Science Assessment ~ Items ~ NG092003

Imagine a ball on a track where no energy is transferred between the ball and the track or between the ball and the air around the ball. The ball is going fast enough at Position 1 so that it will go over a hill on the track and past Position 2. Position 1 and Position 2 are at the same height.

Will the amount of energy the ball has at Position 2 be more, less, or the same as the total amount of energy the ball had at Position 1? (Remember that no energy is transferred between the ball and the track or between the ball and the air around it.)

The amount of energy the ball has at Position 2 will be more than the amount of energy the ball had at Position 1.
The amount of energy the ball has at Position 2 will be less than the amount of energy the ball had at Position 1.
The amount of energy the ball has at Position 2 will be the same as the amount of energy the ball had at Position 1.
Whether the ball has more, less, or the same amount of energy at Position 2 than at Position 1 depends on the speed of the ball before it gets to the hill.

Details
Performance
NGSS

Topic: Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Correct Answer: C
Misconceptions

Distribution of Responses

Chart showing distrubtion of responses for Item EG092003

Scale Score for Item Difficulty (200[Easy]-800[Difficult]): 549

Students Responding Correctly

Group	Correct	Total	Percent
Overall	239	1121	21%
Grades
4–5	N/A	N/A	N/A
6–8	111	676	16%
9–12	128	445	29%
Gender
Male	127	545	23%
Female	108	556	19%
Primary Language
English	209	1006	21%
Other	26	103	25%

View data table

Disciplinary Core Ideas: PS3.B Conservation of energy means that the total change of energy in any system is always equal to the total energy transferred into or out of the system.

Science Assessment

Item NG092003: Assuming no energy transfer between a ball and the track it is moving in, the amount of energy the ball has after it goes over a hill will be the same as before it went over the hill.