Science Assessment ~ Items ~ NG061003

A cook heats an ear of corn in a pot of hot water. She takes the corn out of the hot water and puts it on a plate. Then she takes some butter out of the refrigerator. She cuts a piece of cold butter and places it on top of the hot corn.

Which of the following describes the transfer of energy between the corn and the butter?

Energy is not transferred between the corn and the butter.
Energy is transferred from the butter to the corn but not from the corn to the butter.
Energy is transferred from the corn to the butter because the corn is hotter than the butter.
Energy is transferred from the corn to the butter because the corn is a lot bigger than the piece of butter.

Topic
Correct Answer: C
Misconceptions

Distribution of Responses

Chart showing distrubtion of responses for Item 061003

Scale Score for Item Difficulty (200[Easy]-800[Difficult]): 453

Students Responding Correctly

Group	Correct	Total	Percent
Overall	899	1298	69%
Grades
4–5	152	227	67%
6–8	436	651	67%
9–12	311	420	74%
Gender
Male	427	645	66%
Female	456	627	73%
Primary Language
English	805	1127	71%
Other	80	144	56%

View data table

Disciplinary Core Ideas: PS3.B Energy is spontaneously transferred out of hotter regions or objects and into colder ones.

Science Assessment

Item NG061003: When cold butter is placed on top of hot corn, thermal energy is transferred from the corn to the butter but not from the butter to the corn.