Oh, you want to know how I would have graded this? First off, I would give the person who answered the questions in the long test an A. He did answer the questions that were asked, and his answers were grammatically correct. If this test was a real one and made up by a real teacher, which I doubt, that teacher needs to form his/her questions better so as to avoid such answers. Multiple choice questions limit the possibility of a joke answer being acceptable. I didn't like them, so I usually asked questions for which students had to write out an answer, such as definitions and essays.
The two questions at the bottom were actual questions I asked on tests, as best I can recall them, and the answers were real answers as best I can recall them. I did not give credit to the first answer, as it did not answer the question correctly. The moon is approximately 1/4 the diameter of the earth, and its surface area is less than 8% that of earth's. The moon's mass is a bit more than 1% that of the earth. Any one of those comparisons would have been an acceptable answer IMO. Twice as far away than what is? We dont need to get into perigee and apogee, do we? My distance from Seattle does not make any sort of comparison between Seattle and Philadelphia.
The second one, it is absolutely true, the student asked me why he did not get at least half credit. I told him the answer he gave was wrong. He persisted and asked, "Doesn't an incorrectly spelled word get half credit?" I answered that it would, if the wrong spelliing did not change the answer to one that is incorrect. Still, he complained that he should get half credit. I finally gave in and said, "I'll let the class decide." I wrote the question and his answer on the blackboard. The class broke out in laughter. He finally realized, "I guess I don't get half credit, do I?"
trkyhntr
No man's life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.
--Mark Twain (1866)
