ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item RG078003: Each time a person used a flashlight some of the energy from the battery was transferred to the surrounding environment. Eventually all of the energy became uniformly distributed in the surrounding environment and was no longer available to make the flashlight work.
A person put a battery into a flashlight. She used the flashlight several times over the next few months. After a while, the flashlight no longer worked, and the person had to put a new battery in the flashlight to make it work again. What happened to the energy that was in the original battery?
- Each time the person used the flashlight some of the energy from the battery was destroyed. Eventually all of the energy was destroyed and no longer exists.
- Each time the person used the flashlight some of the energy from the battery was transferred to the surrounding environment. Eventually all of the energy became uniformly distributed in the surrounding environment and was no longer available to make the flashlight work.
- Each time the person used the flashlight some of the energy from the battery was transferred to the surroundings. All of the energy remained as useful as it was before, but it was now located in a different place.
- Each time the person used the flashlight some of the energy from the battery was transferred to the surroundings, and some of the energy was destroyed. The energy that was transferred to the surrounding environment was still as useful as it was before in other processes, but the energy that was destroyed no longer exists.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 511
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 993 | 2803 | 35% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 6–8 | 444 | 1390 | 32% |
| 9–12 | 549 | 1413 | 39% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 461 | 1307 | 35% |
| Female | 503 | 1421 | 35% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 907 | 2525 | 36% |
| Other | 54 | 193 | 28% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.B Uncontrolled systems always evolve toward more stable states--that is, toward more uniform energy distribution (e.g., water flows downhill, objects hotter than their surrounding environment cool down).
- NRC Framework
- When machines or animals “use” energy (e.g., to move around), most often the energy is transferred to heat the surrounding environment.