Skill: course-build → write-mcqs → write-explanation, design-check-sequence @ efd8fba; v2 fix pass (the three reviews of 2 Oct 2026 applied; item numbers below are the v2 bank's) @ fb37d14; v3 polish (Reader C's re-read: PP-45 re-run March–May → June; two ⟂ pairs confirmed and added; "the summer months" and "the path of the Sun" accepted) @ e23b67f

Topic 30 — The Sun's path and the seasons — the PP100's question types, with their exemplars (v2, 2 October 2026)

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 (52 items in content/G4T30_pp100_bank.py); 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 fact or a one-step read; medium = the rule applied to a fresh case, a drawn path, graph or table read; hard = two ideas chained, a claim judged by its correct reason, or a term, season or number PRODUCED — and rise with the atom's order: SPA4-001 (the Sun's daily path) carries easy items, two medium and the two typed term items; SPA4-002 (longer and shorter days) runs easy to hard; SPA4-003 (read a season) is medium and hard; SPA4-004 (the capstone prediction) is medium and hard. Every hard item carries a one-line "hard because" (hb) in the bank file.

Rulings already applied. Four options on every MCQ (six fixed sets, whitelisted from the length check by name: DIR4 east / west / north / south; WHERE4 low in the east / at its highest in the sky / low in the west / straight overhead; MONTH4 March / June / September / December; CHANGE4 a little longer each month / a little shorter each month / the same each month / longer some months and shorter other months; SEASON4; TRIPLES the four three-month groups); the one order item stores its key in the stem's direction (shortest day → longest day: L, K, J); no option bundles a verdict with its reason (every claim is "X is wrong … What is the correct reason?" with four single-statement reasons); every stem is a positive question of at most two sentences unless tagged hard (S23); an item path, graph or table carries no verdict chip and its blind text is numbers (a path's top height and where its ends sit; a bar's top on the axis; the table's cells) — the bundle's [Drawing: lines grep 0 for summer | winter | spring | fall | autumn | longer | shorter | higher | lower; the typed keys are "path" (the coined term, 4 letters, with child spellings), a season word read from three bars (winter, summer, fall — with "autumn"), or a predicted number (bare, with its unit word, in words, with "about"); every item names ONE atom; no item asks for a cause (the topic offers none: no distance, tilt or orbit anywhere); US spelling; units as words in prose, numerals in records and on drawings. MCQ keys A 10 · B 10 · C 8 · D 11 over the 39 four-option MCQs, plus one declared three-option direction item (PP-49 Peoria, key C; PP100_THREE_OPTION_SETS). v2: three-bar season items hide their month names (bars 1st, 2nd, 3rd, "three months in a row"); the full-year exact-triple items (type 10) are exam-fidelity scaffolds, retagged easy, and sit on TEMPERATURE graphs because the calendar's three-month seasons fit temperature and never fit daylight (mid-February is farther from the solstice than mid-November, so December–January–February are never the three shortest daylight bars).

The bar list (real things a generated item must never use): any cause of the seasons or of the Sun's motion (tilt, orbit, spin, "closer to the Sun", "farther from the Sun" — the register's JM-P23 scope; Topic 31 and grades 6-8 own them); "rises", "sets", "travels", "sinks" of the Sun (Grade 3's convention is "comes up", "goes down", "seems to move"); north and south as directions of the Sun's path; solstice, equinox, hemisphere, latitude; the Southern Hemisphere or any place outside the US; a "sundial" (not taught); "biggest / smallest" for a day, a count or a bar (longest, shortest, most, fewest); any lesson scene (the bus stop and streetlight, the schoolyard with its parking lot, gym, trees and basketball post, Oliver's soccer practice and the field lights, Paige's cousin's graph from Portland, Maine, the class's chart and calendar); any quiz, attached or practice scene (the Iowa barn, the Texas highway sign, the Oregon lighthouse, the Colorado camper, the Kansas mailbox, the Ohio apartment window, the Minnesota fisherman, the Utah class, the Michigan lifeguard, Denver, the Georgia porch light, Boise, the Illinois flagpole, Omaha, the Vermont sunsets, Topeka, Tucson, Salt Lake City, El Paso, Richmond, Nashville, Boston, Columbus, the Oregon town, the Maine pond, Albany, Reno, Wichita, the Vermont December, Toledo, the Idaho class, the Kentucky mail carrier, the Wisconsin rink, the Arkansas class, Sacramento, the boy in the field, the warm Michigan lake, the Vermont baker, Madison, Fresno; paths J K, L M, M N and the three Suns J K L of the quizzes and practice); a claim-maker from another topic's row (only Oliver, Paige and Wade).

