Rocks, minerals and fossils

Tests: 7 of 13 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 14 of 17 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 61 of the world 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 ✓

A cliff shows many flat layers of rock, and the layer at the bottom holds fossils of fish. Which is most likely true?

1. The fish swam into the rock after it hardened — no support
2. All the layers formed together in a single day of flooding — score 3
3. The bottom layer is older than the layers above it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. The top layer is the oldest one — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 61, line 12: «In layers of sedimentary rock that have not been turned over, the lower layers are usually older than the upper ones.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «lower layers» (+2); the same property (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · right ✓

A rock with no visible crystals and many small holes is found near a volcano. How did it most likely form?

1. Limestone was heated deep underground — no support
2. Lava full of gas cooled quickly on the surface — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. Shells were pressed together on the sea floor — no support
4. Mud dried slowly at the bottom of a lake — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 2 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 61, line 10: «Lava that cools quickly makes rock with tiny crystals or none, and magma that cools slowly underground makes big crystals.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «cool» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · right ✓

Which is true about fossils?

1. They are remains or traces of living things preserved in rock — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. They are bones that have stayed exactly as they were — no support
3. They form only in ice and never in rock — score 5
4. They are stones that look like animals by chance — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 61, line 13: «A fossil is the remains or trace of a living thing from long ago preserved in rock.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «preserve» (+4); the same thing acted on «living thing» (+2); the same place «rock» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · right ✓

A builder wants a stone that started as limestone and was changed by heat and pressure. Which should he ask for?

1. Basalt — no support
2. Granite — no support
3. Sandstone — no support
4. Marble — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 61, line 9: «Metamorphic rock forms when rock is changed by great heat and pressure without melting; marble is limestone changed in this way.», 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 doer «marble» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · wrong ✗

You scratch a mineral with a steel nail and the nail leaves no mark, but the mineral scratches the nail. What do you learn?

1. The mineral is softer than the steel — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. The mineral must be diamond — no support
3. Hardness cannot be tested this way — score 4
4. The mineral is harder than the steel — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 61, line 16: «Hardness of minerals is compared by scratching: a harder mineral scratches a softer one; diamond is the hardest natural mineral.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «harder mineral» (+2); the same property (+2). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · wrong ✗

What would happen to a sandstone buried very deep and heated for millions of years without melting?

1. It would change into a metamorphic rock — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. It would become an igneous rock at once — ← Mova's choice · score 3
3. It would stay exactly the same forever — no support
4. It would turn back into loose sand — 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 61, line 8: «Sedimentary rock forms from layers of sand, mud or shells pressed together; sandstone, limestone and chalk are sedimentary rocks.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «sandstone» (+2); the same thing acted on «sedimentary rocks» (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · wrong ✗

Why is it very lucky to find a fossil of a soft jellyfish?

1. Jellyfish never die, so they leave no bodies — no support
2. Jellyfish lived only in the deepest sea, where nothing can ever be buried in mud — ← Mova's choice · score 10
3. Soft bodies usually rot away before they can be buried and turned to stone — ✓ the right answer · score 10
4. Jellyfish lived only for a very short time on Earth — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 10, tied with another option at 10 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 61, line 14: «Fossils are found mostly in sedimentary rock, because living things are buried in mud and sand.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «bury» (+5); the same place «mud» (+5). The right option, 3, scored 10. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · wrong ✗

A footprint of a dinosaur is found in stone. What kind of fossil is it?

1. A part of the animal's body turned to stone — ← Mova's choice · score 7
2. A drawing carved by early people — no support
3. A trace fossil left by the animal — ✓ the right answer · score 2
4. A crystal shaped like a foot by chance — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 61, line 4: «A fossil is the remains or trace of a living thing from long ago kept in rock. Most fossils form when a dead plant or animal is quickly buried in mud or sand;…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «turn» (+4); the same place «stone» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · wrong ✗

Where does the sand in sandstone come from?

1. Dust that falls to Earth from outer space — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Salt left behind when old seas dried up — no support
3. Ash thrown out by volcanoes and nothing else — no support
4. Older rocks broken down by weathering — ✓ 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 10 · right ✓

found a shell shape in a rock on the beach, how'd it even get in there

1. Someone carved it there to look like a real shell — no support
2. Sea water melted the rock and the shell sank into it — no support
3. The rock grew around the shell while the animal inside was still alive — no support
4. The shell was buried in mud long ago and slowly turned to stone — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · 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 61, line 4: «A fossil is the remains or trace of a living thing from long ago kept in rock. Most fossils form when a dead plant or animal is quickly buried in mud or sand;…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «bury» (+4); the same place «mud» (+2). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · wrong ✗

wait so how come marble's all smooth and swirly, what's it made from

1. Sand and mud pressed together under a lake — no support
2. Lava that cooled very slowly inside a volcano — ← Mova's choice · score 8
3. Limestone changed by great heat and pressure underground — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. Hard clay baked in the sun for many years — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 61, line 10: «Lava that cools quickly makes rock with tiny crystals or none, and magma that cools slowly underground makes big crystals.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «cool» (+4); the same doer «lava» (+4). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · right ✓

Leo says fossils are just old bones that stayed the same for millions of years. true?

1. No, most fossils are remains slowly replaced by minerals and turned to stone — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. Yes, but only bones kept frozen in ice — no support
3. Yes, fossils are bones that never changed at all — score 3
4. No, fossils are only ordinary stones that happen to look like animals by chance — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 61, line 13: «A fossil is the remains or trace of a living thing from long ago preserved in rock.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «fossil» (+2); the same thing acted on «remains» (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 13 · right ✓

my brother reckons granite's made from sand stuck together. right?

1. Yes, granite is shells and sand glued by mud — score 2
2. No, granite is igneous rock formed when magma cooled slowly underground — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
3. No, granite is limestone changed by heat — no support
4. Yes, granite is sand pressed together under the sea — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 61, line 7: «Igneous rock forms when magma or lava cools and becomes solid; granite and basalt are igneous rocks.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «granite» (+2); the same thing acted on «igneous rocks» (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the formation of igneous rock?

1. It forms from the shells of sea creatures — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It forms when magma or lava cools and becomes solid — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. It forms from layers of sand and mud pressed together — no support
4. It forms when rock is altered by heat without melting — 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 ✗

Identify the type of rock in which fossils are most commonly found, together with the reason therefor.

1. Sedimentary rock, since living things are buried in mud and sand — ✓ the right answer · score 6
2. Metamorphic rock, since great heat and pressure keep the remains safe — score 2
3. Igneous rock, since it forms beneath the sea — ← Mova's choice · score 8
4. Igneous rock, since lava preserves living things — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 61, line 7: «Igneous rock forms when magma or lava cools and becomes solid; granite and basalt are igneous rocks.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «form» (+4); the same doer «igneous rock» (+4). The right option, 1, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

It is given that the layers of sedimentary rock have not been overturned. Ascertain which layers are in general the oldest.

1. The lowest layers — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. The middle layers — no support
3. All layers are of equal age — no support
4. The uppermost layers — 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 61, line 12: «In layers of sedimentary rock that have not been turned over, the lower layers are usually older than the upper ones.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «lower layers» (+2); the same property (+2). · 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 origin of marble.

1. It is limestone altered by great heat and pressure — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. It is sand compressed beneath a river — no support
3. It is formed from ancient swamp plants — no support
4. It is lava which cooled rapidly upon the surface — 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/world/61-rocks-minerals-fossils/