This is the first part of a broader study, exploring the contextual variations of the responses of
149 first year (non-physics major) university students at two South African universities in Cape
Town. The data analysis was done in terms of the (i) forced choice responses (FCR), (ii) free
written responses and (iii) personal interviews. This paper presents the development of the
instrument (aspects of circuits questionnaire, or ACQ) used in the exploratory study and the results
obtained from the FCR analysis of 60 students. The results showed that the student responses are
triggered by the context framed by the questions and the results obtained from investigations using
light bulbs cannot be generalised and may be reinterpreted.