The sixteen types (the capstone needs the qualitative, numeric, two-step and claim forms, so the count is what it is)

(Type 4 of the first draft — where the Sun is at midday with the straight-overhead distractor — folded into type 2; the numbering keeps the gap so the bank file's type_ numbers stay stable.)

Hard because — type 5: the term is produced, not picked. Type 9 and 16: each claim is judged by its correct reason, held against three reasons that half-accept the belief (the key is never the odd one out and never the longest). Type 12 (corrected, v2): the season is produced from three UNNAMED bars by the one reading rule that fits them, with no month name to lean on — the lowest a year has and not rising each month (Cincinnati 10, 9, 10 → winter), the highest a year has and not falling each month (Baltimore 14, 15, 15 → summer), or falling each month from the middle of the range (Providence 13, 12, 10 → fall); a v1 instance (Cincinnati 9, 10, 11, rising) fitted two rules at once and was replaced. Type 14: the number is produced, on rising and falling patterns, from a table in the stem, from a drawn graph, or across two columns of a two-year table. Type 15: two steps — the turn of the pattern after June and then the direction past it (Peoria, v2 a direction item: the v1 number item had two defensible keys); a month found from a falling pattern (Dayton). Savannah (the year's repeat, then the season the stem already names as the shortest bars) is one step and sits in medium (v2).

One exemplar per type, in full

Type 1 (easy, SPA4-001). A ferry captain in Washington watches the Sun come up over the mountains. Which direction are the mountains from the ferry? — east / west / north / south. Why: Every day the Sun comes up in the east. The captain sees it come up over the mountains. So the mountains are to the east. (nearest lesson-side instance: L01-q2, the Oregon lighthouse keeper, two options — here four directions)

Type 2 (easy, SPA4-001). A school crossing guard in Virginia is on duty at midday. Where is the Sun? — low in the west / at its highest in the sky / straight overhead / low in the east. Why: Around midday the Sun is at its highest. Even then, it is not straight overhead. So at midday the Sun is at its highest in the sky. (nearest: L01-q5, midday in Georgia — the same fixed set; the belief distractor "straight overhead" is Plummer 2009's)

Type 3 (easy, SPA4-001; figure pp_table_fence, blind: the four cells as numbers). Here is a fence post's shadow at four times of one day in Ohio. At which time was the Sun at its highest? — 9 in the morning / 12 midday / 2 in the afternoon / 5 in the afternoon. Why: The higher the Sun, the shorter the shadow. The shortest shadow, 6 feet, was at 12 midday. So the Sun was at its highest at 12 midday. (nearest: L01-q6, the Kansas mailbox post — a different table, different times)

Type 5 (hard, SPA4-001, typed). Every day the Sun seems to follow one curve across the sky, up from where it comes up and down to where it goes down. Type the name of that curve. — accept: the Sun's path, the sun's path, Sun's path, sun's path, the suns path, suns path, path, the path, the Sun path, sun path, the sun path, pathe, parth, the suns parth, a path. Wrong-answer lines for "shadow" and "orbit". (nearest: PR-13, the practice's typed term — a different stem)

Type 6 (easy, SPA4-002). In which month does Detroit, Michigan, have the most hours of daylight? — March / June / September / December. Why: The days grow longer from winter to summer. June is the month with the longest days. So Detroit has the most daylight hours in June. (nearest: PR-6, Salt Lake City, three options)

Type 7 (easy, SPA4-002; figure pp_arcs_np, blind: "path N: top 115 px above the horizon; starts 34 px from the house, ends 35 px from the tree; path P: top 50 px…"). Path N and Path P are the Sun's paths over one farm in two different months. Which two months could they be? — N in June and P in December / N in December and P in June / N in March and P in September / N in September and P in March. Why: In summer the Sun's path is high and long; in winter it is low and short. Path N is the high, long path and Path P is the low, short path. So N is June and P is December. (nearest: L02-q3 and q4, which path is summer / gives the shorter day, two options — here the pair is placed in two months, and March / September are the tempting middle)

Type 7, the order item (medium, SPA4-002; figure pp_arcs_jkl). Here are three Sun paths over the same house and tree. Put them in order from the shortest day to the longest day. — key, stored in the stem's direction: Path L, Path K, Path J.

