Kinetic Energy in the Kitchen

Question

A student has science homework. The assignment is to find evidence to support the claim, "When an object experiences a change in kinetic energy, it transfers energy to another object or from another object."

The student decides to make noodles for a snack while thinking about his homework. He puts water in a pot on the stove and turns the heat all the way up. He waits for the water to boil so he can add his noodles. As he waits, the heat from the burner warms the pot. The water inside the pot warms as well. The hotter the water gets, the more it moves and the more steam is produced as water vapor leaves the pot. Heat energy from the burner is causing kinetic energy to build in the water. The student thinks about how he could use this in his homework and records these observations. The picture shows a drawing the student creates to show the motion of the water in the pot.

The drawing shows water in a pot with bubbles in the water and steam rising from the water.

The student then adds oil to a pan and turns up the heat. Next, he tosses in some popcorn kernels and heats them for several minutes. Once enough kinetic energy builds up within the kernels, they pop and move quickly. Some even bounce off each other and fly out of the pan. The student also records his observations of the popcorn popping. The picture shows a drawing the student creates to show the motion of the popcorn in the pan.

The drawing shows a pan with oil, popcorn kernels that have not popped, popcorn kernels that have popped, and three popcorn pieces flying out of the pan.

Two-Part Question
Multiple Choice Question
The following question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A:

Which additional observation could the student use to help support the claim in the passage?

A.
The oil in the pan spreads out when it is poured.

B.
The pan remains still as long as as the popcorn pops.

C.
A piece of popcorn stops moving after it bumps into another piece of popcorn.

D.
When the student pours the popcorn, only a few pieces of popcorn are placed in the pan.

Multiple Choice Question
Part B:

How does the observation from Part A help to support the claim in the passage?

A.
It provides an example of an object that is able to transfer kinetic energy over a very large area.

B.
It provides an example of an object that does not experience a change in kinetic energy due to its small mass.

C.
It provides an example of an object that experiences a change in kinetic energy when it transfers energy to another object.

D.
It provides an example of an object that does not experience a change in kinetic energy when it transfers energy to another object.

Answer 1

Part A:

The additional observation that the student could use to help support the claim in the passage is:

C. A piece of popcorn stops moving after it bumps into another piece of popcorn.

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Part B:

This observation helps to support the claim in the passage because:

C. It provides an example of an object that experiences a change in kinetic energy when it transfers energy to another object.

When one piece of popcorn bumps into another, it transfers its kinetic energy to the second piece, causing it to move. This demonstrates the transfer of kinetic energy from one object to another, thereby supporting the claim.