ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item RG043004: Gravitational potential energy exists on both the earth and the moon because all objects, including the earth and moon, exert attractive forces on all other objects.
In a classroom discussion, the students are talking about gravitational potential energy. One student claims that gravitational potential energy exists on earth and not on the moon. Do you agree or disagree with the student and why?
- I agree. Gravitational potential energy exists on the earth but not on the moon because the earth exerts an attractive force on other objects, and the moon does not.
- I agree. Gravitational potential energy exists on the earth but not on the moon because the moon does not have enough mass.
- I disagree. Gravitational potential energy exists on both the earth and the moon because all objects, including the earth and moon, exert attractive forces on all other objects.
- I disagree. Gravitational potential energy exists on both the earth and the moon because only very large objects exert attractive forces on other objects, and the earth and moon are large objects.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 497
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 659 | 1517 | 43% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 6–8 | 300 | 764 | 39% |
| 9–12 | 359 | 753 | 48% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 327 | 694 | 47% |
| Female | 320 | 792 | 40% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 576 | 1332 | 43% |
| Other | 64 | 137 | 47% |