ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item EG054003: Water has more thermal energy than ice because the molecules of water are moving faster than the molecules of ice.
A student has a glass of water and a block of ice. Both the water in the glass and the block of ice are made up of the same number of molecules. The average speed of the molecules of the water is greater than the average speed of the molecules of the block of ice. Which has more thermal energy and why?
- The ice has more thermal energy because it is a solid and the water is a liquid.
- The water has more thermal energy because the ice has no thermal energy but the water does.
- The water has more thermal energy because the molecules of the water are moving faster than the molecules of the ice.
- The water and the ice have the same amount of thermal energy because they are different forms of the same substance.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 473
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 684 | 1166 | 59% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 6–8 | 319 | 604 | 53% |
| 9–12 | 365 | 562 | 65% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 338 | 587 | 58% |
| Female | 328 | 551 | 60% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 602 | 1020 | 59% |
| Other | 66 | 115 | 57% |
- 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)...