Why things fall: the apple and the pull of the Earth

Tests: 5 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 7 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 1 of the physics 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 ✗

my brother says heavy stuff always falls faster, end of. right?

1. No, without air heavy and light fall together — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. No, light things always fall faster — ← Mova's choice · score 8
3. Yes, that is what Galileo showed — no support
4. Yes, twice as heavy means twice as fast — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 15: «Without air, a heavy thing and a light thing fall at exactly the same speed: the heavy thing is pulled harder, but it is also harder to get moving, and the two…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «fall» (+4); the same doer «heavy thing» (+4). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · right ✓

In a cartoon a coyote runs off a cliff and only falls when he looks down. What is wrong?

1. Nothing, gravity waits until you notice — no support
2. Cartoons are right; looking down adds weight — no support
3. He should float up instead — no support
4. Gravity pulls him the moment he leaves the edge — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 7: «A falling apple speeds up all the way down because gravity keeps pulling it.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «pull» (+2); the same doer «gravity» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · right ✓

A sheet of paper is laid flat on top of a big book, and both are dropped. What happens?

1. The book stops and the paper goes on — no support
2. The paper lands first — no support
3. The paper falls with the book, shielded from the air — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. The paper flies off and flutters — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 16: «A sheet of paper laid flat on top of a book falls with the book, because the book shields it from the air.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «fall» (+4); the same circumstance (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · right ✓

What would happen if you dug a hole right through the Earth and climbed in?

1. Once past the middle, "down" would turn into "up" — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. You would get heavier and heavier all the way — no support
3. You would fall out the other side into space — no support
4. You would float in the hole from the start — 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 5 · wrong ✗

Mate says rain should kill ya, it falls from a mile up. what do you say?

1. Rain is too light for gravity — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Clouds throw rain very gently — no support
3. Air slows each drop to a steady speed — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Raindrops slow down as they get near us — 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 6 · right ✓

Without air, how would a raindrop from a high cloud arrive?

1. Just as gently as now — score 6
2. Faster than a racing car — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 14
3. It would float back to the cloud — no support
4. It would never reach the ground — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 2 with score 14, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1, line 19: «A raindrop speeds up until the push of the air equals its weight, and then it falls at a steady speed, so it does not hurt; without air, a drop from a high clo…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «arrive» (+4); the same circumstance (+4); the same property (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · wrong ✗

Two balls the same size, one steel and one plastic, are dropped from a window. Which is closest to true?

1. The steel one lands twice as soon — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. They land at almost the same time — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The plastic one lands first — no support
4. The plastic one does not fall — 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 · wrong ✗

In a game, a heavy sword falls fast and a light coin floats down slowly like a leaf. Is that real?

1. No, the coin should really float upwards instead — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Yes, coins are too light to fall very fast — no support
3. No, a coin is compact and falls fast too — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Yes, small metal coins are pulled on much less — 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 9 · wrong ✗

Why does a higher wall mean a harder landing?

1. You get heavier as you fall — no support
2. Gravity is stronger high up, so it pulls you harder — ← Mova's choice · score 2
3. The ground is harder under high walls — no support
4. The longer you fall, the faster you are going — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 6: «The Earth pulls everything towards its middle, so "down" means towards the centre of the Earth wherever you stand.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «pull» (+4). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · right ✓

shut up about gravity, the ball stops at the top cos nothing's pulling it. true?

1. Yes, the pull switches off for a moment — no support
2. Yes, the air holds it up there — no support
3. No, the throw is still pulling it up — no support
4. No, gravity pulls it at the top too — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 12

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 12, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 9: «A ball thrown straight up is pulled by gravity the whole time, even at the top where it seems to stop for a moment.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «pull» (+4); the same doer «gravity» (+4); the same place «top» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · wrong ✗

How fast would you need to throw a ball so it never came back?

1. About 100 kilometres every single hour — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. No speed at all could ever manage it — no support
3. About 11 kilometres every second — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. As fast as a racing car on a track — 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 principal reason for which a feather descends more slowly than a stone when both are released simultaneously in the open air.

1. Heavier bodies are invariably accelerated more rapidly — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The gravitational attraction upon feathers is negligible — no support
3. The feather is repelled by the surface of the Earth — no support
4. The resistance of the air acts more strongly upon the feather — ✓ 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 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the motion of bodies released in the absence of air?

1. All bodies descend at an identical rate irrespective of weight — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Bodies descend at a constant speed from release — ← Mova's choice · score 3
3. Lighter bodies remain suspended indefinitely — no support
4. Heavier bodies descend at a proportionally greater rate — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 15: «Without air, a heavy thing and a light thing fall at exactly the same speed: the heavy thing is pulled harder, but it is also harder to get moving, and the two…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «fall» (+2); the same place «same speed» (+2). 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 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

It is given that a ball is projected vertically upwards. Ascertain the condition of the gravitational force at the highest point of its path.

1. It is reversed and acts upwards — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It continues to act upon the ball — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. It is replaced by the resistance of the air — no support
4. It ceases entirely for an instant — 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 ✓

Select the response that is consistent with the established facts concerning the direction designated "down" upon the Earth.

1. It is directed towards the centre of the Earth at every location — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. It is directed towards the South Pole at every location — no support
3. It is identical in absolute direction at every location — no support
4. It is directed towards the North Pole at every location — 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/physics/1-why-things-fall/