ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item NG082004: When an apple falls from a tree, the apple has less energy when it is on the ground that it did when it was on the tree.
A scientist determines the total amount of energy an apple has while it is hanging on a tree. The apple falls from the tree to the ground. The scientist determines that the apple has less energy when it is on the ground than it did when it was on the tree. What happened to the energy of the apple?
- Some of the energy the apple had when it was on the tree was transferred somewhere else, like the ground or the air, because whenever energy is lost from somewhere, it must have gone somewhere else.
- Some of the energy the apple had when it was on the tree was changed into a force when it hit the ground because the energy of moving objects is changed into forces whenever objects hit each other.
- Some of the energy the apple had when it was on the tree was used up as the apple fell because energy is used up anytime an object moves.
- Some of the energy the apple had when it was on the tree was lost because objects lose energy when they move from a higher place to a lower place.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 524
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 474 | 1525 | 31% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | 28 | 78 | 36% |
| 6–8 | 238 | 851 | 28% |
| 9–12 | 208 | 596 | 35% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 253 | 749 | 34% |
| Female | 210 | 746 | 28% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 428 | 1370 | 31% |
| Other | 35 | 113 | 31% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.B Conservation of energy means that the total change of energy in any system is always equal to the total energy transferred into or out of the system.
PS3.B Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but it can be transported from one place to another and transferred between systems.