Topic 15 · What makes a climate zone — the question types, for your rulings

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Topic 15 — What makes a climate zone — the PP100's 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 5 standing brief the bank is built straight away (51 items in content/G5T15_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 sort; medium = the rule applied to a fresh case, a reason picked, a drawn table, globe or card read (James, 8 Oct 2026: reading a drawn instrument or any MCQ with number options is medium); hard = a term produced by typing, a claim judged by its correct reason, or two ideas chained — and rise with the atom's order: EAR5-017 six easy, one medium, two hard (typed); EAR5-018 four easy, two medium, two hard (typed); EAR5-015 two easy, five medium, two hard; EAR5-019 two easy, five medium, two hard; EAR5-020 one easy, five medium, one hard; EAR5-016 five medium, four hard. Every hard item carries a one-line "hard because" (hb) in the bank file. Bank: easy 15 · medium 23 · hard 13; MCQ keys A 17 · B 12 · C 10 · D 8; check_key_tells.py: KEY TELLS: 0 of 131 MCQs flagged.

Rulings already applied. Four options on every MCQ (fixed sets: the zone set "the tropical zone / a temperate zone / a polar zone / the equator" — the equator is a line, not a zone, the one confusion a child brings; the four descriptions, the fourth a mixed-up one; the climate-maker set "latitude / elevation / nearness to the ocean / the climate zone it is in"; all three declared in KEY_TELL_EXEMPT_SETS); no option bundles a verdict with its reason (both bank claims are "X is wrong. What is the correct reason?" with four single-statement reasons — the Leo-item form James wrote on 8 Oct is NOT used, so no named exception); every stem is a positive question of at most two sentences unless tagged hard; a drawn table prints its places and numbers as data and its blind text never carries a verdict word; the typed keys are the WHOLE coined terms "tropical zone", "polar zone", "equator", "latitude" (article forms and child spellings in the accept lists; "elevation" and "temperate zone" are nine-letter words recalled by MCQ, RECALL_BY_MCQ); every item names ONE atom; US spelling; units as words in prose, numerals on drawings with the unit in the header once.

The bar list (real things and words a generated item must never use): "gravity"; "forms of energy"; "heat moves / travels"; "closer to the Sun" as a KEY (it is the documented wrong belief, allowed only as a distractor or inside a claim); any desert as a fourth zone; a mountain-top temperature warmer than its valley's; a coastal city paired with an inland city that also differs in elevation or latitude without saying so (Newport / Bend is the one deliberate two-difference card, PP-48); any lesson scene (the classroom globe and its lines, the wall map, the flashlight and the paper, Pikes Peak and Colorado Springs, Hilo and Mauna Kea, the San Francisco beach and the Sacramento yard, the two cards, Honolulu and Anchorage, Phoenix and Flagstaff, San Diego and El Centro); any quiz, attached, summary or practice place (Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Greenland, Ohio, Germany, Indonesia, Mombasa / Bergen, Nairobi / Cairo, Dallas / Minneapolis, Rio / Buenos Aires, Key West / Bangor, Panama City / Nome, Cartagena / Tromso, Mexico City, Jakarta / Sydney, Jamaica / Iceland, Big Bear Lake / San Bernardino, Denver / Leadville, Mount Washington, Acapulco, Kilimanjaro, Monterey / Fresno, Santa Maria / Bakersfield, Eureka / Redding, Astoria / Portland, Brookings / Medford, Milwaukee / Madison, Galveston, Boston / Miami, Gatlinburg / Clingmans Dome, Half Moon Bay / Livermore, Quito, New Orleans / Portland Maine, Nairobi, Seattle / Los Angeles, Virginia Beach / Richmond, Lone Pine / Mount Whitney; Boise, Memphis, Buffalo, Omaha, Houston's ocean air, Atlanta, Cleveland, Yuma, Thailand, Mexico City / Edmonton, Accra / Stockholm, Breckenridge / Fort Collins, Charleston, Jackson / Grand Teton, Savannah, Madrid, Europe, Antarctica); a claim-maker outside Omar and Otis, each used once; "biggest / smallest" for an amount; "slightly" (say "a little").

