Bridges and skyscrapers
Tests: 7 of 12 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★★ · Understood: 9 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 30 of the technology 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 ✗
«lol bridges don't move, they're solid» What is true?
- 1. Only wooden bridges move — ← Mova's choice · score 8
- 2. True, steel never changes size — no support
- 3. They move only when a ship hits them — score 8
- 4. Bridges grow and shrink with heat and cold, by tens of centimetres on long ones — ✓ the right answer · score 4
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 30, line 9: «Bridges grow longer in heat and shorter in cold, and expansion joints, metal teeth or gaps, let them move, since without them a bridge swelling in the heat wou…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «move» (+4); the same doer «bridge» (+4). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
«my bro says the glass walls hold the skyscraper up» What is right?
- 1. Yes, very thick glass holds it up — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. No, the core and frame hold it up; the glass is only a skin — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. No, it is held up by the lifts inside — no support
- 4. Yes, and that is why the windows in skyscrapers can never be opened — 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 · ★★★ · right ✓
«are you thick? if a skyscraper sways it's about to fall» What is right?
- 1. Yes, any sway at all means the building is cracking and will fall down soon — no support
- 2. Yes, so everyone must leave at once — no support
- 3. No, skyscrapers never move at all — no support
- 4. No, tall buildings are built to bend a little in the wind — ← 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 30, line 4: «A skyscraper is a strong steel or concrete core and frame standing on deep foundations; its glass walls are only a skin. Tall buildings even sway a little in t…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «bend» (+2); the same thing acted on «little» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★★★ · right ✓
What would happen to a long bridge with no expansion joints on a very hot summer day?
- 1. Nothing, bridges don't change size — score 0
- 2. It would get shorter in the heat, slide off the ends and fall off its supports — score 8
- 3. It would push hard against its ends and could crack or buckle — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 14
- 4. It would float up off its supports — score 1
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 14, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 9: «Bridges grow longer in heat and shorter in cold, and expansion joints, metal teeth or gaps, let them move, since without them a bridge swelling in the heat wou…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «push» (+4); the same doer «bridge» (+4); the same circumstance (+4); the same property (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★★★ · right ✓
A friend wants to climb the scaffolding on the empty house next door for a view. What is right?
- 1. Fine, if nobody is working on it that day and the ladder is left out — score 0
- 2. Fine, if you only go one floor up — no support
- 3. Never climb scaffolding; it is for trained workers — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 4. Fine, if it isn't wobbly — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 14: «Scaffolding is a temporary frame of steel poles and boards clamped together by hand by scaffolders, with diagonal braces so it does not wobble; never climb sca…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «climb» (+4); the same thing acted on «scaffolding» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
In a cartoon, a huge earthquake hits and the hero runs out of the building past falling glass. What does the safety rule say instead?
- 1. Stand by the windows to watch — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Take the lift to the ground floor — no support
- 3. Run outside as fast as you can — no support
- 4. Drop, cover and hold on — ✓ 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
Test 7 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
Why does the Taipei 101 golden ball help in strong wind?
- 1. It swings against the building's sway and calms it — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. It makes the building lighter at the top, so the wind can't push it — ← Mova's choice · score -2
- 3. It catches the wind like a sail — no support
- 4. It is only there as a gold store — 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 12, line 14: «Clothes on a drying rack dry because the water slowly evaporates into the air; wind and warmth make it faster, and clothes dry even in cold weather, often fast…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★★★ · right ✓
Two piles of the same stones: one built as an arch, one as a flat beam laid across the gap with no support in the middle. Which carries more weight?
- 1. The arch, because it pushes the weight down into its ends — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 2. Both carry exactly the same — no support
- 3. Neither can carry any weight — score 7
- 4. The flat beam, because it has more stone on top and the weight sits straight down — no support
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 7: «A beam bridge rests on supports, while an arch pushes the weight sideways and down into the ground; Roman stone arch bridges still stand after about 2,000 year…», 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 (+4); the same doer «arch» (+3); the same thing acted on «weight» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★★★ · right ✓
«the house cracked in the drought, how? there's no earthquake» What is a likely reason?
- 1. Drought makes bricks melt — no support
- 2. Dry air pushes on the walls — no support
- 3. The heat makes houses grow taller — no support
- 4. It stands on clay, which shrinks in very dry summers and moves the foundations — ← 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 30, line 15: «A house's foundations are concrete under the walls that spread its weight over the ground, so it does not sink; houses on clay can move a little in very dry su…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «move» (+4); the same doer «houses» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★★★ · right ✓
«Tower Bridge is going up and I'm still on it, sod it, I'll just hold on» What is right?
- 1. Only cars must get off, not people — no support
- 2. Never stand on a bridge that is about to open: leave it when told — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 3. Holding on is fine, it lifts slowly and gently, so you won't slide off the road — no support
- 4. It's fun, people do it every day — 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 30, line 8: «Lifting and swing bridges use motors and counterweights to lift or turn so tall ships can pass; Tower Bridge in London has opened for ships since 1894. Never s…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «bridge» (+2); the same thing acted on «bridge» (+2); its «because» matches the remembered cause (+2); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 11 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
A window-cleaning cradle cleans 4 floors an hour. How many hours for a 32-floor building?
- 1. 36 — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. 28 — no support
- 3. 128 — no support
- 4. 8 — ✓ 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
Test 12 · ★★★ · right ✓
Which shows the bridge facts correctly?
- 1. Suspension bridges hang the road; arches push weight into their ends — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Suspension bridges push weight into their ends; arches hang the road — no support
- 3. Both kinds float on the water — no support
- 4. Both kinds just rest on a plank — 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 · right ✓
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the manner in which an arch sustains a load?
- 1. Its keystone alone, being of iron, sustains the load — no support
- 2. It transmits the load sideways and downwards into its abutments, so that its stones are compressed together — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
- 3. Its stones are bonded by adhesive of exceptional strength — no support
- 4. The air beneath the arch supports it from below — no support
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 10, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 30, line 3: «Lie a ruler across two books and press the middle: it bends. Curve a strip of card into an arch between the books, with its ends held against them, and it carr…», 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 (+4); the same action «carry» (+3); the same doer «arch» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗
Identify the principal function of expansion joints upon a bridge.
- 1. They permit the bridge to be folded during winter — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. They compel motorists to reduce their speed — no support
- 3. They permit the structure to lengthen in heat and contract in cold without damage — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. They facilitate the drainage of rainwater from the carriageway — 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
Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the structural support of a skyscraper.
- 1. The glazed external walls sustain the entire weight of the structure — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. A core and frame of steel or concrete convey its weight to deep foundations, the external walls being a mere skin — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. The structure is sustained by the air pressure within — no support
- 4. The structure is sustained by its lifts and staircases alone — 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
Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗
It is given that an earthquake has commenced. Ascertain the conduct recommended to a person within a building.
- 1. To descend by means of a lift — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. To run outside forthwith past the windows into the open street — no support
- 3. To drop to the floor, to take cover and to hold on — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. To ascend to the roof of the building — 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/technology/30-bridges-and-skyscrapers/