tail wing
high low
The tail wing could be attached high or
low.

He thinks:

A plane can have double or simple

wings. double wings simple wings

Mr. Miller believes:

It depends on whether the tail wing is

attached high or low.

What should Mr. Miller do to find out if the position of the tail wing is
important or not for the fuel consumption?

Do Don’t do

1. Mr. Miller should build a few planes and see how

much fuel they consume.

2. Mr. Miller should build two planes: one with the

tail wing high and one with it low. They must
otherwise be identical.

3. Mr. Miller should build two different planes, each

with the tail wing in a different position.

Which one is the best answer? No.______

3
A03: Middle Ages (NOS)

Long ago, in the Middle Ages, people

believed there are witches who could
make people sick.

A modern-day scientist traveled back

to the Middle Ages with a time
machine.

Scientists in the Middle Ages thought

that witches can make people sick.
The modern-day scientist believes that
bacteria can make people sick.

The modern-day scientist shows the

scientist from the Middle Ages the
bacteria under the microscope and
explains: “These bacteria are the
reason why people get sick!”

What will the scientist from the Middle Ages say to this?

He He
would would
say not say
this this

1. “Of course, you’re right. Bacteria make people sick,

not witches.”

2. “Bacteria could be the witches’ little helpers.”

3. “It may be true that there are bacteria here, but

witches are still the ones who make people sick.”

Which is the best answer? No. ______

4
A04: Simans (Data interpretation)

On the planet “Sima” there are flowers.

Whenever the Simans pick these flowers the
Simans become either tired or wide awake.
Researchers wanted to find out why.
They think about whether the reason might
be

… the size?
big small

… the color?
red blue

…the leaves?
with leaves without leaves

… the prickles?

with prickles without prickles

The researchers conducted a study. The Simans picked different flowers. Then
the researchers documented whether the Simans became tired or wide awake.

Look at the two tables in the picture. There you see what the researchers
found out.

Wide awake tired

5
The researchers found out, that it doesn’t matter, whether the flowers are
big or small. Sometimes the Simans were tired and sometimes they were
wide awake.

Look at the picture again!

Wide awake tired

How would the researchers justify their opinion?

The researchers could say: “It does not matter They They
whether the flowers are big or small… would would not
say this say this

1. because the Simans who are wide awake picked

both big and small flowers, and so did the tired
Simans.”

2. because the big flowers used to be small.”

3. because big flowers made the Simans wide awake

and so did small flowers.”

Which is the best answer? No.______

6
A05: Theory (NOS)

With a theory one

The children in grade 3 learn about tries to explain why
what a theory is. things in the world
are as they are.

Mrs. Schmidt explains:

Who has a good example of a theory?

Not a
Good
good
example
example

1. Simon believes that children get bad

grades because they don’t do their
homework.

2. Luke believes that 1 + 1 = 2

because every little child knows this.

3. Alex believes that the earth rotates

because he has a globe at home.

Who has the best example for a theory? No.______

7
A06: Witch (Data interpretation)

In the village Herbmeadow, there lives an old lady

who knows a lot about herbs.
She wants to brew a herbal potion that cures
belly pain.
She has a lot of herbs but is unsure about which
ones to use:

Dried or fresh herbs?

dried fresh

Field or forest herbs?

field herbs forest herbs

With or without root?

with root without root

The old lady brews several potions and tries them on the villagers who have
belly pain. Then, she sees which herbs cure the villagers and which herbs do
not.
Look at the pictures and see what the old lady found out.

healthy sick

8
 Take another close look at the pictures!

healthy
sick

Which herbs cured the villagers? What would the old lady say?

The old lady would say: She

She
would
would
not say
say this
this

1. “The roots cured the villagers. Because the strength

lies in the root.”

2. “It could be both the fresh herbs and the roots that
cured the villagers.”

3. “The fresh herbs cured the villagers because

everyone who drank the potion with fresh herbs does
not have belly pain anymore.”

Which is the best answer? No.______

9
A07: Floating and Sinking (CVS)

Sandra wants to find out what makes the water level in a tank rise when you put
a cube into it. (The cube sinks.)
Sandra has different ideas. First, she wants to test the following idea:
Large cubes make the water level rise higher than small cubes!

Sandra wants to test her idea. To do so, she takes two tanks with the same
amount of water in them. Now she can put a cube in every tank and compare
them to see in which tank the water level rises higher.

Sandra thinks about which cubes she should use in order to show that large
cubes make the water level rise higher than small cubes.