The thirteen types (fewer would be better; six atoms each need their own forms, and the two documented beliefs each take a claim-reason item)

Type	Items	Atom	Tags	Form	The stem asks…	The options / the accept	Exemplar scene
1	4	017	easy	MCQ, the zone set; one plain	which two things describe a climate zone; which zone a described place is in	its usual temperature and precipitation + three; the zone set (fixed, key moves)	a scientist's description of a village's zone; Fiji; Poland; Svalbard
2	3	017	easy, medium	MCQ, the description set; one drawn monthly table	which sentence describes a named zone; which zone a monthly table of highs and rain shows	the four descriptions (fixed); the zone set	the tropical zone; the South Pole; a town in Malaysia (table)
3	4	018	easy	MCQ	which line runs round Earth's middle; what latitude is; the equator's latitude; which place is at 90 degrees north	four lines / four meanings / four numbers / four places	—
4	2	018	medium	MCQ, a drawn latitude table and a drawn globe	which place is nearer the equator; which is farthest from it	the places plus "both the same" / "you cannot tell"	Lagos / Oslo (table); Kampala, Lima, Helsinki, Cape Town (globe)
5	4	015	easy, medium	MCQ, three with a drawn latitude table	which stays hotter / colder / coldest through the year from latitudes; the bare rule on two unnamed towns	the places plus "both the same" / "you cannot tell"	two low towns; Manila / Tokyo; Darwin / Perth / Hobart; Murmansk / Athens
6	3	015	easy, medium	MCQ	which sentence about the distance to the Sun is true; why the ground near the poles is warmed less; what happens to a lamp's patch when tilted	four single statements	—
7	7	019	easy, medium	MCQ, three with a drawn table and one with the drawn mountain	what elevation is; which stays colder (a hut and a village); which of three places stays coldest; which town has the warmer summers; the most likely July high at a mountain top; why a top is colder; why a snowy top is cold	four meanings / four places / four numbers / four reasons	Taos Ski Valley / Santa Fe / Albuquerque; Grand Junction / Aspen; Weed / Mount Shasta (drawing); Mount Cook
8	6	020	easy, medium	MCQ, two with a drawn temperature table	what milder means; the cooler summers from a table; which of three towns is on the coast (backward); why the coast town's summer is cooler; fast or slowly; a great lake	four phrases / the places / four reasons	Santa Cruz / Gilroy; Westport / Olympia / Yakima; Duluth / Hibbing
9	4	016	medium	MCQ, a drawn pair card, the climate-maker set	what makes the two climates different	latitude / elevation / nearness to the ocean / the climate zone it is in (fixed, rotated)	Mobile / Portsmouth; Tucson / Mount Lemmon; Lincoln City / Salem; Jacksonville / Norfolk
10	5	016	medium, hard	MCQ; one drawn two-difference card; one three-place matching	why two nearby towns' climates are alike; what cools a high city on the equator; what the card alone can say when two rows differ; what makes two winters different at one latitude; which list matches three places to their July highs	four single statements / the climate-maker set / four lists	two Kansas towns; Cusco; Newport / Bend (card); a Norwegian and a Russian town; three places at 35 degrees north
11	4	017, 018	hard	typed	the zone described (two typed words, twice); the line round Earth's middle; the word for how far north or south of the equator	tropical zone / polar zone / equator / latitude with article forms and child spellings	Santiago, Chile at 33 degrees south
12	3	015, 019	hard	MCQ; two claim-reason items	Omar's claim judged by its correct reason (Hawaii closer to the Sun than Alaska); the reason a town on the equator is hotter than one at 45 degrees south; Otis's claim judged by its correct reason (the top of Mount Hood closer to the Sun)	four single-statement reasons	Omar, Hawaii and Alaska; a Brazilian and an Argentinian town; Otis and Mount Hood
13	2	019, 020	hard	MCQ	why ice lies on the top of Mount Kenya on the equator; the inland town's likely January high from the coast town's and the summer readings	four single statements / four numbers	Mount Kenya and Nanyuki; two Florida towns

Hard because — type 11: the whole term is produced, not picked. Type 12 (claim-reason items): each documented belief is judged by its correct reason, with the lesson's fact held against it; the Brazilian town chains two moves (rule out the other two makers from the stem, then give the sunlight-angle reason). Type 13: two ideas chained (the equator says hot and the elevation overrides it; the summer reading tells which town is inland and the rule then predicts its winter). Type 10's hard items: a place near the equator that is NOT hot (latitude ruled out, the one difference found); a card where two rows differ and the student must refuse to name one; both climate-makers at one latitude on three places.

