The African savanna area: hippos, meerkats, ostriches, wild dogs and hyenas

Tests: 7 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 9 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 102 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 ✓

«hippo's just a big lazy cow, I could swim with it lol» What is right?

1. Never: hippos guard their water fiercely and are very dangerous — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
2. Fine, hippos are gentle grass-eaters — no support
3. Fine, hippos cannot bite in water — no support
4. Fine, as long as it is not yawning — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 102, line 2: «A hippo looks lazy and round, but it opens its mouth wide enough to fit a child, walks along the bottom of the pool because it cannot really swim, and guards i…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «guard» (+4); the same doer «hippo» (+4); the same property (+3); the same thing acted on «water» (+1). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

In Disney's Fantasia, hippos in tutus dance across the water. What is real?

1. Hippos float high and spin round and round on the surface — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. Hippos swim gracefully like ballerinas — score 5
3. Hippos cannot go into water at all — no support
4. Hippos sink and walk or bounce on the bottom — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 102, line 2: «A hippo looks lazy and round, but it opens its mouth wide enough to fit a child, walks along the bottom of the pool because it cannot really swim, and guards i…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «swim» (+4); the same doer «hippo» (+4). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · right ✓

«look, that ostrich buried its head cos it's scared» What is true?

1. Yes, it is drinking water under the sand — score 1
2. Yes, ostriches hide their heads when afraid — score 3
3. No, it is eating stones to sharpen its beak — no support
4. It is turning its eggs or hiding by lying flat — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 7, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 102, line 11: «Ostriches do not bury their heads in sand; they lower their heads to turn their eggs in a ground nest or lie flat to hide, and a scared ostrich runs at up to a…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «lie» (+4); the same property (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · right ✓

In The Lion King the hyenas only steal leftovers from lions. What is real?

1. Lions always share their meat with hyenas — score 0
2. Hyenas never hunt anything themselves, they just steal from lions — score 5
3. Hyenas only eat plants and berries — no support
4. Hyenas hunt most of their food, and lions often steal from them — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 9, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 47, line 10: «It is a myth that hyenas only steal from lions: spotted hyenas hunt most of their own food in many places, lions often steal from them, and they are closer rel…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «hunt» (+4); the same doer «spotted hyenas» (+4); the same thing acted on «most» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗

4 ostriches walk past. How many toes do they have altogether?

1. 40 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 32 — no support
3. 8 — no support
4. 16 — ✓ 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 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if an eagle flew over while the meerkats were digging?

1. The meerkats would stand still and wave — no support
2. Nothing, eagles never eat meerkats — ← Mova's choice · score -2
3. The guard would jump up and fight the eagle all on its own — no support
4. The guard would call and they would dive into the burrow — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score -2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 78, line 5: «Bald eagles fell to about 400 to 500 nesting pairs in the lower 48 US states by the 1960s, partly because the pesticide DDT, building up from tiny water bugs i…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «eat» (+1); the same doer «eagles» (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

«hyenas are laughing cos they're happy» What is right?

1. The giggle often means they are nervous or excited — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. No, hyenas make no sound at all — no support
3. Yes, they laugh only after a big meal — no support
4. Yes, they giggle at all the funny things they see — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 102, line 16: «Spotted hyenas giggle when nervous or excited and whoop to call the clan; they catch most of their own food, lions often steal from them, and their clans are l…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «giggle» (+2); the same doer «spotted hyenas» (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · right ✓

3 hippos and 5 meerkats in the African area. How many tails?

1. 8 — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. 5 — no support
3. 3 — no support
4. 15 — 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 9 · ★ · right ✓

Why would a mother hippo's red skin liquid be useful on a hot day?

1. It makes her look scary to lions — no support
2. It keeps flies away by smelling of flowers — no support
3. It cools her down by turning to ice — no support
4. It works like sunscreen for her skin — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 102, line 7: «Hippos ooze a red-orange liquid sometimes called «blood sweat», which is neither blood nor sweat but works as sunscreen and may help stop germs in cuts.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «work» (+3); the same circumstance (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · right ✓

«warthogs walk into their holes head first, don't they» What is true?

1. They back in, so their tusks face out — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. They never go into holes at all — no support
3. They sleep on top of the hole — no support
4. Yes, head first, so they can dig deeper — 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 11 · ★ · right ✓

A sick old wild dog cannot hunt any more. What will its pack do?

1. Share food with it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. Make it guard the pups only — no support
3. Chase it out of the pack — no support
4. Leave it with the hyenas — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 102, line 14: «African wild dogs, also called painted dogs, live in close packs, greet each other with squeaks and licks before a hunt, and share food with pups and with sick…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «share» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the locomotion of the hippopotamus in water?

1. It avoids water entirely and inhabits dry plains — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It walks or bounds along the bottom, being too dense to swim in the ordinary sense — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. It floats upon the surface and does not submerge — no support
4. It swims with great speed by means of its tail — 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 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the principal function of the red-orange secretion upon the skin of the hippopotamus.

1. It is blood lost through numerous small wounds — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It is sweat coloured by the mud of the river — no support
3. It serves to attract a mate from a great distance across the river — no support
4. It serves as a protection against the sun and possibly against infection — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the ostrich lowering its head towards the ground.

1. It is drinking water from beneath the sand — no support
2. It is burying its head in the sand from fear — score 5
3. It is turning its eggs or lying flat to conceal itself, and does not bury its head — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
4. It is sleeping in an inverted position — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 9, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 102, line 11: «Ostriches do not bury their heads in sand; they lower their heads to turn their eggs in a ground nest or lie flat to hide, and a scared ostrich runs at up to a…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «lie» (+4); the same property (+3); its «because» matches the remembered cause (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

State which sex holds authority within a clan of spotted hyenas.

1. Neither, the clan having no order of rank — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. An adopted lion of either sex — no support
3. The females, which exceed the males in size — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. The males, which exceed the females in size — 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/102-the-african-savanna-area-hippos-meerkats-ostriches/