Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation ~ Item RG019004 ~ Student Performance

The air in the room pictured is cool. A fire is warming the air near the fireplace. There is a fan next to the fireplace.

If a person turns on the fan to blow the warmer air across the room, will the air at the other end of the room get any warmer? Why or why not?

No, because fans are only used to cool a room, they cannot be used to warm a room.
No, because all of the air in a room is the same temperature, a blowing fan will not change the air temperature.
Yes, because a fan can blow warmer air across a room, which makes the other end of the room warmer.
It depends on the temperature of the air being blown by the fan. The air at the other end of a room will get warmer only if the air near the fire is a lot warmer than the air at the other end of the room.

CHA modified from CL15-2

Distribution of responses
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades			Gender		Primary Language
		n = 4673	4–5 n = 850	6–8 n = 1961	9–12 n = 1862	Male n = 2148	Female n = 2418	English n = 4246	Other n = 293
A.	No, because fans are only used to cool a room, they cannot be used to warm a room.	18%	28%	17%	15%	15%	20%	17%	21%
B.	No, because all of the air in a room is the same temperature, a blowing fan will not change the air temperature.	10%	13%	9%	10%	10%	9%	10%	13%
C.	Yes, because a fan can blow warmer air across a room, which makes the other end of the room warmer.	27%	27%	27%	26%	32%	22%	27%	27%
D.	It depends on the temperature of the air being blown by the fan. The air at the other end of a room will get warmer only if the air near the fire is a lot warmer than the air at the other end of the room.	45%	32%	48%	49%	42%	49%	46%	38%

Science Assessment