One exemplar per type, in full

Type 1 (easy, EAR5-017). The island of Fiji is hot all year, and heavy rain falls most months. Which climate zone is Fiji in? — the tropical zone / a temperate zone / a polar zone / the equator. Why: The tropical zone is hot all year, with heavy rain most months. Fiji is hot all year, and heavy rain falls most months. So Fiji is in the tropical zone. (nearest lesson-side instance: Lesson 1 (Describe a climate zone: its usual temperature and precipitation), question 2, Costa Rica, three options)

Type 2 (medium, EAR5-017, drawn table). Here is a table of a town's usual highs and its rain through the year. Which climate zone is the town in? — a temperate zone / the tropical zone / a polar zone / the equator. [Drawing: January 86 heavy rain; April 88 heavy rain; July 87 heavy rain; October 87 heavy rain.] Why: The tropical zone is hot all year, with heavy rain most months. The table shows highs of 86 to 88 degrees in every season, with heavy rain. So the town is in the tropical zone. (nearest: Lesson 1 (Describe a climate zone: its usual temperature and precipitation), question 9, the two-place table)

Type 3 (easy, EAR5-018). What is the latitude of a place on the equator? — 0 degrees / 30 degrees / 60 degrees / 90 degrees. Why: The equator is at 0 degrees. A place on the equator is at the equator's own latitude. So its latitude is 0 degrees. (nearest: Lesson 2 (What latitude is: how far from the equator), question 6, the ship on the equator)

Type 4 (medium, EAR5-018, drawn globe). Here are four places marked on Earth. Which place is farthest from the equator? — Kampala, Uganda / Lima, Peru / Cape Town, South Africa / Helsinki, Finland. [Drawing: four dots: Kampala at 0 degrees; Lima at 12 degrees south; Cape Town at 34 degrees south; Helsinki at 60 degrees north.] Why: The nearer a place is to a pole, the higher its latitude. Helsinki is at 60 degrees north; Cape Town is at 34 degrees south, Lima at 12 degrees south and Kampala at 0 degrees. So Helsinki is farthest from the equator. (nearest: Lesson 2 (What latitude is: how far from the equator), question 2, Nairobi and Cairo on the globe)

Type 5 (medium, EAR5-015, drawn table). Here are the latitudes of Manila, in the Philippines, and Tokyo, in Japan. Which city stays hotter through the year? — Tokyo / Manila / both the same / you cannot tell from the latitudes. [Drawing: Manila 15 degrees north; Tokyo 36 degrees north.] Why: Places near the equator stay hotter all year than places near the poles. Manila is at 15 degrees north and Tokyo at 36 degrees north, so Manila is nearer the equator. So Manila stays hotter through the year. (nearest: Lesson 3 (Nearer the equator, hotter all year), question 1, Key West and Bangor)

Type 6 (medium, EAR5-015). Why is the ground near the poles warmed less than the ground near the equator? — Near the poles the ground is farther from the Sun than the equator is. / Near the poles the ground is covered in snow, which blocks the Sun. / Near the poles the sunlight lands at a slant, spread over more ground. / Near the poles the Sun's light carries less energy than at the equator. Why: Near the poles, the sunlight lands at a slant, so the same sunlight is spread over more ground. Each patch of ground there gets less sunlight. So the ground near the poles is warmed less. (nearest: Lesson 3 (Nearer the equator, hotter all year), question 4, the why item)

Type 7 (medium, EAR5-019, drawn mountain). Here is Mount Shasta, in California, with the town of Weed at its foot, where the usual July high is 88 degrees. Which is most likely the usual July high at the top of Mount Shasta? — 88 degrees / 100 degrees / 45 degrees / 75 degrees. [Drawing: Weed at 3,500 feet above the sea, usual July high 88 degrees; the top of Mount Shasta at 14,200 feet, its chip blank.] Why: Places high up stay colder than low places nearby. The top of Mount Shasta is 14,200 feet above the sea, more than 10,000 feet above the town, so it is far colder. So 45 degrees is the most likely July high at the top. (nearest: Lesson 4 (Higher up, colder: a place's elevation), question 7, the drawn cabin)

Type 8 (medium, EAR5-020, drawn table). Here are the usual highs of three Washington towns, all low and at about the same latitude, and one of them sits on the coast. Which town is it? — Olympia / Yakima / Westport / you cannot tell from the table. [Drawing: Westport: July 66, January 48; Olympia: July 78, January 46; Yakima: July 88, January 38.] Why: Places near the ocean have milder temperatures than places far inland: cooler summers and warmer winters. Westport has the coolest summer, 66 degrees, and the warmest winter, 48 degrees. So Westport is the town on the coast. (nearest: Lesson 5 (Near the ocean or a great lake, milder), question 7, Brookings and Medford)

