ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item RG200001: When a metal rod is heated at one end, energy transfers through the rod by random collisions of atoms.
An adult heats one end of a metal rod over a flame. Initially, the end closest to the flame is hotter than the other end of the rod. Which of the following correctly describes how energy is transferred through the rod?
- Energy is transferred through the rod by the friction that results when the atoms that make up the metal rub against one another.
- Energy is transferred through the rod by the movement of atoms from the hotter end of the rod to the cooler end.
- Energy is transferred through the rod by the random collisions of the atoms that make up the metal.
- Energy is transferred through the rod as heat moves past the atoms that make up the metal. The atoms that make up the metal do not move.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 557
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 943 | 5622 | 17% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 6–8 | 425 | 3004 | 14% |
| 9–12 | 518 | 2618 | 20% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 448 | 2565 | 17% |
| Female | 466 | 2931 | 16% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 823 | 5002 | 16% |
| Other | 86 | 475 | 18% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.B Energy is spontaneously transferred out of hotter regions or objects and into colder ones.
- NRC Framework
- PS3.A. Thermal energy is the random motion of particles (whether vibrations in solid matter or molecules or free motion in a gas), this energy is distributed among all the particles in a system through collisions and interactions at a distance.