When the teacher gets it wrong

Tests: 7 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 9 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 33 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 · ★★ · right ✓

"sir said glass is liquid, that's why old windows are fat at the bottom?? true?" What's right?

1. Yes, glass drips very slowly down — no support
2. No, glass is solid; old panes were just made uneven — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 11
3. No, glass is really a kind of gas that only looks solid — no support
4. Yes, but only in very cold weather — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 11, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 33, line 7: «Glass is a solid; some old windows are thicker at the bottom because old glass panes were made uneven.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «old glass panes» (+6); the same action «make» (+3); the same property (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A supply teacher says chameleons change colour "just to hide". When should you ask about it?

1. In a note left on her desk saying she's wrong — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. Never, because supply teachers don't count — no support
3. At the end of the lesson, as a question — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Right away, interrupting her loudly — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 33, line 2: «When you think a teacher is wrong, first check you're right, with a good source. Then ask, don't attack: "I read that spiders are arachnids because of the eigh…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+2); the same doer «teacher» (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Which is the best way to tell a teacher they might be wrong?

1. By refusing to do the work — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Loudly, in front of everyone, to be fair — no support
3. Privately, politely, with a good source — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. By getting your parent to shout at them — 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 ✓

What would happen if you followed moss as a compass in a damp wood?

1. You could walk the wrong way, since moss grows on any damp side — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. You'd always go exactly north — no support
3. You'd always reach a river — no support
4. The moss would lead you home — 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 33, line 11: «Moss grows wherever it is damp and shady, which can be any side of a tree, so it is not a reliable compass.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «grow» (+2); the same doer «moss» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · right ✓

Mr Grant says the old saying about lightning. Which fact with a number helps most?

1. Thunder comes after lightning — no support
2. Lightning is very bright and hot — no support
3. Most storms happen in summer — no support
4. The Empire State Building is hit about 20 times a year — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 33, line 12: «Lightning often strikes the same place, especially tall things; the Empire State Building, a very tall skyscraper in New York, is hit about 20 times a year.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «hit» (+2); the same property (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

"Everest is the tallest, end of," says Miss Parker. Which is fairest?

1. She's right and there's nothing more to say — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. She's right about height above sea level; Mauna Kea is taller from its base — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. She's totally wrong, Mauna Kea is higher above the sea — no support
4. Both are the same height exactly — 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 7 · ★★ · right ✓

Your teacher snaps "I've been teaching twenty years!" when you correct him. What now?

1. Say sorry, drop it for now, talk to a parent at home — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
2. Keep correcting him in front of the class until he stops — score 5
3. Start crying until he gives in — no support
4. Tell him twenty years is too long — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 33, line 4: «If a teacher gets cross, step back and say sorry for the tone; tell a parent calmly at home. And the rules of a place, like a pool's eating rule, still count e…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+5); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · right ✓

The pool rule says no swimming for an hour after lunch. You know the drowning story is a myth. What do you do?

1. Tell the lifeguard he's an idiot who knows nothing — score 6
2. Complain loudly about it to everyone else at the pool — no support
3. Follow the rule; places have their own rules — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
4. Jump straight in to prove it's just a silly myth — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 3 with score 10, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 33, line 4: «If a teacher gets cross, step back and say sorry for the tone; tell a parent calmly at home. And the rules of a place, like a pool's eating rule, still count e…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «rule» (+3); the same doer «place» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · right ✓

In a quiz cartoon, a spider says "I'm proud to be an insect!" What's the correction?

1. Spiders are baby crabs — no support
2. Spiders are a kind of worm — score 1
3. Spiders are insects, so the cartoon got it right — score -1
4. Spiders are arachnids, with eight legs not six — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 8, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 33, line 6: «Spiders are not insects; they are arachnids with eight legs, while insects have six.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «spiders» (+3); the same thing acted on «arachnids» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2); the same circumstance (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · right ✓

Mrs Patel says "Bats are blind, that's why they use echolocation." What's true?

1. Bats can see; echolocation adds to sight — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. Echolocation is just a word for 'blind seeing' — no support
3. Bats are completely blind, and deaf as well — score 3
4. Bats only use their eyes, never any echoes — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 31, line 11: «Bats are not blind; they can see, and many also use echolocation (finding things by listening to the echoes of their own squeaks).», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «bats» (+3); the same action «see» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · wrong ✗

The coach says stretching prevents every injury. What's a fair view?

1. Moving warm-ups work better, but stretching won't hurt — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Only running fast prevents injury — score -1
3. Warming up is a total waste of time, just start playing — no support
4. Stretching causes every injury — ← Mova's choice · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 2, against -1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 5, line 11: «Tiredness and effort during sport are normal, but sharp pain is a signal to stop, because pushing on can cause injury.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «cause» (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the zoological class to which spiders belong.

1. Arachnids — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Insects — no support
3. Crustaceans — no support
4. Reptiles — 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 ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the condition of glass at ordinary temperatures?

1. It is a liquid that descends perceptibly over centuries — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It is a gas held in a rigid form — no support
3. It is a solid, and unevenness in antique panes arises from their manufacture — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It is a solid only during the winter months — 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 pupil believes a teacher to have stated an error. Select the most appropriate course of action.

1. To disregard all subsequent instruction from that teacher — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. To verify the matter and raise it courteously and privately, with evidence — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. To decline to attend further lessons — no support
4. To contradict the teacher forthwith before the entire class — 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 ✗

Ascertain the approximate annual frequency of lightning strikes upon the Empire State Building.

1. None whatsoever — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Approximately twenty — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Approximately one per century — no support
4. Approximately one thousand — 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/myths/33-when-the-teacher-gets-it-wrong/