Original Project
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item EG028004: For two balloons that contain the same amount of air, the air with the lower temperature has less thermal energy than the air with the higher temperature.
Balloon 1 and Balloon 2 are filled with the same amount of air. The air in Balloon 1 is cooled so that it is at a lower temperature than the air in Balloon 2. The air in which of these balloons has less thermal energy?
- The air in Balloon 1 has less thermal energy.
- The air in Balloon 2 has less thermal energy.
- The air in Balloon 1 and the air in Balloon 2 have the same amount of thermal energy.
- Neither the air in Balloon 1 nor the air in Balloon 2 has any thermal energy.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 475
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1559 | 2987 | 52% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 875 | 1683 | 52% |
| 9–12 | 677 | 1293 | 52% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 757 | 1456 | 52% |
| Female | 776 | 1476 | 53% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 1396 | 2618 | 53% |
| Other | 125 | 288 | 43% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.A Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles of matter. The relationship between the temperature and the total energy of a system depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter present.
- NRC Framework
- PS3.A Thermal energy is the random motion of particles (whether vibrations in solid matter or molecules or free motion in a gas)...