---
title: Identify the principal reason for which a feather descends more slow… — Why things fall: the apple and the pul… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal reason for which a feather descends more slowly than a stone when both are released simultaneously in the open air. Exam question 1 of lesson 1 «Why things fall: the apple and the pull of the Earth» of the physics course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and p
---

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# Exam question 1 · Why things fall: the apple and the pull of the Earth

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal reason for which a feather descends more slowly than a stone when both are released simultaneously in the open air.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, feather · **What happens:** identify, descend, release · **To what, where:** principal reason, both, open air

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 1 «Why things fall: the apple and the pull of the Earth» of the physics course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/physics/1-why-things-fall/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:physics:1-why-things-fall:e1:1
# text = Identify the principal reason for which a feather descends more slowly than a stone when both are released simultaneously in the open air.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	obl	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	feather	feather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	descends	descend	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl	_	_
10	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	11	advmod	_	_
11	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
12	than	than	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	stone	stone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
15	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	18	advmod	_	_
16	both	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	18	nsubj:pass	_	_
17	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	aux:pass	_	_
18	released	release	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	advcl	_	_
19	simultaneously	simultaneously	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
20	in	in	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
22	open	open	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	_
23	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal reason |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent reason=Theme |
| 2 | **descend** | present | a feather |  |  |  |  | for the principal reason; than a stone; slowly *property* | vn meander-47.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **release** | present · passive |  | both |  | the open air |  | simultaneously *property* | vn free-10.6.3-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: subject=Source |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Heavier bodies are invariably accelerated more rapidly

```conllu
# sent_id = question:physics:1-why-things-fall:e1:o1:1
# text = Heavier bodies are invariably accelerated more rapidly
1	Heavier	heavy	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	2	amod	_	_
2	bodies	body	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	invariably	invariably	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	accelerated	accelerate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	5	advmod	_	_
7	rapidly	rapidly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **accelerate** | present · passive |  | Heavier bodies |  |  |  | invariably, rapidly *property* | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: subject=Patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The gravitational attraction upon feathers is negligible

```conllu
# sent_id = question:physics:1-why-things-fall:e1:o2:1
# text = The gravitational attraction upon feathers is negligible
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	gravitational	gravitational	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	attraction	attraction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	feathers	feather	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	negligible	negligible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the gravitational attraction upon feathers |  |  |  |  | negligible *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The feather is repelled by the surface of the Earth

```conllu
# sent_id = question:physics:1-why-things-fall:e1:o3:1
# text = The feather is repelled by the surface of the Earth
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	feather	feather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	repelled	repel	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	surface	surface	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **repel** | present · passive | the surface of the Earth | the feather |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus subject=Experiencer |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The resistance of the air acts more strongly upon the feather

```conllu
# sent_id = question:physics:1-why-things-fall:e1:o4:1
# text = The resistance of the air acts more strongly upon the feather
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	resistance	resistance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	acts	act	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	8	advmod	_	_
8	strongly	strongly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
9	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	feather	feather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **act** | present | the resistance of the air |  |  |  |  | upon the feather; strongly *property* | vn act-114-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **resist** |  |  | the air |  |  |  |  | nom resistance «act transitive»: of=patient |

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**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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