ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item EG091001: Two airplanes that are flying at same distance from the ground will have the same amount of gravitational potential energy if they have the same mass.
Two airplanes are flying in the sky. They are both the same distance above the ground. In order for the airplanes to have the same amount of gravitational potential energy, what else must be true?
- They must have the same mass.
- They must be flying at the same speed.
- They must have been flying for the same amount of time.
- Nothing else. Only their distance above the ground must be the same.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 495
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 624 | 1416 | 44% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | 134 | 299 | 45% |
| 6–8 | 217 | 568 | 38% |
| 9–12 | 273 | 549 | 50% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 300 | 673 | 45% |
| Female | 310 | 713 | 43% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 541 | 1220 | 44% |
| Other | 64 | 158 | 41% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.A A system of objects may also contain stored (potential) energy, depending on their relative positions.
- Notes
- The relationship between mass and gravitational potential energy is not addressed in NGSS.