Alkalis and soda, and how they cancel acids
Tests: 6 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 5 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 16 of the chemistry course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.
Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.
Test 1 · ★ · right ✓
"acid and alkali make salt, so can i eat it?" What's true?
- 1. Yes, every salt from a reaction is plain table salt — no support
- 2. Not always: most such salts are not for eating — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 3. Yes, but only if you eat it with chips — no support
- 4. No, those salts are always gases — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 16, line 17: «When an acid and an alkali exactly cancel, they make water and a salt; most such salts are not for eating.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «most such salts» (+2); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★ · right ✓
Ruby got stung by a wasp; her friend runs for vinegar "coz wasps are alkali". What's best?
- 1. Cold water, and get help if she swells up — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Baking soda, the opposite of vinegar — no support
- 3. Vinegar, because it cancels out the wasp sting — no support
- 4. Lemon juice rubbed in hard — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★ · right ✓
Grandma wants her pink hydrangea blue next year. What could she do?
- 1. Make the soil more acidic — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Plant it in deeper shade — no support
- 3. Spread lots of lime around it — no support
- 4. Water it with soapy water — no support
Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗
Jake's gardening dad is about to lime the blueberry bed. What should someone tell him?
- 1. Lime makes blueberries grow twice as big — no support
- 2. Blueberries need bleach, not lime — ← Mova's choice · score 12
- 3. Lime is fine for every plant — no support
- 4. Blueberries like acidic soil, so don't — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 12, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 16, line 3: «Dad takes an antacid tablet for heartburn: the alkali in it cancels some stomach acid and the burning eases. Gardeners spread lime, an alkali, on sour soil for…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same thing acted on «lime» (+5); a different doer (counts against) (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗
"oven cleaner's an alkali, not an acid, so it's safe on your hands innit". What's true?
- 1. Yes, only acids can ever burn your skin, not alkalis — ← Mova's choice · score 12
- 2. Yes, alkalis are always gentle — no support
- 3. Strong alkalis can burn worse than some acids — ✓ the right answer · score 10
- 4. No, because it's secretly an acid — score 8
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 12, against 10 for the next best. Its support: lesson 16, line 4: «Scientists measure acids and alkalis on the pH scale from 0 to 14: below 7 is acid, 7 is neutral like pure water, above 7 is alkali. Strong alkalis, like oven…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «burn» (+4); the same doer «strong alkalis» (+4); the same thing acted on «skin» (+4). The right option, 3, scored 10. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★ · right ✓
If you dipped a pH strip in a cup of pure water, what number would you expect?
- 1. 7 — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. 14 — no support
- 3. 2 — no support
- 4. 12 — no support
Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★ · right ✓
Little brother: "toothpaste is just for nice breath". What else does it do?
- 1. Helps cancel acid and toughens enamel — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Turns sugar into vitamins — no support
- 3. Makes your teeth grow back — no support
- 4. Kills germs in your tummy — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★ · right ✓
A game shows a wizard fighting an acid monster with a "neutral potion" of water. What would actually cancel the acid?
- 1. Pure sugar — no support
- 2. An alkali — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 11
- 3. More acid — score 11
- 4. A metal sword — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 11, tied with another option at 11 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 16, line 2: «When an acid meets an alkali, they react and cancel each other out: this is called neutralisation. If they cancel exactly, they make water and a salt, a chemis…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same thing acted on «alkali» (+5). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗
Which list goes from most acidic to most alkaline?
- 1. Soap, lemon juice, bleach, water — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Water, lemon juice, bleach, soap — no support
- 3. Lemon juice, water, soap, bleach — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Bleach, soap, water, lemon juice — no support
Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗
Dad: heartburn after a huge curry. Mum hands him an antacid. Why does it help?
- 1. It makes the curry less spicy — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Its alkali neutralises some stomach acid — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. It numbs the heart for an hour — no support
- 4. It adds acid to finish the curry — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗
"baking soda tastes sour like lemon, right? they're both in the cupboard". What's true?
- 1. Yes, both are acids — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. No, baking soda has no taste at all — no support
- 3. No, it tastes bitter and soapy — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Yes, but it's a bit weaker — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗
Identify the term by which the reaction between an acid and an alkali is designated.
- 1. Condensation — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Neutralisation — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Fermentation — no support
- 4. Evaporation — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗
It is given that a solution possesses a pH of 2. Select the statement most accurately characterising that solution.
- 1. It is neutral — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It is weakly alkaline — no support
- 3. It is strongly acidic — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. It is strongly alkaline — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓
Which of the following statements is consistent with the established facts concerning the stings of bees and wasps?
- 1. Bee stings are invariably acidic and must be treated with alkali — score 5
- 2. Wasp stings are invariably alkaline and must be treated with vinegar — no support
- 3. All stings are cured completely by household remedies — no support
- 4. The acid and alkali rule is mostly a myth, and venom acts principally through proteins — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 16, line 10: «The rule "bee stings are acid, wasp stings are alkali" is mostly a myth; venom works mainly through proteins, and taking the sting out quickly and cold water h…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «rule» (+2); the same thing acted on «myth» (+2); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗
Ascertain the reason for which the flowers of a hydrangea become blue in certain gardens.
- 1. The plant is watered with coloured solutions — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. In acidic soil the plant absorbs aluminium — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. In alkaline soil the plant absorbs copper — no support
- 4. The flowers reflect the colour of the sky — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/chemistry/16-alkalis-and-soda/