How can Sandra show that large cubes make the water level rise
higher than small cubes?
Not a
A good
good
idea
idea

1. She can take a large 100 g 50 g

and a small cube that
are of different weight.

2. She can take a large

50 g
and a small cube that 50 g
are of the same
weight.

3. She can take cubes 50 g

100 g
that are of different
size and different 100 g 50 g
weight.

Which is the best answer? No.______

10
A08: The aardvark (Experimentation)

Paula and Susi own a new pet.

It is a very rare animal, an “Our pet has a “Our pet doesn’t
aardvark. good sense of have a good
smell!” sense of smell!”

Paula and Susi have different

views on whether their new pet has
a good sense of smell or not.

They take a box, strongly smelling

cheese, and weakly smelling
bread.
Now they think about where to put
the cheese or the bread in order to
find out if their pet has a fine nose
or not.

Where should Paula and Susi put the cheese or the bread in order to find
out whether their pet has a good sense of smell or not?

correct incorrect

1.
bread in the box

2.

cheese in the box

3.

cheese on top of the

box]

Which is the best answer? No.______

11
A09: Grades (NOS)

Anna thinks that you gets excellent grades when you

always do your homework.

Paul does not do his homework very often. He says: “I

know it anyway.” He has excellent grades.

What does Anna think?

This is
This is
what
what
Anna
Anna
does not
thinks
think

1. “Paul studies secretly.

2. “Paul is very smart; he knows that anyway.”

3. “The exam was too easy.”

What does Anna think most likely? No.______

12
A10: Planet Lila (Experimentation)

Lilans live on the planet “Lila”. For

quite a while they observed that small
green animals come from a hole in
the ground every morning.

They want to find out why.

The Lilans think that that the green

animals only come out of their hole
during the day.

They have several ideas about how

During
to test their idea. the day!

Which ideas do you think are good and which are not so good?

A good Not a
idea good idea

1. We sit in front of the hole and observe when the green

animals come out of their hole. We then write down
what we have seen.

2. We observe the hole during the night. If the green

animals then come out of their hole we know that our
idea was wrong.

3. We put a piece of salami in front of the hole and

observe if the green animals then come out of their
hole.

Which one is the best idea? No.______

13
A11: Mistakes in science (NOS)

Scientists investigate nature and make a lot of new discoveries.

Can scientists be wrong?

correct incorrect

1. Their basic assumptions can be wrong.

2. Scientists know a lot. Therefore, they are usually

not wrong.

3. Sometimes they work with equipment that does

not work. Then errors may occur.

Which is the best answer? No.______

14
A12: Imps (NOS)

Once upon a time, people believed in

imps, who can cure sick people.

Whenever people became sick, they

visited the imps. After a visit to the
imps, the sick people were healthy
again.

On their way to the imps, the sick

people also always collected and ate
herbs.

What did these people believe about why they were cured?

This is This is not

what they what they
believed believed

1. “One needs both: Herbs and imps.”

2. “The imps cured us.”

3. “The herbs that we collected cured us.”

Which is the best answer? No.______

15
A13: Hypothesis (NOS)

A hypothesis is a scientific guess that can be tested.

Michael thinks about what is a good

example of a hypothesis.

What is a good example of a hypothesis?

not a
a good
good
example
example

1. There are a lot of

different kinds of
whales.

2. In order to make
pizza dough you
need yeast, flour,
salt, and water.

3. Sunflowers that
are fertilized
grow bigger.

Which is the best answer? No.______

16
A14: Ravians (Data interpretation)

On the planet “Ravi” there are stones that make

the Ravians either happy or sad.
Researchers want to find out why these stones
make the Ravians happy or sad.

That have different ideas. Is it because of…

… the color?
light dark

…the size?
big small

…the form?
round square

…the surface?
smooth rough

The researchers did a study. They gave the Ravians different stones. Then
they documented whether the Ravians became happy or sad.

Look at the two pictures. There you see what the researchers found out.

happy sad

17
The researchers realized that – based on these pictures – they cannot say
why the Ravians became happy or sad.

Look at the picture once more!

happy sad

What would the scientists say?

They They
The scientists could say: would say would not
this say this

1. You cannot tell because it could be because of the

color or the surface.

2. You cannot tell because light stones make people

happy and rough stones make people sad.

3. You cannot tell because rough stones can hurt the

hands and that makes sad.

Which is the best answer? No.______

18
A15: Book titles (Data interpretation)

Bodo believes:
“It does not matter how long I read;
the number of book titles that I can
remember always is the same.”

