--- title: The Moon and its phases — how Mova does on the tests · World description: Lesson 3 of the world course of Mova's primary school: 1 of 13 tests right, exam 1 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/) / [World](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/world/) / 3 # The Moon and its phases **Tests:** 1 of 13 right · **Exam:** 1 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★ · **Understood:** 12 of 17 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72` Lesson 3 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/). Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/). ### Test 1 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t1} Tom stands in a dark room with a lamp and holds a ball at arm's length, turning slowly around. What does he see? - **1.** The ball is always fully dark — no support - **2.** The ball is always fully lit — **← Mova's choice** · score 8 - **3.** The ball changes colour — no support - **4.** The lit part of the ball grows and shrinks like the Moon's phases — **✓ the right answer** · no support **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 5: «The phases are not made by the Earth's shadow: hold a ball at arm's length near a lamp, turn slowly around, and you will see all the phases on the ball yoursel…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same thing acted on «ball» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t1/) ### Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t2} Which is true? - **1.** The Moon is a different size each night — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** The Moon's phases happen because we see its sunlit half from different angles — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** The Moon makes its own light, which flickers — no support - **4.** The Earth's shadow makes the phases each month — 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t2/) ### Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t3} If the Moon stopped moving around the Earth, what would happen to its phases? - **1.** Nothing would happen to them — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** They would change much faster — no support - **3.** They would stop changing — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** They would go backwards — 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t3/) ### Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t4} Mia sees a thin crescent moon that is a bit bigger each evening. What will she see in a few more days? - **1.** A full moon at once — score 12 - **2.** A new moon — **← Mova's choice** · score 14 - **3.** A half moon — **✓ the right answer** · score 12 - **4.** The same crescent — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 14, against 12 for the next best. Its support: lesson 3, line 3: «When the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, its lit half faces away from us and we see a new moon; when the Moon is on the far side of the Earth from the S…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «see» (+4); the same thing acted on «new moon» (+4); the same property (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, scored 12. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t4/) ### Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t5} At full moon, which body is in the middle? - **1.** The Moon itself — **← Mova's choice** · score 14 - **2.** The Earth — **✓ the right answer** · score 5 - **3.** The Sun, as always — score 5 - **4.** None of them — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 14, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 3, line 16: «The Moon has no air and no liquid water, and it is covered in craters, round holes made by rocks from space crashing into it; with no wind or rain, the marks s…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same thing acted on «moon» (+4); the same circumstance (+4). The right option, 2, scored 5. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t5/) ### Test 6 · ★ · right ✓ {#t6} Why does the Moon look bright although it is made of grey rock? - **1.** It is covered in mirrors of shiny ice that sparkle — score 4 - **2.** It is very hot inside — no support - **3.** Sunlight falls on it and bounces to us — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7 - **4.** It is lit by the stars — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 7, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 3, line 1: «The Moon is a ball of rock that goes around the Earth about once a month; it makes no light of its own and shines only because sunlight falls on it.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «moon» (+3); the same action «fall» (+2); the same doer «sunlight» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t6/) ### Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t7} How many full moons are there in a year? - **1.** Exactly one — **← Mova's choice** · score 3 - **2.** About twelve or thirteen — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** About four — no support - **4.** About fifty, one each week — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 10: «From one new moon to the next takes about 29 and a half days.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the number the lesson gave for it (+3). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t7/) ### Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t8} A friend says a planet's shadow makes the Moon's phases. What is wrong? - **1.** Nothing; a planet's shadow makes them — **← Mova's choice** · score 0 - **2.** It is the Sun's shadow, not a planet's — no support - **3.** It is the shadow of the clouds — no support - **4.** The phases come from where the Moon is, not from any shadow — **✓ the right answer** · no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 5: «The phases are not made by the Earth's shadow: hold a ball at arm's length near a lamp, turn slowly around, and you will see all the phases on the ball yoursel…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «make» (+4); the same thing acted on «phases» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-6). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t8/) ### Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t9} Where would you look for a full moon just after the Sun has set? - **1.** Low in the west — **← Mova's choice** · score 6 - **2.** High overhead — score 6 - **3.** Low in the east — **✓ the right answer** · score 6 - **4.** Low in the north — score 6 **Why:** It took the question to ask where. It chose option 1 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1, line 13: «The Moon and the stars also seem to cross the sky because the Earth turns.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «seem» (+4); the same circumstance (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, scored 6. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t9/) ### Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t10} how come the moon's only half there tonight - **1.** The Earth's shadow is covering the other half — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** We can see only part of its lit half from here — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** The Moon has broken into pieces this week — no support - **4.** A cloud is hiding the other half of it — 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t10/) ### Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t11} moon's full tonight, when's it gonna be full again roughly - **1.** In about a month, around 29 and a half days — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** In about a week, around 7 days — no support - **3.** In about a year, around 365 days — no support - **4.** Tomorrow night again, because it's full every single night — **← Mova's choice** · score 6 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 17: «The full moon rises in the east around sunset.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «full moon» (+4); the same property (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t11/) ### Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t12} my brother says the moon's got phases cos the Earth's shadow falls on it. true? - **1.** No, we just see different amounts of its sunlit half — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** Yes, the Earth's shadow makes every phase — **← Mova's choice** · score 8 - **3.** No, clouds on the Moon make the phases — score 0 - **4.** Yes, but only the full moon is from the shadow — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 8, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 3, line 5: «The phases are not made by the Earth's shadow: hold a ball at arm's length near a lamp, turn slowly around, and you will see all the phases on the ball yoursel…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «shadow» (+4); the same doer «earth» (+4). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t12/) ### Test 13 · ★ · wrong ✗ {#t13} Mia reckons the moon makes its own light like a lamp. right? - **1.** No, it reflects light from the Earth's cities — **← Mova's choice** · score 12 - **2.** No, it only reflects light from the Sun — **✓ the right answer** · score 12 - **3.** Yes, it glows like a small star — score 4 - **4.** Yes, but only when it is full — score 3 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 12, tied with another option at 12 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 3, line 7: «The Moon makes no light of its own; it reflects the light of the Sun.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «reflect» (+4); the same doer «moon» (+4); the same thing acted on «light» (+4). The right option, 2, scored 12. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/t13/) ### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1} Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the source of the Moon's luminosity? - **1.** The Moon reflects the light of the Earth's cities — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** The Moon is illuminated by the nearer stars — no support - **3.** The Moon reflects the light of the Sun — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** The Moon emits light of its own production — 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/e1/) ### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2} Identify the principal cause of the phases of the Moon. - **1.** The interposition of clouds between Earth and Moon — no support - **2.** The shadow of the Earth falling upon the Moon — **← Mova's choice** · score 4 - **3.** The varying portion of its sunlit half visible from the Earth — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** The alteration of the Moon's actual shape — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 14: «The phases are not caused by the shadow of the Earth.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «shadow» (+2); the same thing acted on «earth» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/e2/) ### Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓ {#e3} State the approximate interval elapsing between one new moon and the subsequent new moon. - **1.** Approximately twenty-nine and a half days — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** Approximately three hundred and sixty-five days — no support - **3.** Approximately fourteen days — no support - **4.** Precisely seven days — 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/e3/) ### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4} Whereas the Earth is situated between the Sun and the Moon, ascertain the phase thereby observed. - **1.** Waning crescent — no support - **2.** A new moon — **← Mova's choice** · score 3 - **3.** Full moon — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** First quarter — 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 3, line 11: «At new moon the Moon is between the Earth and the Sun, and its dark side faces us.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «moon» (+2); the same property (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/3-the-moon-and-its-phases/e4/) - ← previous: [2. The seasons and the tilt of the axis](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/world/2-seasons-and-the-tilt/) - next →: [4. The solar system and the planets](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/world/4-the-solar-system/) - ↑ back to [World](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/world/)