Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Force and Motion ~ Item FM011005 ~ Student Performance

In the drawing below, the arrows labeled WIND and WATER represent forces acting on a sailboat during a certain period of time. During this period of time, the force of the wind on the sailboat is stronger than the force of the water on the sailboat. The directions of the arrows show the directions of the forces, and the lengths of the arrows represent the strengths of the forces.

Which statement describes the sailboat's motion while these forces are acting?

The sailboat will speed up for a short time and then move at constant speed.
The sailboat will speed up for a short time and then slow down.
The sailboat will move at constant speed the entire time.
The sailboat will speed up the entire time.

Distribution of responses
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades		Gender		Primary Language
		n = 1713	6–8 n = 1100	9–12 n = 613	Male n = 839	Female n = 849	English n = 1578	Other n = 99
A.	The sailboat will speed up for a short time and then move at constant speed.	30%	30%	32%	29%	31%	31%	23%
B.	The sailboat will speed up for a short time and then slow down.	17%	18%	15%	15%	20%	17%	26%
C.	The sailboat will move at constant speed the entire time.	36%	34%	39%	37%	35%	36%	35%
D.	The sailboat will speed up the entire time.	16%	18%	14%	19%	14%	17%	15%

Science Assessment

Item FM011005: The speed of a sailboat will continue to increase the entire time the force of the wind pushing it forward is greater than the force of the water slowing it down.