Science Assessment ~ Topics ~ Energy: Forms, Transformation, Transfer, and Conservation ~ Misconception RGM086

Some students believe kinetic energy is not proportional to the mass, but instead is proportional to the square or inverse of the mass.

Items that test for misconception RGM086 in this project (ASPECt) and key idea ()
Item ID Number	Item Description	How Often the Misconception was Chosen
RG002003	Kinetic energy is proportional to mass, so when a moving object has its mass decreased by half the kinetic energy of that object decreases by half.	45%
RG176001	Kinetic energy is proportional to mass, so when a moving object has its mass increased by two the kinetic energy of that object increases by two.	25%
RG001004	Doubling the speed would have the bigger impact on increasing the kinetic energy (motion energy) of a moving object because kinetic energy increases with the square of the speed	23%
RG174001	Kinetic energy is proportional to mass, so when a moving object has its mass increased by two the kinetic energy of that object increases by two. (Item uses bar graphs.)	19%