Science Assessment ~ Ideas ~ The energy released from food was once energy from the sun that was captured by plants in the chemical process that forms plant matter (from air and water).

Key Idea: When two objects interact, each one exerts a force on the other that can cause energy to be transferred to or from the object.

Sub-Ideas
Items & Student Performance
Misconceptions
NGSS

Students should know that:

When two objects collide, their speeds change compared to their speeds before the collision and energy is transferred from the object that slows down to the object that speeds up.
Energy is transferred by forces as long as one object exerts a force on another object. The transfer of energy stops when one object no longer exerts a force on the other object.
When two forces act over the same distance and in the same direction, the stronger force transfers more energy than the weaker force.

Boundaries:

Assessment items are limited to systems containing two objects that are moving or that can be moved.
Items do not ask students to calculate how much energy is transferred mechanically in a particular situation.
Assessment items donot use the word “work” because students tend to confuse the lay definition of work and the scientific definition of work.

Percent of students answering correctly (click on the item ID number to view the item and additional data)
Item ID Number	Knowledge Being Assessed	Grades 6–8	Grades 9–12
AP038006	Design an experiment to determine how the amount a stick is bent affects how high a ball can be shot into the air and construct an argument for which trial will result in the ball traveling the highest using cause and effect relationships and ideas about energy. (CR version)	N/A	N/A
AP012005	Design an experiment to determine how the amount a stick is bent affects how high a ball can be shot into the air and construct an argument for which trial will result in the ball traveling the highest using cause and effect relationships and ideas about energy. (MC version)	N/A	N/A
AP055005	Analyze and interpret data from investigations to identify patterns and use energy transfer ideas to explain the cause for the phenomenon of a fan spinning over a lit candle. (CR version)	N/A	N/A
AP054004	Analyze data and graphical displays to gather evidence that can be used to explain why a tennis ball bounces to a lower height when bounced alone and a much higher height when bounced on top of a basketball. (CR version)	N/A	N/A
AP014006	Analyze data and graphical displays to gather evidence that can be used to explain why a tennis ball bounces to a lower height when bounced alone and a much higher height when bounced on top of a basketball. (MC version)	N/A	N/A
AP013005	Make observations to produce data to serve as evidence of energy transfer and write an explanation for why balls in a Newton’s cradle eventually stop moving.	N/A	N/A
AP015005	Analyze and interpret data from investigations to identify patterns and use energy transfer ideas to explain the cause for the phenomenon of a fan spinning over a lit candle. (MC version)	N/A	N/A

No misconceptions are associated with this idea in the selected project.

No NGSS statements are associated with this idea in the selected project.