Is there the phrase "have an experience + to do something" correct? Is the phrase "learn about something. from ..." correct?

Question

We had an English exam, and I don't agree with some of the answers. There is a passage with blanks, and you have to choose the best word to fill in. The passage goes like this: ... What does the inside of a planet look like? Most of us learn about this __(from/for/to/with) books and pictures. But it is hard to imagine and to understand a planet only by the use of books and pictures. Students in the future are likely to have a very different __(experience/idea/point/item)to learn it. With the help of holographic technology, they can learn the inside of a planet from 3-D image. ... (I only typed in the passage that I had a little doubt, there is more to the article.) The answers they offered are: from; experience. I chose "with" and "item". I considered "from" in the first blank, since I know that people often use "learn something. from ...". However, the next sentence mentioned "the use of books and pictures", which made me think that "with" would make more sense. The next blank is more confusing. I think they want to say" the students are likely to have a very different experience learning it.", because the whole article is about the changes in future classrooms. But they used "to learn it", so I don't really think "have a very different experience to learn it" is grammatically correct. "Item" wouldn't be my first choice, I would have gone with something more like "tool" or "utensil" or something of the sort.

Answer 1

We learn about things from books. That is, preposition from casts "books" as a source of information. Preposition with would cast them as tools or implements. But your rationale (referring to "use") is good. In this particular context, "with" makes sense, although it is not the usual idiomatic choice.

This is not an idiomatic sentence, despite the exam's answer key:

Students in the future are likely to have a very different experience to learn it.

The problem is {experience} {to learn it}.

... experience when learning about it.

... way to learn about it.

I've used "about it" because the inside of a planet is not a simple thing, like the chemical formula of water, but a complex thing. We learn "about it", which implies that there are multiple facets to consider when engaged in that learning process. As the text says:

Most of us learn about this...

Again, your choice, "item", is reasonable given the gist of the paragraph, the changing means by which learning will occur in the future. Reasonable, but not idiomatic.

So that particular exam question should be tossed into the trashcan. Eliminating misleading questions is a common practice.