Skill: course-build → write-mcqs → write-explanation, design-check-sequence @ df153ae; v2 (reviews applied) → write-mcqs @ b0fa825
Topic 6 — How heat moves from hot to cold — the PP100's ten question types, with their exemplars
What this page is. James reads a bank as its question TYPES first (vault: A bank is reviewed as its question types first, one exemplar each). Under the Grade 4 standing brief the bank is built straight away (51 items in content/G4T06_pp100_bank.py, v2 after the blind read, the guidance review and the figure review of 2 Oct 2026: PP52 cut, four keys moved to D, the sister set conductor / insulator / maker / stopper, PP24 drawn); this sheet is the way in. Each type line says what the stem asks, what the four options (or the accept list) are, and prints one exemplar in full. Tags follow depth of reasoning — easy = one-step sort or recall; medium = the rule applied to a fresh case, or the reason picked; hard = two ideas chained, the mechanism transferred, or a coined term recalled — and rise with the atom's order: ENE4-020 carries easy and medium only; ENE4-023, the capstone, is mostly hard. Every hard item carries a one-line "hard because" in the bank file.
Rulings already applied. Four options on every MCQ; no option bundles a verdict with its reason; every stem is a positive question; a comparison of two readings is drawn (two thermometers, Grade 3 Topic 17's drawer) and an item figure carries no reading chip; "heat conductor" and "heat insulator" are chosen among sister words, never typed (nine letters, RECALL_BY_MCQ); the sister set is conductor / insulator / maker / stopper (v2: "a heat carrier" reused Topic 4's coined word in a wrong sense, "a cold conductor" named a thing the course refuses); the claim set holds one TRUE claim (PR-05) so the string is not all "no"; the three typed keys are lexicon words (closed questions); no multi-select (the one drafted split into two single-answer items and was cut); every item names ONE atom; US spelling; units as words; "higher / lower" for a reading.
The bar list (real things a generated item must never name as a conductor or an insulator): tile, glass, stone, concrete, brick, water, air — the topic sorts only metal (and foil as a metal), wood, plastic, cloth (wool, cotton) and foam; a child cannot be asked to sort a material the lessons never sorted. No item needs a melting point, a boiling point, or any arithmetic beyond "between the two starting readings".
The ten types
| Type | Items | Atom | Tags | Form | The stem asks… | The options / the accept | Exemplar scene |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | ENE4-020 | easy (2 medium) | MCQ; three drawn as thermometer pairs | two touching things, one hotter (or shown): which way does heat move | from A to B / from B to A / both ways at once / No heat moves. | a hot mug on a cool table; two rocks in the shade at the same reading (drawn); a jar of juice in a pan of hot water (drawn); a can of soda against an ice cube (drawn, 40 / 32) |
| 2 | 3 | ENE4-020, 021 | medium | MCQ | a hand feels cold, or a temperature went down: what is moving / why | four happenings; "cold moves in" and "it has no heat" are the distractors | Celeste holds a snowball: what is moving? |
| 3 | 7 | ENE4-021 | easy (3 medium) | MCQ | what happens to one thing's temperature; what the PAIR does; what the partner's temperature did when one reading moved | goes up / goes down / stays the same / up then down · "The milk gets colder and the water gets warmer." (four combinations, plain sentences) | a warm cookie on a cold tray; a warm bottle of milk in cold water; a warm potato in a cold pan whose reading went up a little |
| 4 | 3 | ENE4-021 | easy → hard | MCQ; one drawn | when heat stops; what is true then; which number both could read at the end (between the starts) | as listed | a warm metal key in cold water; warm juice in a pitcher of cold water (drawn, 104 / 52) |
| 5 | 6 | ENE4-022 | easy, medium | MCQ | which material is a heat conductor / insulator; which part of a pan lets heat through quickly; what a pot handle getting hot tells you; which kind of material the pie pan / the clothespin is | four materials or objects, or conductor / insulator / maker / stopper (the sister set; "heat carrier" is Topic 4's coined word and never a distractor here) | wood, metal, plastic, cloth; a pan's metal body and plastic handle; a pie pan hot all over at once |
| 6 | 2 | ENE4-022 | medium | MCQ | pick the kind of material, or the container, for a job | conductor / insulator / maker / stopper; a thick foam bag against three metal containers | a pan handle that stays cool; what keeps a cold drink cold longest on a warm day |
| 7 | 4 | ENE4-022 | medium, hard | MCQ | why the stuffing / the blanket keeps a thing warm; why the pan lid burns and its wooden knob does not; which ice cube melts first (the stem says ice melts when heat moves into it) | four single-statement reasons or four outcomes | the sleeping bag; a wool blanket round a hot pie; ice in a metal bowl against a wooden bowl |