Type 8 (medium, SPA4-002). A newspaper in Oklahoma City prints the time the Sun goes down every day. From July to December, how does that time change? — a little later each month / a little earlier each month / the same each month / later some months and earlier other months. Why: The days grow shorter from summer to winter. July to December runs from summer to winter, so the Sun goes down a little earlier each month. So the printed time gets a little earlier each month. (nearest: L02-q6, the Georgia porch light, three options, January to June)

Type 9 (hard, SPA4-002). Paige is wrong to say the days are the same length all year. What is the correct reason? — The days are the same length only in summer. / The days change only on the first day of each new season. / The number of daylight hours changes a little each month. / The days are the same length only in winter. Why: The number of daylight hours changes a little each month. The days grow longer from winter to summer, and shorter from summer to winter. So the days are not the same length all year. (nearest: L02-q8, the same belief as a bare yes / no claim)

Type 10 (easy, SPA4-003; figure pp_graph_spokane_temp, blind: bars_desc, numbers only). Here is a year of afternoon temperatures for Spokane. Which three months are the spring months? — December, January and February / June, July and August / September, October and November / March, April and May. Why: In spring the bars grow taller each month, between the shortest bars and the tallest. The bars grow taller each month through March, April and May. So those three months are the spring months. (nearest: L03-q2, Salt Lake City's shortest three months)

Type 11 (medium, SPA4-003; figure pp_graph_three_fall, bars 1st 14, 2nd 13, 3rd 12, no month names). Here are the daylight bars for three months in a row in Hartford, Connecticut. Which season are they? — winter / spring / summer / fall. Why: In fall the bars grow shorter each month. These bars go 14, 13, 12: shorter each month. So these months are fall. (nearest: L03-q5, Nashville's three falling bars, three options)

Type 12 (hard, SPA4-003, typed; figure pp_graph_three_t3, bars 1st 13, 2nd 12, 3rd 10, no month names). Here are the daylight bars for three months in a row in Providence, Rhode Island. Type the season these months are. — accept: fall, the fall, autumn, the autumn, fal, autum. Wrong-answer lines for spring, winter and summer. (nearest: L03-q9, Columbus's three summer bars typed)

Type 13 (medium, SPA4-004; figure pp_table_kc). Here are Kansas City's daylight records for three months (February 11, March 12, April 13). About how many hours of daylight do you predict for May? — about 11 hours / about 12 hours / about 13 hours / about 14 hours. Why: Find the pattern in the records so far: one more hour each month, 11, 12, 13. Carry it on one more step: 13 hours + 1 hour = 14 hours. So May will have about 14 hours. (v2: the v1 run, March to May → June, was L04-q8 Wichita's dataset) (nearest: L04-q5, Reno's falling records, three options)

Type 14 (hard, SPA4-004, typed numeric). A class in Tulsa, Oklahoma, records daylight hours: January 10 hours, February 11 hours, March 12 hours. Type the number of hours you predict for April. — accept: 13, 13 hours, thirteen, thirteen hours, about 13, about 13 hours, 13hours, 13 hrs. Wrong-answer lines for 12 and 14. (nearest: L04-q8, Wichita's typed June)

Type 15 (hard, SPA4-004). A class in Peoria, Illinois, records daylight hours: April 13 hours, May 14 hours, June 15 hours. How many hours of daylight do you predict for August, compared with June? — more than June / the same as June / fewer than June. Why: The days grow longer only until June. After June the daylight stops growing, and from July the records grow shorter each month. So August will have fewer hours of daylight than June. (v2: a direction item; the v1 numbers 14 and 17 were both defensible — the blind read) (nearest: L04-q7, Wade's for-ever claim — here the turn is applied to a number)

Type 16 (hard, SPA4-004). Wade is wrong to say the daylight will keep growing longer every month for ever. What is the correct reason? — The daylight grows longer only in spring, never in winter. / The daylight stops changing after May. / After June, the daylight grows shorter each month. / The daylight grows longer every other month. Why: The days grow longer from winter to summer, and shorter from summer to winter. After June the records grow shorter each month. So the daylight does not grow longer for ever. (nearest: L04-q7, the same belief as a bare yes / no)

