Science Assessment

Students should know that:

1. An increase in temperature or the production of light or sound when fuels are burned indicates that energy is released (given off).
2. Some fuels release more energy when they are burned than other fuels.
3. For any particular fuel, the more fuel that is burned, the more energy is released (assuming an unlimited supply of oxygen).
4. The energy released when fuel is burned can be used to make something move or to light or warm a room.
5. When animals (including humans) use food as fuel, the energy released is used by the animal to carry out life functions such as moving, building body structures, and staying warm.

Boundaries:

1. The term “chemical energy” is not used in Basic level items because energy is treated as a unified concept at this level and not in its various forms.
2. Assessment items may describe chemical reactions at the substance level, and will not refer to atoms and molecules. For example, students will be told in the items that burning is a process during which fuel reacts with oxygen to form new substances with different properties.
3. Assessment items use familiar fuels, e.g. gasoline, coal, propane, oil, natural gas, and wood.
4. Students are not expected to know that plants use food as fuel to carry our life functions.