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Misconception NGM060:

Energy can be destroyed (Kruger, 1990; Trumper, 1998).

Items that test for misconception NGM060 in this project (Original Project) and key idea ()
Item ID
Number

Item Description

How Often the Misconception was Chosen

Select This Item for My Item Bank

NG096002

The total amount of energy a ball has does not change after it goes down and up a dip because the total energy of the system (ball and track) does not change (assuming no energy transfer between the ball and the track and the ball and the air around it).

35%

NG080003

As a clay ball falls and hits the ground, the total amount of energy in the system stays the same because the decrease in energy due to the clay ball moving closer to the ground is equal to the increase in energy due to the clay ball and the floor getting warmer.

28%

NG081003

The total energy inside a closed cooler filled with ice and a can of soda stays the same even though the can of soda gets colder, because the amount of energy that the can of soda lost is equal to the amount of energy that the ice gained.

26%

NG078002

After a rubber band is used to shoot a toy car across the floor, the total energy of the system will remain the same because the increase in the motion energy (kinetic energy) of the car is the same as the decrease in the elastic energy of the rubber band.

25%

NG089003

The total amount of energy in a lunch box containing only an ice pack and the air around it remains the same even after the ice pack gets warmer and the air gets colder. (This item uses bar graphs to depict the amounts of each form of energy.)

21%

NG092002

Assuming no energy transfer between a ball and the track it is moving in, the amount of energy the ball has after it goes over a hill will be the same as before it went over the hill.

18%

NG075003

Assuming that no energy is transferred between a ball and the curved track it is moving in, or between the ball and the air around it, a ball on a curved track will reach a point as high as the point from which it started because as the ball moves down the track, its gravitational potential energy will change into motion energy, and as the ball goes up the other side, its motion energy will be changed back into an equal amount of gravitational potential energy.

17%

NG083003

Energy is transferred to the air around hot food as the food cools even though the temperature of the air does not appear to increase.

15%

NG088003

When a student shoots a rubber band across the room, the elastic energy of the rubber band is transformed into motion energy, and the total amount of energy stays the same. (This item uses bar graphs to depict the amount of each kind of energy.)

12%