Type 9 (medium, EAR5-016, drawn pair card). Here is a card comparing Tucson and the top of Mount Lemmon, the mountain above it. What makes their two climates different? — nearness to the ocean / elevation / latitude / the climate zone it is in. [Drawing: Tucson: 32 degrees north, 2,400 feet, near the ocean no, July high 100; the top of Mount Lemmon: 32 degrees north, 9,100 feet, near the ocean no, July high 76.] Why: Find the one way the two places differ. Both are at 32 degrees north and both far from the ocean; the top of Mount Lemmon is 9,100 feet up and Tucson 2,400 feet. So elevation makes their climates different. (nearest: Lesson 6 (Spot what makes a place's climate), question 2, Gatlinburg and Clingmans Dome)

Type 10 (hard, EAR5-016, drawn card). Here is a card comparing Newport, on the coast of Oregon, and Bend, 150 miles inland and 3,600 feet up. Bend's summers are hotter. Which words say what the card shows about what makes the two climates different? — Two things differ, so the card alone cannot name one. / Only latitude differs, so latitude makes the difference. / Only elevation differs, so elevation makes the difference. / Only nearness to the ocean differs, so nearness to the ocean makes the difference. Why: To spot what makes a place's climate, find a place like it in every way but one. Newport and Bend differ in two ways: Bend is 3,600 feet up AND far from the ocean. So the card alone cannot name one climate-maker; two things differ. Hard because: the routine's boundary — the student must notice two rows differ and refuse to name one. (nearest: no lesson-side instance; the lesson's four pairs each differ in exactly one row)

Type 11 (hard, EAR5-018, typed). A sign at the airport in Santiago, Chile reads: 33 degrees south of the equator. Type the one word that names how far north or south of the equator the airport is. — accept: latitude, the latitude, its latitude, lattitude, latitiude, latatude, latidude, latitud. Why: How far north or south of the equator a place is, is called its latitude. The airport is 33 degrees south of the equator. So 33 degrees south is the airport's latitude. (nearest: PR-20, Madrid, in the practice set)

Type 12 (hard, EAR5-015, claim-reason). Omar is wrong when he says Hawaii is hot because Hawaii is closer to the Sun than Alaska is. What is the correct reason? — Hawaii is farther from the Sun than Alaska is. / The whole Earth is about the same distance from the Sun. / The Sun warms Hawaii but not Alaska. / Hawaii is hot because it is high up. Source: register EAR5 SD-6 (pre-existing), Lesson 3 (Nearer the equator, hotter all year)'s verdict line. Why: The Sun is about 93 million miles away, and Earth is only about 8,000 miles across, so Hawaii and Alaska are both about 93 million miles from the Sun. Hawaii is hot because the sunlight hits its ground more directly. So the correct reason is that the whole Earth is about the same distance from the Sun. (nearest: Lesson 3 (Nearer the equator, hotter all year), question 5, the bare yes / no)

Type 13 (hard, EAR5-020). Two towns in Florida sit at the same latitude, both low. In July, the town on the coast reaches 88 degrees and the inland town 95 degrees. In January, the coast town reaches 70 degrees. Which is most likely the inland town's usual January high? — 70 degrees / 64 degrees / 76 degrees / 88 degrees. Why: Places near the ocean have milder temperatures than places far inland: cooler summers AND warmer winters. The inland town has the hotter summer, so it also has the colder winter. So its January high is most likely below 70 degrees: 64 degrees. Hard because: the summer reading tells which town is inland, and the rule then predicts the direction of its winter reading. (nearest: Lesson 5 (Near the ocean or a great lake, milder), question 2, the warmer-winter read)

Design-move inventory (every bank item's move, scene kind and nearest lesson-side instance)

