Original Project
Force and Motion
Item FM098002: A moving snowmobile will slow down the entire time that the force of the wind moving toward the snowmobile is greater than the force moving the snowmobile forward.
A person is riding a snowmobile in a snowy field. Suddenly, a very strong wind begins to blow toward the oncoming snowmobile, and the wind continues to blow for a while. During the time the wind is blowing, the force of the wind is greater than the force that is moving the snowmobile forward.
What will happen to the speed of the snowmobile while the strong wind is blowing?
- The snowmobile will slow down for a while and then move at a slower constant speed.
- The snowmobile will move at constant speed for a while, and then slow down.
- The snowmobile will move at constant speed the entire time.
- The snowmobile will slow down the entire time.
- Distribution of Responses
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1067 | 3522 | 30% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 665 | 2232 | 30% |
| 9–12 | 398 | 1281 | 31% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 552 | 1680 | 33% |
| Female | 487 | 1771 | 27% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 983 | 3174 | 31% |
| Other | 61 | 278 | 22% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS2.A The motion of an object is determined by the sum of the forces acting on it; if the total force on the object is not zero, its motion will change. The greater the mass of the object, the greater the force needed to achieve the same change in motion. For any given object, a larger force causes a larger change in motion.
PS2.A Newton's second law accurately predicts changes in the motion of macroscopic objects.