Explorers, scientists and inventors

Tests: 5 of 10 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 10 of 14 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 20 of the myths 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 · ★ · wrong ✗

"einstein failed maths so school doesn't matter innit" What's the truth?

1. He was brilliant at maths; the story is a myth — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He never went to school at all, so he couldn't fail any test — no support
3. He failed maths but nobody noticed — ← Mova's choice · score 2
4. He failed maths and later became a doctor — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 20, line 1: «Mrs Brown tells the class that in Columbus's time everyone thought the world was flat, and your older cousin grins that Einstein failed maths. Both stories are…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «maths» (+3); the same action «fail» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · right ✓

Mrs Brown says sailors feared falling off the flat Earth. How could you raise it politely?

1. "Miss, the flat Earth is true, my cousin said so" — no support
2. Say nothing, because teachers can never be wrong about anything at all — no support
3. "Miss, that's totally wrong, everyone knows that" — no support
4. "Miss, I read people knew it was round; they argued about its size" — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 20, line 6: «Educated people in Europe knew the Earth was round since ancient Greek times; Eratosthenes estimated its size more than 2,200 years ago.», 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 doer «earth» (+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 3 · ★ · right ✓

In a cartoon, an apple bonks Newton's head and a light bulb appears. What's closer to the real story?

1. He dropped apples off a tall tower to watch them break on the ground — no support
2. He saw an apple fall and thought about gravity for years — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. He got the idea from a light bulb he saw — no support
4. He was hit and understood gravity in one second — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 20, line 10: «Newton said seeing an apple fall from a tree helped him think about gravity; there is no evidence it hit him on the head.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «apple» (+2); the same action «fall» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would have happened if the Americas had not been there?

1. Columbus's crew would probably have run out of food before reaching Asia — ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. The ships would have sailed off the edge of the world — no support
3. Columbus would have reached China in three days — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. The sea would have carried them back to Spain — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 20, line 7: «Columbus's critics argued that the Earth was much bigger than he claimed, and they were right; he was sailing west to reach Asia, which was far too far for his…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «reach» (+2); the same doer «columbus» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · right ✓

"Edison invented light bulbs, end of" Which is the fairest answer?

1. Edison stole the whole idea and did nothing — no support
2. Many people made bulbs; Edison's team made a practical one — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. Light bulbs were invented by the Romans — no support
4. Edison invented the light bulb all on his own in a single night — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 20, line 11: «Many inventors made electric light bulbs before Edison, including Joseph Swan in England; Edison's team at Menlo Park made a long-lasting, practical bulb and a…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «electric light bulbs» (+3); the same action «make» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

Rory's poster says "Columbus discovered America". What is missing?

1. Nothing, he was the first person ever to see it — no support
2. That he landed in New York first — ← Mova's choice · score 2
3. The date, because he really came in 1900 — no support
4. Millions of people already lived there, and Norse sailors came earlier — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 20, line 13: «Columbus first landed in the Bahamas in 1492 and never reached the land that is now the United States.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same property (+3); the same action «land» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

"galileo invented the telescope, duh" What would you say?

1. He invented it to look at the Moon in 1500 — ← Mova's choice · score 9
2. It was invented in the Netherlands; he improved it and studied the sky — ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. He invented it all by himself, and also the microscope and the camera — score 4
4. He never used a telescope in his life — score -3

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 9, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 20, line 14: «The telescope was invented in the Netherlands in 1608; Galileo built better ones and in 1609 and 1610 turned them to the sky, discovering Jupiter's moons.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «galileo» (+5); the same circumstance (+3); a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 2, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · right ✓

Martha says Marie Curie discovered radioactivity alone. Which is fairer?

1. Becquerel found it; she named it and with Pierre found radium and polonium — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. Pierre Curie did all the work, and she only helped — no support
3. Einstein discovered it, and she wrote about it — score 2
4. She discovered it alone and nobody else worked on it — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 2, tied with another option at 2 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 20, line 15: «Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity in 1896; Marie Curie named it, studied it, and with Pierre Curie discovered polonium and radium; she won two Nobel Pri…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «radioactivity» (+3); the same action «discover» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · right ✓

Kayden wants to copy Franklin and fly a kite in a thunderstorm. What do you say?

1. Yes, as long as you hold a metal key — no support
2. Yes, Franklin was struck and was fine — no support
3. No; lightning can kill, and Franklin was never actually struck — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
4. Yes, but only if the kite is made of paper — score -5

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 8, against -5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 20, line 16: «In Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment, reported in 1752, the kite collected electric charge from storm clouds; he was not struck by lightning, which would ver…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «lightning» (+5); the same action «kill» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

"disney's frozen in a freezer under disneyland, 100% true" How could you check?

1. Visit Disneyland and look for the freezer — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Look up a trusted record: he was cremated in 1966 — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Ask on a fan site where everybody already agrees with you — no support
4. Believe it, because so many people say it — 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 ✗

Select the response that is consistent with the established facts concerning the prevailing understanding of the Earth's shape among educated Europeans in the fifteenth century.

1. The Earth's shape was regarded as wholly unknowable — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The Earth was understood to be cylindrical — no support
3. The Earth was understood to be spherical — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The Earth was understood to be a flat disc — 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 · right ✓

Identify the individual to whom the discovery of radioactivity in the year 1896 is properly attributed.

1. Henri Becquerel — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Marie Curie — no support
3. Galileo Galilei — no support
4. Albert Einstein — 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 ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the contribution of Galileo Galilei in respect of the telescope?

1. He was the original inventor of the telescope — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. He improved an existing invention and applied it to astronomy — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. He employed it solely for the observation of ships approaching harbour — no support
4. He prohibited its use for observing the heavens — 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 · wrong ✗

It is given that the Wright brothers achieved a flight in the year 1903. Determine the distinction properly ascribed to that flight.

1. The first flight of a hot-air balloon — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. The first crossing of the Atlantic by air — no support
3. The first powered, controlled and sustained aeroplane flight — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The first ascent of any human being into the air — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 20, line 18: «The Wright brothers made the first powered, controlled, sustained (kept going, not just a hop) flight in an aeroplane in 1903; people had already flown in hot-…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «first powered flight» (+3); the same property (+3). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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