Tsunamis

Tests: 4 of 10 right · Exam: 0 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 11 of 14 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 45 of the geography 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 ✓

In a film, a surfer rides a giant curling tsunami into the beach. What's wrong with it?

1. Nothing, that is exactly what tsunamis look like, a giant curling wave you can ride — no support
2. Tsunamis are always far too small to ride, just a ripple on the beach — no support
3. A tsunami is more like the whole sea rising and rushing inland than a surfing wave — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. Tsunamis only happen in rivers — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 45, line 2: «In the deep ocean a tsunami races along as fast as a jet plane, yet it may be less than a metre high, so a ship can ride over it without noticing.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «tsunami» (+3); the same action «race» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

A sailor in the deep Pacific says a tsunami passed under his ship and he felt nothing. Could that be true?

1. Yes, because tsunamis travel underground — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. Yes, out there it can be under a metre high — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. No, it would have sunk the ship at once — score 2
4. No, tsunamis never cross the deep oceans at all — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 45, line 7: «In the deep ocean a tsunami travels as fast as a jet plane, about 700-800 km/h, yet is often less than a metre high.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «tsunami» (+3); the same action «travel» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

"sea went out like miles, loads of fish flapping, let's go grab some!!" What should they do?

1. Yes, the sea won't come back for days, so take your time — ← Mova's choice · score 14
2. No! Run to high ground now, a tsunami may be coming — ✓ the right answer · score 9
3. Yes, but only for ten minutes — no support
4. Yes, it's safe until the next high tide comes in tonight — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 with score 14, against 9 for the next best. Its support: lesson 40, line 4: «Real armies and letters crawled at walking or riding pace, winter could stop a campaign dead, rivers silted up, the sea took and gave back land, and a storm co…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «take» (+4); the same doer «sea» (+4). The right option, 2, scored 9. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · right ✓

After the first wave, people walk back down to the shore to look. Why is that dangerous?

1. The first wave is always followed by a big fire on the beach — no support
2. It is not dangerous, once the first wave is gone the danger is over — no support
3. More waves come minutes apart and the next may be bigger — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. The beach will be too hot to walk on — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 45, line 5: «Often the sea first drains far back from the beach, which tempts people to go and look; the right thing is to run to high ground at once, because the waves com…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «come» (+3); the same doer «waves» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

Your mate says: "Tsunamis are just big tides, the Moon makes them." Put him right.

1. They're made by whales splashing about — ← Mova's choice · score 8
2. They're usually made by undersea earthquakes, not tides — ✓ the right answer · score 8
3. They're made by strong winds, not the Moon — score 8
4. He's right, a full moon makes tsunamis — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 45, line 14: «Tsunamis can also be caused by landslides, volcanic eruptions and, very rarely, meteorite impacts.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «tsunamis» (+5); the same action «cause» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if a big earthquake shook the sea floor off Chile?

1. Only Chile could ever be hit, as tsunamis cannot travel far from home — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. The tsunami would stop after a few kilometres — no support
3. A tsunami could cross the Pacific and hit faraway coasts hours later — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Nothing, tsunamis only happen near Asia — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 44, line 5: «Nobody can yet say on which day an earthquake will strike, but scientists can map where the risk is high and how strong the quakes there can be.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «strike» (+2); the same doer «earthquake» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

Why is a pressure gauge on the sea floor useful?

1. It notices the extra water of a passing tsunami and sends a warning — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. It measures how salty the sea is — no support
3. It tells sailors when it is high tide so they can get into harbour safely — no support
4. It stops the tsunami from moving any further — 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 ✓

"8000 yrs ago a tsunami hit Scotland?? from what"

1. A storm that lasted a whole year — no support
2. A volcano erupting in Edinburgh, Arthur's Seat — no support
3. A meteorite landing in the Thames — no support
4. An underwater landslide off Norway, the Storegga Slide — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 45, line 15: «About 8,000 years ago an underwater landslide off Norway, the Storegga Slide, sent a tsunami onto Scotland and the low land of Doggerland, now under the North…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «underwater landslide» (+3); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

Why did the 2004 tsunami kill people in so many countries?

1. It spread across the whole Indian Ocean in hours — ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. Each country had its own small tsunami — no support
3. It travelled overland across Asia — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. Fourteen earthquakes happened at the same moment — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 45, line 7: «In the deep ocean a tsunami travels as fast as a jet plane, about 700-800 km/h, yet is often less than a metre high.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «travel» (+3); the same doer «tsunami» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Why is it hard to spot a tsunami from a ship in the deep ocean?

1. It only comes out at night — no support
2. It travels deep under the sea floor, out of sight — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. It is low and very long, so it looks like nothing much — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It is hidden by thick fog every time it crosses the ocean — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 45, line 7: «In the deep ocean a tsunami travels as fast as a jet plane, about 700-800 km/h, yet is often less than a metre high.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «travel» (+3); the same doer «tsunami» (+2); the same property (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises a tsunami?

1. A series of waves generated by the sudden displacement of a great volume of water — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. A rise in sea level occurring each day at high tide — no support
3. A wave generated exclusively by persistent winds over the ocean — no support
4. A single wave produced by the gravitational action of the Moon upon the ocean — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 45, line 1: «A tsunami is not one giant surfing wave: it is a series of huge waves made when something suddenly shoves a vast amount of sea water, usually the sea floor jer…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+3); the same thing acted on «huge waves» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the conduct appropriate to a person upon a beach who observes the sudden withdrawal of the sea.

1. Advance onto the exposed sea floor in order to observe it — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Continued presence upon the beach until the return of the tide — no support
3. Retreat to the water's edge in order to photograph the event — no support
4. Immediate removal to high ground or to a location far inland — ✓ the right answer · 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 · wrong ✗

It is given that a tsunami traverses the deep ocean. Ascertain its characteristics in respect of speed and height.

1. A speed comparable to that of a jet aircraft and a height frequently below one metre — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. A speed comparable to that of a bicycle and a height of several kilometres above the sea — no support
3. A speed comparable to that of a pedestrian and a height of one hundred metres — no support
4. A speed of zero until its arrival at the shore — ← Mova's choice · score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 45, line 9: «Often the sea suddenly drains far back from the beach just before a tsunami arrives.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «tsunami» (+3); the same action «arrive» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response that is consistent with the established facts concerning the term "tidal wave".

1. It is the correct scientific term for a tsunami of any kind — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It is a misnomer, since tsunamis bear no relation to the tides — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. It denotes a tsunami occurring only at high tide — no support
4. It denotes a tsunami caused by the Moon — 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

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/geography/45-tsunamis/