Science Assessment

Student selects answer choices A, B, and C

• A. The mass of the water
• B. The temperature of the water before it was put in the refrigerator
• C. The temperature of the water after it was left in refrigerator for five minutes

1. Student describes the independent variable

• The type of bottle used: hollow with air, hollow with vacuum, and solid aluminum.

2. Student describes the controls

• The same starting temperature of water or measures the initial temperature.

AND

• The same amount/mass of water.

AND

• Placing the bottles inside the refrigerator, whose temperature is constant, or explicitly refers to how the environment should be the same for all the bottles.

Note: Students who only describe an investigation with one bottle cannot get points for the controls.

3. Student describes what measurements will be recorded

• Measure the water temperature.

AND

• Make at least two measurements at different time points.

1. Student either states or uses a general science idea

• A change in the temperature of an object is a measure of the amount of thermal energy transferred to or away from the object (i.e., the change in water temperature indicates that the amount of energy of the water has changed). [links change in temperature with energy transfer]

Note: Students can get this point for saying that they would look at the changes in temperature. They don't have to explicitly say "energy transfer," as it is implied by the question.

2. Student uses reasoning to link the measurements to science ideas

• The bottle containing the liquid with the smallest temperature change is the bottle that reduced the transfer of thermal energy the most.

Note: The reasoning contains the science idea, so students who are awarded the reasoning point also get the science idea point.

Student explains how their experimental procedure is a fair comparison by discussing control variables

• Control relevant variables such as the mass of water, the environment the bottles are in, or the starting temperature of the water.

Note: Students may receive a point for stating the general principle or by providing an example of a variable that needs to be controlled.

1. Student makes a claim that answers the question

• The liquid inside the bottle cools down and the air around the bottle warms up because energy is transferred (from the liquid in the bottle to the air outside the bottle).

2. Student either states or uses a general science idea

• The warmer a substance is the faster the molecules making up that substance are moving (i.e., when the molecules of the liquid inside the bottle slow down, the liquid decreases in temperature). [links molecular speed and temperature]
• When objects interact/collide they transfer energy, causing a change in their motion (i.e., when the molecules of the warm liquid collide with the molecules of the bottle, energy is transferred). [links collisions and energy transfer]
• The faster an object moves the more energy it has (i.e., when the molecules of the air speed up, they have more energy). [links speed and energy]

3. Student uses reasoning that links general science ideas to the claim

• Energy is transferred from the molecules of the warm liquid inside the bottle to the molecules of the cooler air outside of the bottle through a series of collisions. The collisions cause the faster moving molecules of the warm liquid to lose energy and move slower, which means the temperature of the liquid will decrease. The collisions cause the slower moving molecules of the cool air to gain energy and move faster, which means the temperature of the air will increase.

Student does not provide a molecular-level explanation but does include productive ideas about the transfer of thermal energy [not scored]

• Energy is spontaneously transferred out of hotter regions into colder regions (i.e., energy will be transferred from the warmer liquid to the cooler air). [conduction]
• Heat is transferred from hotter regions to colder regions (i.e., heat will be transferred from the warmer liquid to the cooler air). [heat transfer]

1. Student makes a claim that answers the question

• The hollow bottle with the vacuum did the best job at keeping the liquid warm because the hollow section of the bottle contains fewer atoms/molecules (or no air).

2. Student either states or uses a general science idea

• When objects interact/collide they transfer energy (i.e., the molecules that make up the warmer liquid transfer energy to the molecules that make up the bottle when they collide). [links collisions and transfer of energy]

3. Student uses reasoning that links general science ideas to the claim

• If there are no atoms/molecules inside the walls of the bottle, energy cannot be transferred via collisions, and the temperature of the liquid inside the bottle will remain the same.