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Item CL016002: Warm air around an electric heater will rise toward the ceiling, move toward the walls, and then sink back to the floor.

The heater in the room shown below is continuously warming the air around it so that the air near the heater is much warmer than the air in the rest of the room.

What happens to the air around the heater as it is warmed?

  1. It rises toward the ceiling and stays there.
  2. It rises toward the ceiling, but it does not stay there. It moves toward the walls before it eventually sinks back down to the floor.
  3. It rises toward the ceiling, but it does not stay there or move toward the walls. Instead, it sinks back down to the floor.
  4. It moves away from the heater in all directions until it fills the room.
Distribution of responses
Answer Choice
Overall
Grades
Gender
Primary Language
 
n = 2106
6–8
n = 1029
9–12
n = 1067
Male
n = 1031
Female
n = 1015
English
n = 1726
Other
n = 262
A. 19% 19% 18% 20% 17% 19% 19%
B. 34% 32% 37% 34% 35% 34% 27%
C. 20% 20% 19% 22% 17% 20% 21%
D. 27% 29% 25% 24% 31% 27% 33%