| 8 | 2 | ENE4-022 | hard | MCQ keyed on the term | metal lets heat through quickly / cloth slows it: what kind of material is it called | a heat conductor / a heat insulator / a heat stopper / a heat maker | (definition stems) |
| 9 | 11 | ENE4-023 | easy → hard | MCQ; one drawn pair | which feels colder; which is at the lower temperature; why; what two taped thermometers show; the reversed case (both hotter than the hand: which feels hotter, and why) | as listed | a paper clip and an eraser in one pencil case; a doorknob and its door (drawn, 66 / 66); a bike's metal frame and its plastic grips; a swing's hot metal frame and its plastic seat |
| 10 | 3 | 020, 021, 023 | medium, hard | typed text | finish the rule: the missing word | colder (cooler) · down (lower) · same (equal) | "heat moves from the hotter thing to the ___ thing" |
Hard because — type 4 (between): the end temperature is not read off; both changes are worked out and the number placed between the starts, on a pair hotter than any the lessons used. Type 7 (ice in two bowls): the heat moves the other way from the lesson's hot potato — in from the warm room — and the conductor lets it in faster. Type 8: the term is recalled from its meaning. Type 9 (the swing frame): the mechanism is transferred to things HOTTER than the hand, so metal now feels hotter; (the key ring): the feeling and the reading are held apart and the reading is predicted. Type 10 (same): the rule's deciding word is produced against the strong feeling that the metal is colder.
One exemplar per type, in full
Type 1 (easy, ENE4-020, drawn). Two rocks lie touching in the shade, a thermometer on each. Which way does heat move? — from the dark rock to the pale rock / from the pale rock to the dark rock / both ways at once / No heat moves. Why: Both thermometers read 76 degrees Fahrenheit. The two rocks are the same temperature. If two things are the same temperature, no heat moves between them. (figure pp_pair_rock_rock, both at 76; no chips)
Type 2 (medium, ENE4-020). Celeste holds a snowball, and her hand feels cold. What is moving? — Cold moves from the snowball into her hand. / Heat moves from her hand into the snowball. / Heat moves from the snowball into her hand. / Nothing moves between them. Why: Heat moves from the hotter thing to the colder thing. Celeste's hand is hotter than the snowball. So heat moves from her hand into the snowball, and her hand feels cold. Nothing called cold moves.
Type 3 (medium, ENE4-021, the pair form). A warm bottle of milk stands in cold water. What happens to the milk and to the water? — The milk gets warmer and the water gets warmer. / The milk gets warmer and the water gets colder. / The milk gets colder and the water gets colder. / The milk gets colder and the water gets warmer. Why: The milk is the hotter thing, so its temperature goes down. The water is the colder thing, so its temperature goes up.
Type 4 (hard, ENE4-021, drawn). A bottle of warm juice stands in a pitcher of cold water. Look at the two thermometers. After a long time both read the same number. Which number, in degrees Fahrenheit, could both read? — 48 / 52 / 76 / 104. Why: The juice's thermometer reads 104 degrees Fahrenheit and the water's reads 52 degrees Fahrenheit. The juice's temperature goes down and the water's goes up. Both end up between 52 and 104. So both could read 76. (figure pp_pair_juice_pitcher)
Type 5 (easy, ENE4-022). A metal pot's handle gets hot soon after the pot is put on the stove. What does that tell you about metal? — It is hotter than the soup. / It makes heat. / It is a heat conductor. / It is a heat insulator. Why: The handle got hot soon, so heat moved through the metal quickly. A material that lets heat move through it quickly is called a heat conductor. So metal is a heat conductor.
Type 6 (medium, ENE4-022). Cedric needs a handle for a hot pan that stays cool. Which kind of material should the handle be made of? — a heat conductor / a heat insulator / a heat maker / a heat stopper. Why: A heat insulator slows heat down, so heat moves through the handle slowly and it stays cool. A heat conductor would let the pan's heat through quickly. No material stops heat; an insulator only slows it. So the handle should be a heat insulator, such as wood.
Type 7 (hard, ENE4-022). Ice melts when heat moves into it. Celeste puts one ice cube in a metal bowl and one in a wooden bowl, both on the table. Which ice cube melts first? — the one in the wooden bowl / Both melt at the same time. / Neither melts. / the one in the metal bowl. Why: The room is hotter than the ice, so heat moves from the room into each bowl and on into the ice. Metal is a heat conductor, so heat moves through the metal bowl quickly. Wood is a heat insulator, so heat moves through the wooden bowl slowly. So the ice cube in the metal bowl melts first.
