Science Assessment ~ Items ~ RG032003

A person is going for a walk in the evening. To make sure that she can be seen, she carries a glow stick. In order for the glow stick to give off light, a chemical reaction has to take place inside the glow stick. Bending the stick breaks open a container inside the glow stick, which allows two chemicals to react with each other. When the reaction stops, light is no longer given off.

Which of the following statements is true about the chemical energy of the glow stick after the reaction is finished and the light is no longer produced?

The chemical energy of the glow stick after the reaction is less than it was before the reaction because energy was transferred out of the glow stick by light.
The chemical energy of the glow stick after the reaction is less than it was before the reaction because all chemical reactions release energy.
The chemical energy of the glow stick after the reaction is greater than it was before the reaction because all chemical reactions take in energy.
The chemical energy of the glow stick after the reaction is the same as it was before the reaction because chemical reactions involve changes in matter not changes in energy.

Details
Performance
NGSS

Topic
Correct Answer: A
Misconceptions

Distribution of Responses

Chart showing distrubtion of responses for Item 032003

Scale Score for Item Difficulty (200[Easy]-800[Difficult]): 519

Students Responding Correctly

Group	Correct	Total	Percent
Overall	534	1582	34%
Grades
4–5	41	110	37%
6–8	278	828	34%
9–12	215	644	33%
Gender
Male	270	740	36%
Female	256	810	32%
Primary Language
English	479	1435	33%
Other	41	111	37%

View data table

Disciplinary Core Ideas: PS1.B Some chemical reactions release energy, others store energy.

Science Assessment

Item RG032003: The chemical energy of a glow stick after the reaction is less than it was before the reaction because energy was transferred out of the glow stick by light.