Sea lions, seals and otters
Tests: 5 of 12 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★★ · Understood: 9 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 100 of the biology course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.
Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.
Test 1 · ★★★ · right ✓
3 walruses on the ice, no sorry 5. how many tusks
- 1. 10 — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. 6 — no support
- 3. 20 — no support
- 4. 5 — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
The show has 2 sea lions and 1 harbour seal. How many ear flaps can you see?
- 1. 6 — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. 2 — no support
- 3. 4 — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. 0 — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★★★ · right ✓
In Finding Dory, the sea lions push a friend off their rock and bark "Off! Off!". Which part is true to life?
- 1. Real sea lions speak English words — score 7
- 2. Real sea lions live alone, each on its own single rock — score 7
- 3. Real sea lions squabble loudly over the best resting spots — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 4. Real sea lions never make any sound — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 8, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 100, line 6: «Sea lions can walk on all four flippers by turning their back flippers forward and have small ear flaps; true seals, like the harbour seal, have no ear flaps a…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «squabble» (+2); the same circumstance (+2); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «sea lions» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
kid on the beach found a seal pup on its own, wants to carry it home. what do u tell him
- 1. Pick it up gently and carry it down to the sea yourself — no support
- 2. Keep away and call a rescue group; mum may be near — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Give it some milk from the shop — ← Mova's choice · score 2
- 4. Take a selfie up close with it — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 28, line 18: «Some sharks and rays lay eggs in leathery cases called mermaid's purses, while other sharks give birth to live pups.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «give» (+2); the same receiver «live pups» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1); a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
A seal is blindfolded in a pool and still catches a fish. How?
- 1. It hears the fish breathing — ← Mova's choice · score 3
- 2. It sees through the blindfold — score 1
- 3. It smells the fish from far away through the water — score 3
- 4. Its whiskers follow the swirl the fish left behind — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 27, line 6: «Dolphins find things by echolocation: they send out fast clicks and listen to the echoes, and sound travels well through water even where it is too muddy to se…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «listen» (+2); the same doer «seals» (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
Why does a whistle work faster than giving the fish straight away?
- 1. Sea lions hate the taste of fish — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It is much louder than the crowd, so the animal can hear it — no support
- 3. The fish would sink too fast — no support
- 4. It marks the exact moment the animal got it right — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★★★ · right ✓
If all the sea otters vanished from a coast, what would happen to the kelp forest?
- 1. Urchins would multiply and could eat it bare — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
- 2. Nothing, otters eat only kelp — score 7
- 3. The kelp would turn into coral — no support
- 4. The kelp would grow faster than ever, with no otters to eat it — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 100, line 13: «Sea otters eat sea urchins that eat kelp; when otters were hunted almost to extinction for fur, urchins spread and kelp forests vanished in places.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «eat» (+5); the same doer «sea urchins» (+4). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★★★ · right ✓
Your friend says sea otters are just big cuddly ducks of the sea, they do nothing much. What is the truth?
- 1. They only sleep and never eat — score 3
- 2. They eat the kelp forests down to bare rock — score 3
- 3. They are birds that cannot fly — no support
- 4. They protect whole kelp forests by eating urchins — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 100, line 13: «Sea otters eat sea urchins that eat kelp; when otters were hunted almost to extinction for fur, urchins spread and kelp forests vanished in places.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «eat» (+2); the same thing acted on «sea urchins» (+2); the same doer «sea otters» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
Which animals have we met that use tools, like the sea otter's stone?
- 1. Goats and sheep — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Sharks and jellyfish — no support
- 3. Flamingos with feathers and penguins with pebbles — no support
- 4. Chimpanzees with sticks and capuchins with stones — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
Why are walruses hardly ever kept in zoos?
- 1. They are too small to find in a tank — ← Mova's choice · score 7
- 2. They eat only penguins — score 5
- 3. They are far too shy to be seen by visitors — score 1
- 4. They are huge, need cold seas and lots of clams — ✓ the right answer · score 7
Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 100, line 17: «The walrus is a relative of seals and sea lions; it uses its two long tusks to haul itself onto the ice and to show strength, and finds clams with its whiskers…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «walrus» (+4); the same action «find» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 11 · ★★★ · wrong ✗
A big otter-like animal in a zoo pool clearly has ear flaps and walks on four flippers. What is it?
- 1. A sea otter — no support
- 2. A harbour seal — no support
- 3. A sea lion — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. A young walrus — ← Mova's choice · score 6
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 52, line 15: «Grey wolves hunt in family packs, chasing deer, elk or moose over long distances; they are built for stamina rather than speed, and they often pick out a young…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «young animal» (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2); the same property (+1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 12 · ★★★ · right ✓
How could cleaner rivers bring back otters?
- 1. More fish survive, and otters are no longer poisoned — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 2. Otters only like the taste of clean, fresh water — no support
- 3. Clean water is warmer for otters — score 2
- 4. Clean rivers flow faster for swimming — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 100, line 16: «Otters keep in touch with squeaks, chirps and whistles, and they came back to many British rivers after harmful farm chemicals, which had poisoned otters and t…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «poison» (+5). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓
Identify the feature by which a sea lion may most readily be distinguished from a true seal.
- 1. The presence of small external ear flaps and the capacity to walk upon four flippers — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
- 2. The possession of a striped coat — no support
- 3. The possession of two long tusks and a thick coat of fur — no support
- 4. The absence of whiskers — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 100, line 6: «Sea lions can walk on all four flippers by turning their back flippers forward and have small ear flaps; true seals, like the harbour seal, have no ear flaps a…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «four flippers» (+3); the same action «walk» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the ecological role of the sea otter?
- 1. It has no discernible effect upon its habitat — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. By consuming sea urchins it preserves the kelp forests and is thus a keystone species — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. It fertilises the kelp with its droppings alone — no support
- 4. It consumes the kelp forests in great quantity and thereby destroys them entirely — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning a solitary seal pup discovered upon a beach.
- 1. It ought to be fed with cow's milk — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It ought to be carried at once into the sea — no support
- 3. It ought to be left undisturbed and a rescue organisation notified — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. It ought to be removed to a private dwelling — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗
It is given that four walruses repose upon an ice floe whilst one further walrus joins them. Ascertain the aggregate number of tusks.
- 1. Eight — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Five — no support
- 3. Twelve — no support
- 4. Ten — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/100-sea-lions-seals-and-otters/