Type 8 (hard, ENE4-022). Cloth slows heat down. What kind of material is cloth called? — a heat maker / a heat conductor / a heat stopper / a heat insulator. Why: A material that slows heat down is called a heat insulator. A heat conductor lets heat move through it quickly. Cloth makes no heat of its own, and it does not stop heat; it slows heat down.
Type 9 (hard, ENE4-023). On a hot day, a swing's metal frame and its plastic seat are both at 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Celeste touches both. Which feels hotter? — the plastic seat / Both feel the same. / Neither feels hot. / the metal frame. Why: Both are at 110 degrees Fahrenheit, hotter than Celeste's hand. So heat moves from both into her hand. Metal is a heat conductor, so the frame moves heat into her hand faster. So the frame feels hotter.
Type 10 (hard, ENE4-023, typed). Finish the sentence: a metal button and the cloth coat it sits on are the ___ temperature. Type the missing word. — accept: same · the same · equal · exact same · very same · same temperature · the same temperature. Why: A metal thing and a cloth thing in the same place are the same temperature. The button only feels colder, because it moves heat out of your hand faster.
Design-move inventory (the move, the scene kind, the nearest lesson-side instance), after the cold review
| Move | Scene kind in the bank | Nearest lesson-side instance (not reused) |
|---|---|---|
| name the direction of heat between two touching things, one hotter | mug / table; hand / apple; pie / tray; rocks (drawn, same); plate / spoon; countertop / ice; juice jar / pan of hot water (drawn); frozen juice pop / fridge water; soda / ice cube (drawn) | L01: hand / window, soup / spoon, ice / cold water, cup / table; quiz: pan / stove top, can / hand, pea / milk, cups A and B (drawn), iron / shirt, ice / knee, book / shelf; VQ egg / water; practice bottle / lunch box; summary sock / floor |
| say what is moving when a body feels cold / why a hot thing's temperature falls | snowball in a hand; a cold stone step; a can of beans in hot water (why) | L01-q9 feet on the kitchen floor (claim); L02 scenes |
| what one temperature does / what the pair does / the partner's change | cookie / tray; carrot / warm water; fork / pancake; two pencils; milk bottle / cold water; can / cheek; potato / cold pan | L02 quiz: milk / warm water, coin / jar, two cups at 60; VQ roll / plate |
| the end state; the number between | metal key / cold water; juice bottle / pitcher (drawn, 104 / 52) | L02 quiz: apple / water; jar / tub, pan / sink, can / ice water (drawn); FRQ stone / bucket; practice grape / juice |
| sort a material; pick a material; the insulator's job | pot handle; pan body and handle; pie pan; clothespin on a hot pipe; sleeping bag; wool blanket round a pie; pan lid and wooden knob; ice in a metal bowl against a wooden bowl; a foam bag against metal containers for a cold drink | L03 quiz: pot, oven mitt, cutting board, coin, baking tray, foam cup, lunch box, pan, tea cup; coat claim; practice: cookie cutter, plastic mug, wool hat (FRQ) |
| metal feels colder: feel vs temperature; the reason; the reversed case | paper clip and eraser; lunch boxes in a locker; metal gate; bike frame and grips (what, then why); doorknob (drawn); mailbox on a post; lamp stand and desk; swing frame and seat (what, then why); key and key tag; button on a coat (typed) — the faucet item was cut in v2 (ENE4-020's skill under an ENE4-023 tag) | L04 quiz: bottles on a shelf; trays in a cupboard; railing / post; rail / bench (drawn); spoon claim; coat hook and door (TRUE claim); flagpole; buckle / seat; FRQ slide / bench; practice forks in a basket; VQ spoons in a lunch bag; summary rulers in a desk |
⟂ draw constraints (never in one PP100 draw): the bike frame's what and why (PP-39 / PP-40); the swing frame's what and why (PP-48 / PP-49); the two term items (PP-46 / PP-47); the lunch-box-in-a-locker and paper-clip items (PP-17 / PP-18: one move, two scene kinds). Added after the blind read and the guidance review (2 Oct 2026) — definition items print the words other items ask for: PP-05 ⟂ every other type-1 item and ⟂ PP-25 (the typed "colder"); PP-46 ⟂ PP-14, PP-16, PP-19; PP-47 ⟂ PP-15; PP-13 ⟂ PP-26, PP-44; PP-13, PP-17, PP-18, PP-41 ⟂ PP-50 (the typed "same"); PP-20 ⟂ PP-42 (the thermometer tells the true temperature).
⟂ added after the v2 re-read (2 Oct 2026): PP-05 ⟂ PP-25; PP-16, PP-19, PP-35, PP-46 ⟂ PP-14; PP-47 ⟂ PP-15; PP-49 ⟂ PP-48.