Draw constraints (⟂ pairs: never both in one served test; v2 numbering)

• PP-38 (Paige's same-length claim, type 9) ⟂ every type 6 and type 8 item: its key states the rule those items apply.
• PP-51 (Wade's for-ever claim, type 16) ⟂ PP-49 (Peoria, type 15): the key "After June, the daylight grows shorter each month" is Peoria's first step.
• PP-52 (Paige's next-December claim, type 16) ⟂ PP-48 (Little Rock's two years, type 14) and PP-35 (Savannah, type 15): its key states the year's repeat those items use.
• PP-35 (Savannah, type 15) ⟂ PP-16 (Milwaukee, type 10) and PP-19 (Albuquerque, type 10): Savannah's stem names December, January and February as the shortest bars, which is Milwaukee's triple and Albuquerque's season (Reader C, v3). PP-49 ⟂ PP-51 stands as listed above.
• The two type 5 term items (PP-36, PP-37) ⟂ each other (one name, two asks); the typed seasons ⟂ the type 11 item on the same season shape: Cincinnati PP-40 ⟂ Buffalo PP-29 (winter); Providence PP-42 ⟂ Hartford PP-27 (fall); Baltimore PP-41 has no type 11 twin (Lincoln now reads spring, so PP-30 ⟂ PP-28 Tulsa, both spring).
• PP-32 (Cheyenne: September 12, October 11, November 10 → December, a number) ⟂ the summary's third attached question (Arkansas: the same three numbers → December, a direction) — not a bank draw, but the student should not meet the dataset twice on one day; PP-44 (Lansing) was the third copy and now runs July 15, August 14, September 13 → October (v2, the review's "⟂ PP-45" read as this item).
• PP-31 (Kansas City, February to April → May) ⟂ PP-46 (Des Moines, February to May → June): the same rising run, one month longer, a table against a graph — draw one.
• Near-duplicate pairs marked draw-one: PP-14 / PP-15 (paths N P and Q R, the same month-pairing move); PP-32 / PP-33 (Cheyenne and Louisville, both a falling pattern predicted into December).

Design-move inventory (the lesson side the bank was checked against)

Lesson-side moves: which direction from where the Sun comes up / goes down (L01-q2, q3, q7; PR-4; attached L01; summary Q1) · where the Sun is at a named time (L01-q5, q9) · the lettered spot at midday (L01-q4) · which time was midday from a shadow table (L01-q6) · the overhead claim (L01-q8; PR-11 the morning claim) · the term recognised (L01-q10; PR-12) and typed (PR-13; PP-37 types it from a drawing) · the side label recall (L02-q1) · the latest sunset month (L02-q2; summary Q2) · which drawn path is summer / shorter (L02-q3, q4; PR-5) · fewest / most daylight month (L02-q5; PR-6) · later each month (L02-q6) · a graph read (L02-q7; L03-q1; PR-1) · the same-path claim (L02-q4, v2) · the same-length claim (L02-q8) · the longer midday shadow (L02-q9) · June-to-December change (L02-q10) · the shortest three months on a temperature graph (L03-q2, v2) · the season of the tallest bars (L03-q3) · three-bar seasons (L03-q4, q5, q9; PR-7; attached L03) · a described season (L03-q6; PR-8) · the tallest-bars TRUE claim (L03-q7) · which season has the shortest bars (L03-q8) · the pattern recall (L04-q1) · came-every-year recall (L04-q2; PR-3) · read the change (L04-q3) · predict the direction (L04-q4; summary Q3) · predict the number (L04-q5; PR-9; attached L04) · sunset-time transfer (L04-q6) · the for-ever claim (L04-q7) · typed predictions (L04-q8, q10) · next year's December (L04-q9) · the explain FRQ (PR-10).

Bank moves that share a lesson-side move change the scene kind (a ferry, a water tower, a zoo, a drive-in, a crossing guard, a hiker, a road crew, a fence post, a tent pole, a park tree, a marching band, a newspaper, a dairy farm, two farms with lettered paths, three paths in order), the data (fresh towns, fresh records), or the form (four options; typed; two steps; a reason).