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Item RG051003: A rubber band that is stretched more will travel farther when let go than a rubber band that is stretched less because the more a rubber band is stretched the farther it will travel.

A boy and a girl want to see who can shoot a rubber band the farthest. They find two rubber bands that are exactly the same. They each stretch a rubber band between their fingers. The girl stretches her rubber band more than the boy stretches his rubber band.

Then they let go of the rubber bands and watch the rubber bands fly across the room. Whose rubber band will travel the farthest and why?

  1. The boy’s rubber band because the less a rubber band is stretched the farther it will travel
  2. The girl’s rubber band because the more a rubber band is stretched the farther it will travel
  3. The rubber bands will travel the same distance because they are the same kind of rubber band.
  4. The rubber bands will travel the same distance because changing how much a rubber band is stretched will not change how far it will travel.
Distribution of responses
Answer Choice
Overall
Grades
Gender
Primary Language
 
n = 1272
4–5
n = 282
6–8
n = 643
9–12
n = 347
Male
n = 603
Female
n = 640
English
n = 1114
Other
n = 131
A. 13%18% 11% 11% 13% 12% 12% 15%
B. 75%70% 79% 74% 74% 77% 77% 65%
C. 7%9% 5% 8% 8% 6% 6% 11%
D. 5%4% 5% 7% 5% 6% 5% 9%