Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation ~ Item RG172002 ~ Student Performance

Iron that is exposed to air will generally begin to rust. Rusting is a chemical reaction that occurs when iron atoms react with oxygen in the air. The reaction causes the temperature of the air to increase. Why would the temperature of the surrounding environment increase?

Because new energy is made in the form of thermal energy when the chemical reaction occurs
Because the energy that is stored inside the iron is released in the form of thermal energy when it is exposed to the oxygen in the air
Because some chemical energy is converted into thermal energy during the chemical reaction
Because some thermal energy of the air is used to start the chemical reaction

Distribution of responses
Answer Choice	Overall	Grades			Gender		Primary Language
	n = 1497	4–5 n = 0	6–8 n = 852	9–12 n = 645	Male n = 694	Female n = 780	English n = 1373	Other n = 103
A.	25%	N/A	27%	23%	26%	24%	25%	31%
B.	36%	N/A	35%	37%	33%	38%	36%	28%
C.	28%	N/A	26%	32%	29%	28%	29%	28%
D.	10%	N/A	12%	8%	12%	9%	10%	13%

Science Assessment

Item RG172002: The temperature of the surrounding environment increases during rusting because some chemical energy is converted into thermal energy during the chemical reaction.