ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item RG037003: As sound moves through air, molecules that make up air vibrate and collide with each other. As the molecules collide, energy is transferred from one molecule to the next.
Which of the following correctly describes how energy is transferred as sound moves through air?
- As sound moves through air, molecules that make up air vibrate and collide with each other. As the molecules collide, energy is transferred from one molecule to the next.
- As sound moves through air, molecules that make up air travel from the source of the sound to the receiver. As the molecules move, energy is transferred.
- Loud sounds will cause the molecules that make up air to vibrate and transfer energy from the source of the sound to the receiver, but quiet sounds will not.
- Sound transfers energy by traveling between the molecules that make up air without causing them to vibrate.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 499
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 636 | 1431 | 44% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 6–8 | 290 | 759 | 38% |
| 9–12 | 346 | 672 | 51% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 281 | 689 | 41% |
| Female | 346 | 719 | 48% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 585 | 1292 | 45% |
| Other | 37 | 105 | 35% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.A Energy can be moved from place to place by moving objects or through sound, light, or electric currents.
PS4.A Sound can make matter vibrate, and vibrating matter can make sound. - NRC Framework
- ...a sound wave is a moving pattern of particle vibrations that transmits energy through a medium.