Steve, Nico, and Tom want to draw a

picture that shows what Bodo believes.

Do the pictures show what Bodo believes?

19
 Do the pictures show what Bodo believes? “It does yes no
not matter how long I read; the number of book
titles that I can remember always is the same.”

1. Steve’s Number of book titles

picture. 50 50

45 45

40 40

35 35

30 30

25 25

20 20

15 15

10 10

5 5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Time spent reading

2. Nico’s Number of book titles

picture. 50

45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Time spent reading

3. Tom’s Number of book titles

picture. 50
45

40

35

30

25

20

15

10

0 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1
Time spent reading
10

Which picture shows what Bodo believes the best? No.______

20
A16b: Food pills (Data interpretation)

Two scientists disagree about

whether feeding dogs with a new
food pill is related to the growth of
their fur.

The two scientists conduct a study:

They give the new food pill to 20
dogs. They write down how many
food pills the dogs get and how
long their fur grows.

Then, they present their results in some pictures, which are called diagrams.
Below you can see different diagrams. These show different results.

Which diagrams show that the new food pill has nothing to do with the
growth of the dog fur.

21
 Which diagrams show that the new food pill has nothing to do with the
growth of the dog fur.
diagram shows diagram does not
that the food show that the
pills have food pills have
nothing to do nothing to do
1. Length of the fur in cm
10
9
●
●
8
● ●
7
●
6 ●

5 ● ●
● ●
4 ●
● ●
3 ●
●
2
● ●
1 ● ●

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Number of food pills

2. Length of the fur in cm

10
9

4 ● ● ● ● ●

3 ● ● ● ● ●

2 ● ● ● ● ●

1 ● ● ● ● ●

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Number of food pills

3. Length of the fur in cm
10 ●
●
9 ●
●
8 ●
●
7 ●
●
6 ●
●
5 ●
●
4 ●
●
3 ●
●
2 ●
●
1 ●
●
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Number of food pills

Which diagram shows best that the food

pills have nothing to do with the growth No.______
of the fur?

22
A17b: Principal (Experimentation)

The students in School X get

very bad grades. According to
the principal, there could be
three reasons:

1. The teachers are too strict. ?

2. The students are too lazy.
3. The classrooms are too small and the
students cannot concentrate well.

In the neighboring school, the

students get very good
grades. The principal asks his
colleague about the size of
the classrooms in that school.

Indeed, the classrooms of the

neighboring school are much
bigger.

The principal thinks that the

students from his school get
bad grades because the
classrooms are too small and
the students cannot
concentrate well.

Is the principal right?

yes no

1. No, he is not right. The principal should have asked

more than one other school.

2. Yes, he is right. Students cannot concentrate in small

rooms.

3. No, he is not right. Also, it could also be that the

teachers in his school are too strict or the students
too lazy.

Which is the best answer? Nr.______

23
A18b: Horses (NOS)

Two animal researchers have different ideas about why some horses are easy
and others are difficult to ride.

Animal researcher Dr. Fearless Animal researcher Dr. Restless

thinks: thinks:
“The reason are “The reason are
the horse’s the horses’
parents!” riders!”

Both think that they are right.

Animal researcher Dr. Fearless

observes:
Horses who are difficult to ride also
have parents who are difficult to
ride.

Animal researcher Dr. Restless

observes
Horses who are difficult to ride
have riders who treated them
badly.

Who is right?

agree disagree

1. Animal researcher Dr. Fearless is right because he

found out that horses who are difficult to ride also have
parents who are difficult to ride.

2. Both could be right because some horses are difficult

to ride by birth and others become difficult to ride
when they are treated badly.

3. You cannot tell who is right because animal

researcher Dr. Fearless only studied the parents and
animal researcher Dr. Restless only studied the riders.

Which is the best answer? No.______

24
A19b: Scientist (NOS)

Mary, Paula, and Andrea are

thinking about what scientists do.

Whose daddy is a scientist?

Not a
Scientist
scientist

1. Mary says: “My daddy tests

different kinds of rubber for winter
tires in order to find out which ones
have the best grip.”

2. Paula says: “My daddy uses a

stopwatch to measure how long the
cars with different winter tires take
from go 0 to 100 km/h.”

3. Andrea says: “My daddy works in a

big company and tests winter tires
there, he makes sure that there are
no holes in them.”

Whose daddy is the best example of what

No.______
scientists do?

25