Item EG047004: When the kinetic energy of molecules increases, the thermal energy of an object increases.
What happens to the thermal energy of an object when the kinetic energy (motion energy) of the molecules that make up the object increases?
- When the kinetic energy of the molecules increases, the thermal energy of the object increases.
- When the kinetic energy of the molecules increases, the thermal energy of the object decreases.
- Whether the thermal energy increases or decreases depends on whether the object is a solid, a liquid, or a gas.
- The thermal energy of the object will not change because thermal energy is not related to the kinetic energy of the molecules.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 489
- Students Responding Correctly
Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
---|---|---|---|
Overall | 516 | 1132 | 46% |
Grades | |||
4–5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
6–8 | 259 | 617 | 42% |
9–12 | 257 | 515 | 50% |
Gender | |||
Male | 240 | 556 | 43% |
Female | 264 | 553 | 48% |
Primary Language | |||
English | 456 | 994 | 46% |
Other | 46 | 109 | 42% |
- 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
- Thermal energy is the random motion of particles (whether vibrations in solid matter or molecules or free motion in a gas)...