ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item RG197001: The stronger the intermolecular forces, the greater the amount of elastic potential energy there is for a given length stretched.
A student has two rubber bands that look the same except that they are made out of different types of rubber. According to the manufacturer of the rubber bands, one rubber band has stronger intermolecular forces than the other. The student stretches each rubber band around two pegs so that the rubber bands are stretched the same length.
When the rubber bands are stretched the same length, which rubber band has more elastic potential energy?
- Both rubber bands have the same amount of elastic potential energy because they are stretched the same amount, and elastic potential energy depends only on how far an object is stretched.
- The rubber band with the stronger intermolecular forces has more elastic potential energy because the stronger the intermolecular forces, the greater the amount of elastic potential energy there is for a given length stretched.
- The rubber band with the weaker intermolecular forces has more elastic potential energy because the weaker the intermolecular forces, the easier it is to stretch.
- Neither rubber band has any elastic potential energy because they lost their elastic potential energy when they were stretched.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 489
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1193 | 2504 | 48% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 6–8 | 650 | 1405 | 46% |
| 9–12 | 543 | 1099 | 49% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 535 | 1149 | 47% |
| Female | 626 | 1295 | 48% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 1056 | 2202 | 48% |
| Other | 100 | 230 | 43% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.A A system of objects may also contain stored (potential) energy, depending on their relative positions.
PS3.A These relationships are better understood at the microscopic scale, at which all of the different manifestations of energy can be modeled as a combination of energy associated with the motion of particles and energy associated with the configuration (relative position of the particles). In some cases the relative position energy can be thought of as stored in fields (which mediate interactions between particles). This last concept includes radiation, a phenomenon in which energy stored in fields moves across space.