Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Atoms, Molecules, and States of Matter ~ Item AM051005 ~ Student Performance

You drink all of the water from a plastic bottle. You put the cap on the bottle and tighten it. Then you put the bottle in the refrigerator. An hour later, you notice that the bottle is dented. Why is the bottle dented after being cooled in the refrigerator?

All the molecules of air went out of the bottle.
Heat molecules inside the bottle were destroyed.
The molecules of air inside the bottle broke down.
The molecules of air inside the bottle got closer together.

Distribution of responses
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 5456	6–8 n = 3784	9–12 n = 1661	Male n = 2658	Female n = 2731	English n = 4834	Other n = 533
A.	All the molecules of air went out of the bottle.	14%	15%	10%	14%	13%	13%	19%
B.	Heat molecules inside the bottle were destroyed.	15%	16%	13%	15%	15%	15%	22%
C.	The molecules of air inside the bottle broke down.	17%	19%	12%	16%	18%	17%	15%
D.	The molecules of air inside the bottle got closer together.	54%	50%	65%	55%	54%	55%	44%

Science Assessment

Item AM051005: When a sealed plastic bottle filled with air is placed in the refrigerator, the bottle becomees dented because molecules of air inside the bottle get closer together.