Here is one group of students’ explanation for why the target cart started to move as a result of the collision with the launched cart.

Student Narrative:

The launched cart is moving toward the stationary target cart and when they collide there is a contact push/pull interaction between them. The energy giver during this interaction is the launched cart, and energy is transferred from it to the target cart, which is the energy receiver. Because of this energy transfer, the kinetic energy of the launched cart decreases while the kinetic energy of the target cart increases. Since the target cart was initially at rest with a speed of zero and no kinetic energy, this increase in its kinetic energy means its speed is no longer zero, which in turn means that it starts to move.

Student Energy Giver and Receiver Diagram

Evaluate the Student's Narrative and Diagram

What is your evaluation of this explanation in terms of whether it is well-constructed or not? Choose all that apply.

Which statement or statements best describe the construction?

A. It is well-constructed.
B. It is not well constructed because either the diagram is hard to see or the narrative is hard to read.
C. It is not well constructed because the diagram and narrative are inconsistent with each other.
D. It is not well constructed because either the diagram or narrative are not relevant.

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