Successful science students have mastered their field of study by being able to apply their learned knowledge and problem solving skills on tests. Problem solving skills must be used to figure out the answer to many classes of questions. What this study is trying to determine is how students solve complex science problems in an academic setting in order to inform the development of problem solving skills in the classroom. Students' use of problem solving skills in the form of learned concepts and procedural knowledge was studied as students completed a possible "real-life" science problem. (Contains 7 tables.)