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Item RG064002: The amount of kinetic energy a white ball has after being hit by a black ball is less than the amount of kinetic energy the black ball had before the collision because when energy was transferred from the black ball to the white ball, some energy was also transferred to the surroundings.

Two students are playing a game with marbles on a sidewalk. A black marble is rolled and hits a white marble. When they hit, the black marble stops rolling and the white marble starts rolling.

How does the amount of kinetic energy (motion energy) the white ball has after the collision compare to the amount of kinetic energy the black ball has before the collision?

  1. The amount of kinetic energy the white ball has after the collision is more than the amount of kinetic energy the black ball had before the collision because kinetic energy was created during the collision.
  2. The amount of kinetic energy the white ball has after the collision is less than the amount of kinetic energy the black ball had before the collision because some energy was destroyed during the collision.
  3. The amount of kinetic energy the white ball has after the collision is less than the amount of kinetic energy the black ball had before the collision because when energy was transferred from the black ball to the white ball, some energy was also transferred to the surroundings and converted into thermal energy.
  4. The amount of kinetic energy the white ball has after the collision is the same as the amount of kinetic energy the black ball had before the collision because the black ball stopped moving. All of the black ball’s kinetic energy was transferred to the white ball during the collision.
Distribution of Responses
Chart showing distrubtion of responses for Item 064002
Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult])
535
Students Responding Correctly
Group Correct Total Percent
Overall 500 1856 27%
Grades
  4–58035922%
  6–8 184 790 23%
  9–12 236 707 33%
Gender
  Male24187428%
  Female25194826%
Primary Language
  English429164726%
  Other5016131%

View data table