ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item RG134002: An elevator carrying more mass will have more gravitational potential energy than an identical elevator carrying less mass because gravitational potential energy increases as mass increases.
An apartment building has two elevators as indicated in the figure below. Elevator A is traveling up to the tenth floor with passengers whose total mass is 300 kg. Elevator B is traveling down to the lobby with a group of passengers whose total mass is 200 kg. Elevator B is traveling faster than Elevator A.
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Which elevator has more gravitational potential energy at the exact moment when the two elevators are at the same height above the ground?
- Elevator A has more gravitational potential energy because it is going up, which requires more gravitational potential energy than going down.
- Elevator A has more gravitational potential energy because it has greater mass, and gravitational potential energy increases as mass increases.
- Elevator B has more gravitational potential energy because it is moving faster, and gravitational potential energy increases as speed increases.
- Elevators A and B have the same amount of gravitational potential energy because they are both the same height above the ground, and gravitational potential energy depends only on the height above the ground.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 520
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1164 | 3751 | 31% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | 175 | 741 | 24% |
| 6–8 | 442 | 1563 | 28% |
| 9–12 | 547 | 1447 | 38% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 547 | 1683 | 33% |
| Female | 576 | 1939 | 30% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 1059 | 3352 | 32% |
| Other | 68 | 257 | 26% |