PP	Move	Scene kind	Nearest earlier item
1	name the two things that describe a zone	a scientist's description	Lesson 1 (Describe a climate zone: its usual temperature and precipitation), question 1 (re-asked, different stem)
2–4	a described place → its zone (zone set)	Fiji; Poland; Svalbard	Lesson 1 (Describe a climate zone: its usual temperature and precipitation), question 2–q4 (fresh places)
5–6	a named zone → its description	the tropical zone; the South Pole	Lesson 1 (Describe a climate zone: its usual temperature and precipitation), question 5–q6 (the four-description set)
7–10	the equator named; what latitude is; 0 degrees; 90 degrees north	—	Lesson 2 (What latitude is: how far from the equator), question 1, q5, q6, q7
11	the bare rule on two unnamed low towns	—	SUMMARY-Q2 (re-asked with a fourth option)
12	the true sentence about the distance to the Sun	—	Lesson 3 (Nearer the equator, hotter all year), question 6
13–14	what elevation is; a hut and a village	—	Lesson 4 (Higher up, colder: a place's elevation), question 2; Lesson 4 (Higher up, colder: a place's elevation)-vq (fresh)
15	what milder means, from a coast / inland pair	—	Lesson 5 (Near the ocean or a great lake, milder), question 3 (re-asked)
16	a monthly table → the zone	a town in Malaysia	Lesson 1 (Describe a climate zone: its usual temperature and precipitation), question 9 (a different table shape)
17–18	nearer / farthest from the equator, drawn	Lagos / Oslo; four places on a globe	Lesson 2 (What latitude is: how far from the equator), question 2, q3
19–21	hotter / coldest / colder from latitudes, drawn	Manila / Tokyo; three Australian cities; Murmansk / Athens	Lesson 3 (Nearer the equator, hotter all year), question 1, q2
22–23	why the poles are warmed less; the lamp tilted	—	Lesson 3 (Nearer the equator, hotter all year), question 4, q7
24–28	coldest of three elevations; warmer summers; the mountain's top; why a top is colder; a snowy top's reason	New Mexico; Grand Junction / Aspen; Weed / Mount Shasta; Mount Cook	Lesson 4 (Higher up, colder: a place's elevation), question 1, q3, q7, q4, q9
29–33	cooler summers from a table; the coast town among three; why the coast is cooler; slowly; a great lake	Santa Cruz / Gilroy; three Washington towns; Duluth / Hibbing	Lesson 5 (Near the ocean or a great lake, milder), question 1, q7, q5, q6, q8
34–37	pair card → the climate-maker	Mobile / Portsmouth; Tucson / Mount Lemmon; Lincoln City / Salem; Jacksonville / Norfolk	Lesson 6 (Spot what makes a place's climate), question 1–q3
38	why two nearby towns' climates are alike	two Kansas towns	— (new move: the negative case of the sort)
39–42	typed: tropical zone, polar zone, equator, latitude	—	PR-17–20
43	Omar's claim by its correct reason	Hawaii and Alaska	Lesson 3 (Nearer the equator, hotter all year), question 5
44	the reason at the equator against 45 degrees south	a Brazilian and an Argentinian town	Lesson 3 (Nearer the equator, hotter all year), question 4 (two moves chained)
45	Otis's claim by its correct reason	Mount Hood	Lesson 4 (Higher up, colder: a place's elevation), question 5
46	ice on an equatorial mountain	Mount Kenya	Lesson 4 (Higher up, colder: a place's elevation), question 9 (two moves chained)
47	the inland town's winter predicted	two Florida towns	Lesson 5 (Near the ocean or a great lake, milder), question 2 (a prediction, not a read)
48	a high city on the equator → elevation	Cusco	Lesson 6 (Spot what makes a place's climate), question 4
49	the two-difference card	Newport / Bend	— (new move: the routine's boundary)
50	two winters at one latitude → the ocean	a Norwegian and a Russian town	Lesson 6 (Spot what makes a place's climate), question 8
51	three places at one latitude matched to their highs	—	— (new move: two climate-makers together)

⟂ draw constraints (an item that prints another's answer; near-duplicate pairs): PP-7 (the equator named) ⟂ PP-41 (typed equator); PP-8 (what latitude is) ⟂ PP-42 (typed latitude); PP-13 (what elevation is) is the only elevation definition; PP-5 ⟂ PP-39 (the tropical description and the typed tropical zone); PP-6 ⟂ PP-40 (the polar description and the typed polar zone); PP-12 (the distance sentence) ⟂ PP-43 (Omar's claim-reason, whose key is that sentence); PP-27 (why a top is colder) ⟂ PP-45 (Otis's claim-reason).

Reviewed 8 Oct 2026 (non-author pass, REVIEW_G5T15_2026-10-08.md): the type 12 exemplar's two distractors and the type 10 exemplar's key were re-worded in the fix pass; PP-32 is now "In winter, what happens to the water of the ocean?" with four happenings; PP-45's four reasons are single statements. Types unchanged.