Olympiad: kitchen chemistry puzzles ★★★
Tests: 5 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★★ · Understood: 9 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 36 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 ✓
«nan's told me a MILLION times no foil in the microwave, why tho» What is the real reason, and how often did Nan really say it?
- 1. Metal can spark in there; she said it many times — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
- 2. Foil melts into the food; she only said it once — score 4
- 3. Foil is safe; she just likes to moan about it — no support
- 4. Foil makes the food taste of metal; a million times exactly — no support
Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 36, line 4: «Watch out for big talk: when Nan says "I've told you a million times, no foil in the microwave" she means many times, and when someone calls a pancake-thin spo…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «tell» (+2); the same doer «nan» (+2); the same property (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★★★ · right ✓
«ugh my sponge is a bit flat» - it is thin as a pancake, and she took it out after 10 of its 40 minutes. What does she really mean, and why did it happen?
- 1. Very flat; it came out too early and sank — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Slightly flat; there was too much sugar — no support
- 3. It's perfect; she's just being modest — no support
- 4. Very flat; the eggs were too fresh — 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 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
«bro these muffins r bussin but why r the blueberries GREEN, is it mould??»
- 1. Yes, green means mould, so bin the whole batch — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Yes, the oven heat grew mould inside them — no support
- 3. No, too much baking soda changed their colour — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. No, blueberries are always green inside — 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 4 · ★★★ · right ✓
Liv says: "salt melts ice, so salt must make ice WARMER, so salt and ice can't make ice cream." Which answer spots her mistake?
- 1. Salty water freezes lower, so ice with salt gets colder, not warmer — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 11
- 2. She's right; the shops just use a big freezer — score 7
- 3. Salt freezes the cream if you sprinkle it on top — score 10
- 4. Salt warms the ice, but the cream is colder already — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 11, against 10 for the next best. Its support: lesson 5, line 16: «Salt makes ice melt below 0 °C, because salty water freezes at a lower temperature; it stops working well in very hard frost.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «freeze» (+3); the same doer «salty water» (+3); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★★★ · right ✓
«me mam's dead nesh, she says it's FREEZING in here» - the thermometer says 19 °C. Will a glass of water on the table freeze?
- 1. No, she just feels the cold — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Yes, but only later at night — no support
- 3. Only if salt goes in the glass — no support
- 4. Yes, freezing means below 0 °C — 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 6 · ★★★ · right ✓
Grandad: "Back in my day we cooked pasta up a mountain, same ten minutes as at home, no bother." Is that likely?
- 1. No, water boils cooler up there, so it takes longer — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 2. No, pasta can't cook properly above the clouds at all — score -1
- 3. Yes, the thin air cooks food much faster — no support
- 4. Yes, water always boils at 100 °C everywhere — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 5, line 11: «At sea level water boils at 100 °C; high on a mountain it boils at a lower temperature, so pasta takes longer to cook.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: its «because» matches the remembered cause (+2); the same action «take» (+1); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
Jaz is fixin' to make a jelly with fresh pineapple for a party in an hour. What should a mate tell her?
- 1. Fine, fresh fruit always helps jelly to set — ← Mova's choice · score 5
- 2. Use tinned pineapple, or it may not set — ✓ the right answer · score 1
- 3. Put it in the oven so it sets quicker — score 5
- 4. Add more pineapple to help it set faster — score 1
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 36, line 11: «Fresh pineapple stops jelly setting because it holds a substance that cuts gelatine; tinned pineapple has been heated, which spoils that substance, so jelly wi…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «jelly» (+3); the same action «set» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
«it's literally boiling in here, I'm melting» says Ali. The kitchen is 26 °C. What is really happening?
- 1. The water in the kettle boils all on its own in that heat — ← Mova's choice · score 3
- 2. The kitchen air has reached 100 °C — no support
- 3. Ali is slowly turning into a liquid — no support
- 4. Ali feels hot; nothing in the room is boiling — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 36, line 9: «Water boils at 100 °C at sea level but at a lower temperature high on a mountain, so pasta cooks more slowly up there even when the water bubbles hard.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «boil» (+2); the same doer «water» (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
«popcorn's from 2019 lol, wanna try?» Only a few kernels pop. A friend blames the oil for being too cold. What is a better guess?
- 1. The old kernels dried out, so too little steam formed — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. The kernels have been too cold ever since 2019 — no support
- 3. Popcorn only pops in the year it is picked — ← Mova's choice · score 8
- 4. Old kernels grow a hard coat like metal — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 10, line 10: «Popcorn pops because water inside each kernel turns to steam until the hard shell bursts; dried-out kernels pop badly.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «pop» (+4); the same doer «popcorn» (+4). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
Ella wants to show her class the salt hidden in salty water, safely. Which plan works?
- 1. Freeze it, then pick out the salt cubes — no support
- 2. Pour it into a wide dish, leave it in the sun for days, then look for crystals — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Filter it, and the salt stays on the paper — ← Mova's choice · score 7
- 4. Stir it hard until the salt sinks back down — score 4
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 34, line 9: «Rivers carry tiny amounts of salt from rocks into the sea; water evaporates from the sea but the salt stays behind, so the sea is salty.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «stay» (+2); the same doer «salt» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 11 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
«it's just a tiny splash, no big deal» says Ben, after hot caramel from his mum's pan landed on his hand. What is the wise move?
- 1. Ignore it; a splash that small can't hurt — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Pick the sticky caramel off quickly with nails — no support
- 3. Cool it under cold running water and tell an adult — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Rub butter on it and carry on with the cooking — 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 ✗
Determine which of the following constitutes a chemical change.
- 1. The melting of butter in a warm pan — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. The browning of bread in a toaster — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. The condensation of steam upon a cold lid — no support
- 4. The dissolving of sugar in hot tea — 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 ✗
A yeast dough was prepared with water at a scalding temperature and failed to rise. Identify the most probable cause.
- 1. The flour contained too much protein — no support
- 2. The heat killed the yeast — ✓ the right answer · score 2
- 3. The gluten strands were insufficiently kneaded — no support
- 4. The sugar had been fully dissolved — ← Mova's choice · score 3
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 36, line 15: «Hot water dissolves sugar faster than cold water, and fine sugar dissolves faster than a lump; stirring helps too.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «sugar» (+2); the same action «dissolve» (+1). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗
Red cabbage indicator turns blue-green upon the addition of a substance. Ascertain the substance.
- 1. White wine vinegar — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Baking soda dissolved in water — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Lemon juice — no support
- 4. Plain tap water with nothing added — 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 4 · formal language · right ✓
State why tinned pineapple, unlike fresh pineapple, permits a gelatine jelly to set.
- 1. Canning adds extra sugar, which hardens the jelly — no support
- 2. Heating during canning spoils the substance that cuts gelatine — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
- 3. Tinned fruit contains no water whatsoever — score 3
- 4. Canning makes the fruit too cold to react — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 10, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 10, line 11: «Jelly sets because gelatine molecules form a loose net that traps water; fresh pineapple contains a substance that cuts gelatine and stops it setting.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «cut» (+4); the same doer «substance» (+4); the same thing acted on «gelatine» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/chemistry/36-olympiad-kitchen-chemistry-puzzles/