Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation ~ Item NG067003 ~ Student Performance

A ball, starting from rest at Position 1, rolls back and forth along a curved track and eventually stops rolling. As the ball rolls along the curved track, the track and the ball get a little warmer.

How does the total energy of the ball and track system change as the ball rolls along the track? (Assume that no energy is transferred to or from the surroundings.)

The total energy of the ball and track system increases because new energy in the form of thermal energy is made as the ball rolls along the track.
The total energy of the ball and track system decreases because the ball loses all of its energy and eventually stops rolling, and the energy of the track stays the same.
The total energy of the ball and track system increases as the speed of the ball increases, and it decreases as the speed of the ball decreases, and the energy of the track stays the same.
The total energy of the ball and track system does not change because even though energy is transferred between the ball and track, no energy was added to or released from the ball and track system.

Distribution of responses
Answer Choice		Overall	Grades			Gender		Primary Language
		n = 5122	4–5 n = 425	6–8 n = 2451	9–12 n = 2246	Male n = 2273	Female n = 2672	English n = 4549	Other n = 387
A.	The total energy of the ball and track system increases because new energy in the form of thermal energy is made as the ball rolls along the track.	27%	34%	30%	22%	27%	27%	27%	28%
B.	The total energy of the ball and track system decreases because the ball loses all of its energy and eventually stops rolling, and the energy of the track stays the same.	28%	28%	29%	28%	29%	28%	28%	28%
C.	The total energy of the ball and track system increases as the speed of the ball increases, and it decreases as the speed of the ball decreases, and the energy of the track stays the same.	26%	23%	26%	26%	24%	28%	26%	26%
D.	The total energy of the ball and track system does not change because even though energy is transferred between the ball and track, no energy was added to or released from the ball and track system.	18%	15%	14%	24%	19%	18%	19%	18%

Science Assessment

Item NG067003: As a ball rolls back and forth along a curved track and the ball and track get a little warmer, the total energy of the ball and track system does not change because no energy was added or released from the system.