Key Idea: Energy can be transformed (converted) within a system.
Students are expected to know that:
- Within a system, one form of energy can be transformed into one or more other forms of energy.
- A decrease in one form of energy within a system is associated with an increase in one or more other forms of energy (unless energy is transferred into or out of the system). Similarly, an increase in one form of energy within a system is associated with a decrease in one or more other forms of energy (unless energy is transferred into or out of the system).
- Any form of energy can be transformed to other forms of energy and any form of energy can result from a transformation.
- Energy and force are two different concepts and one cannot be transformed into the other.
- Energy transformations can occur when energy is transferred from one system to another.
- Most of what goes on in the universe—from exploding stars and biological growth to the operation of machines and the motion of people—involves some form of energy being transformed into one or more other forms of energy.
Boundaries:
- Although students are expected to know that when energy is transformed, a decrease of one form of energy is accompanied by an increase in one or more other forms of energy and vice versa, they are not expected to know that the total amount of energy in the system is conserved.
- Students are not expected to keep track of how much of one form is converted into another.
- Students are also not expected to know the relationship between energy and work.
- They will be assessed on energy transformations involving motion energy (kinetic energy), thermal energy, gravitational potential energy, and/or elastic potential energy.
- Students will not be assessed on energy transformations involving electrical energy, sound energy, chemical potential energy, or radiant energy because we have not yet developed clarifications and items aligned to these ideas.
| Item ID Number |
Knowledge Being Assessed | Grades 6–8 |
Grades 9–12 |
Select This Item for My Item Bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
53% |
58% |
|
||
50% |
57% |
|
||
45% |
56% |
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||
Gravitational potential energy is transformed into motion energy as a rock falls from a cliff. | 43% |
55% |
|
|
45% |
51% |
|
||
47% |
49% |
|
||
42% |
54% |
|
||
42% |
53% |
|
||
42% |
50% |
|
||
42% |
48% |
|
||
31% |
38% |
|
||
27% |
39% |
|
||
26% |
33% |
|
Misconception |
Student Misconception |
Grades |
Grades |
|---|---|---|---|
Energy can be transformed into a force (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 63% |
58% | |
Energy can be created (Kruger, 1990; Lovrude, 2004; Papadouris et al., 2008). | 28% |
21% | |
18% |
16% | ||
Gravitational potential energy cannot be converted into thermal energy (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 17% |
14% | |
16% |
14% | ||
16% |
14% | ||
11% |
8% | ||
Motion energy cannot be transformed into gravitational potential energy (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 11% |
9% | |
Gravitational potential energy cannot be transformed into motion energy (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 10% |
8% |
Frequency of selecting a misconception was calculated by dividing the total number of times a misconception was chosen by the number of times it could have been chosen, averaged over the number of students answering the questions within this particular idea.