ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
When air or water moves to another location, it can change the temperature of the air or water at that location.
Item RG086002: When warmer river water flows into a lake with cooler water, the lake water will get warmer.
A river flows into a lake. The river water is warm, and the lake water is cold. What happens to the temperature of the lake water when the warm river water flows into the lake?
- The lake water will get cooler.
- The lake water will get warmer.
- The lake water will not change temperature.
- The lake water will only change temperature if the river water is much warmer than the lake water.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 492
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 1734 | 3607 | 48% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | 313 | 724 | 43% |
| 6–8 | 758 | 1565 | 48% |
| 9–12 | 663 | 1318 | 50% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 833 | 1676 | 50% |
| Female | 852 | 1836 | 46% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 1573 | 3199 | 49% |
| Other | 121 | 305 | 40% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.B Energy is spontaneously transferred out of hotter regions or objects and into colder ones.
- NRC Framework
- Heating is another process for transferring energy. Heat transfer occurs when two objects or systems are at different temperatures. Energy moves out of higher temperature objects and into lower temperature ones, cooling the former and heating the latter. This transfer happens in three different ways—by conduction within solids, by the flow of liquid or gas (convection), and by radiation, which can travel across space.