Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Models ~ Misconception MOM006

The more a model is similar to what is being modeled (particularly with respect to physical similarities), the better the model is (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.).

Items that test for misconception MOM006 in this project (Original Project) and key idea (The usefulness of a model in thinki…)
Item ID Number	Item Description	How Often the Misconception was Chosen
MO063004	If a student wants to make a model of the solar system to think about how long it would take a spaceship to travel between the planets, it is essential to accurately represent the relative sizes and distances, but it is not essential to make each model planet look like the planet it represents.	55%
MO062002	If a student makes a model of the solar system to think about how long it would take a spaceship to travel between the planets, it is essential for him to accurately represent the relative sizes of and distances between the planets, but it is not essential that he makes the model of each planet look like the planet it represents.	55%
MO060002	Whether a globe or a wold map is a better model of the earth depends on the task they will be used for.	45%
MO061003	If a student is studying how long it would take a spaceship to go between different planets in the solar system, his model should accurately represent the relative distances between the planets, but does not need to accurately represent other aspects of the solar system.	31%