ASPECt
Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation
Item EG061004: For two ice cubes at the same temperature, the ice cube with the smaller mass has less thermal energy.
A student has two ice cubes. Ice Cube 1 and Ice Cube 2 are at the same temperature. The mass of Ice Cube 1 is greater than the mass of Ice Cube 2.
Which ice cube has less thermal energy and why?
- Ice Cube 1 has less thermal energy because it has more cold than Ice Cube 2.
- Ice Cube 2 has less thermal energy because it has less mass than Ice Cube 1.
- Ice Cube 1 and Ice Cube 2 have the same amount of thermal energy because thermal energy does not depend on mass.
- Ice Cube 1 and Ice Cube 2 do not have any thermal energy because frozen things do not have thermal energy.
- Distribution of Responses
- Scale Score for Item Difficulty
(200[Easy]-800[Difficult]) - 506
- Students Responding Correctly
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 747 | 1901 | 39% |
| Grades | |||
| 4–5 | 148 | 345 | 43% |
| 6–8 | 330 | 773 | 43% |
| 9–12 | 269 | 783 | 34% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 320 | 885 | 36% |
| Female | 414 | 979 | 42% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 661 | 1701 | 39% |
| Other | 66 | 150 | 44% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- PS3.A Temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles of matter. The relationship between the temperature and the total energy of a system depends on the types, states, and amounts of matter present.
- NRC Framework
- Thermal energy is the random motion of particles (whether vibrations in solid matter or molecules or free motion in a gas)...
- Matter at any temperature above absolute zero contains thermal energy.