Myth check: do lemmings jump off cliffs?

Tests: 8 of 11 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★★★ · Understood: 10 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 150 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 ✓

«lemmings are dumb, they just follow each other off cliffs, everyone knows that» What is right?

1. Yes, only the leader decides to jump — no support
2. It is a myth; a 1958 film staged it by pushing lemmings off — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. No, they jump into rivers to drown, not off cliffs into the sea — score 5
4. Yes, scientists film it every year — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 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 150, line 5: «Lemmings do not jump off cliffs on purpose; the famous 1958 film scene was staged by bringing lemmings in and pushing them off.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «push off» (+4); the same thing acted on «lemmings» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★★ · right ✓

In the old game «Lemmings», little lemmings walk off ledges one after another. Why is the game not proof?

1. The game showed the real numbers of lemmings — no support
2. Games repeat ideas people already believe, and the player's job was to save them — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
3. The game was made by lemming scientists — no support
4. Games are always made from real nature films, so whatever they show must be true — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 10, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 150, line 12: «The 1991 computer game «Lemmings» made the myth more famous, though the player's job was to save them.», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same property (+4); the same doer «job» (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

«4 lemmings and 1 stoat in the burrow, wait no, 5 lemmings, how many legs»

1. 20 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 28 — no support
3. 24 — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. 6 — 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 4 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen to snowy owls in a year when lemming numbers crash?

1. Nothing at all would change for them — no support
2. Many would raise few young or not nest at all — ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. They would raise bigger families than ever, with more babies in each nest — ← Mova's choice · score 7
4. They would start eating grass — score 0

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 150, line 10: «Snowy owls, Arctic foxes, stoats and skuas depend on lemmings; in good years they raise big families, and in bad years snowy owls may not nest at all.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «raise» (+4); the same thing acted on «big families» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★★ · right ✓

«snow's freezing, how come lemmings don't freeze to death all winter» How do they survive?

1. Lemmings swim south in the autumn — score 3
2. Snow traps air like a blanket, keeping the space under it near freezing point, not far colder — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. Lemmings grow thick shells in winter — score 1
4. Lemmings sleep frozen solid inside the ice all winter without needing to breathe at all — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 150, line 14: «In winter lemmings live in a space between the ground and the snow; snow is full of trapped air, so it works like a blanket and keeps them near freezing point…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «snow» (+3); the same circumstance (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★★ · right ✓

A warm spell brings rain, then a hard frost turns the snow into an icy crust. What happens to lemmings under it?

1. They are warmer and safer than before, as the ice works like a hard roof — no support
2. Nothing, ice does not reach them — no support
3. They get more food than usual — no support
4. They can be cut off from food and their nests get soaked — ← 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, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 150, line 15: «Rain falling on snow can freeze into hard ice layers that seal lemmings off from their food and soak their nests, and in parts of Norway boom years became rare…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «soak» (+4); the same thing acted on «nests» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★★ · right ✓

«lemmings swimming across the river, they're just chucking themselves in» What is right?

1. They are moving to find food and space, though some drown — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. Yes, lemmings hate their crowded lives in boom years and give up on purpose — score 4
3. Yes, they swim in to drown on purpose — score 4
4. No, lemmings never go near water — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 150, line 8: «In boom years lemmings spread out in search of food and may swim rivers and lakes, and some drown; this may be where the cliff myth began.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «drown» (+2); the same doer «some» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★★ · wrong ✗

Why would an Arctic fox mother have over ten cubs one year and only a few the next?

1. The cubs from last year all came back — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Lemming numbers rose, then crashed — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. It got warmer, so more cubs fit in the den — no support
4. Foxes just choose a number at random — 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 ✓

A person who copies whatever the crowd does is called «a lemming». Is that fair to real lemmings?

1. No, real lemmings do not follow each other off cliffs — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. Yes, it was proven in a nature film — score 3
3. Yes, lemmings copy every move of the leader — no support
4. No, because lemmings never live in groups and always keep far apart from each other — 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 150, line 5: «Lemmings do not jump off cliffs on purpose; the famous 1958 film scene was staged by bringing lemmings in and pushing them off.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «cliffs» (+3); the same doer «lemmings» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★★ · right ✓

«a squeaky lemming just stood up and squared up to me, they're cowards though?» What is right?

1. Norwegian lemmings are bold and often stand their ground — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
2. Yes, lemmings always run and hide — no support
3. Yes, it was probably ill — no support
4. No, lemmings cannot make any sound — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 10, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 150, line 9: «Norwegian lemmings are bold and brightly coloured, and they often squeak and stand their ground against much bigger animals.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+4); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+4); the same doer «norwegian lemmings» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★★ · right ✓

In a cartoon a lemming falls out of a storm cloud. Where might that idea come from?

1. Lemmings are carried up into the clouds by big birds and dropped again in storms — no support
2. Lemmings really live in clouds — no support
3. An old folk story, because lemmings appear so suddenly in boom years — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
4. Scientists saw it happen in a lab — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask where. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 150, line 13: «An old Scandinavian folk story said lemmings fell from the sky in storms, because they appeared so suddenly in boom years.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same action «appear» (+3); the same doer «lemmings» (+3); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the alleged leaping of lemmings from cliffs.

1. The notion is a myth, popularised by a film of 1958 in which the scene was contrived — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The behaviour is confined to the eldest members of a group — no support
3. The behaviour occurs exclusively in the Scandinavian winter — no support
4. The behaviour is regularly recorded by scientists in all years and in every region where the animal lives — 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 cause of the periodic collapse in the numbers of lemmings.

1. A voluntary cessation of breeding — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A deliberate mass descent into the sea — no support
3. The exhaustion of the food supply together with an increase in predators — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Migration southward to temperate regions — 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 ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the winter habitat of the lemming?

1. It dwells within the branches of trees above the snow — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It migrates in great numbers to warmer latitudes for the duration of the winter and returns in spring — no support
3. It dwells in a space between the ground and the snow, the snow serving to insulate it — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It hibernates within the sea beneath the ice — 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 · right ✓

Ascertain the effect upon lemmings of rain falling upon snow and subsequently freezing.

1. The ice increases the quantity of food available — no support
2. The ice affords additional warmth and safety — no support
3. Layers of ice may sever access to food and saturate the nests — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. The ice exerts no effect whatever upon the animals, which remain secure within the soil — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 150, line 15: «Rain falling on snow can freeze into hard ice layers that seal lemmings off from their food and soak their nests, and in parts of Norway boom years became rare…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+3); the same doer «hard ice layers» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/150-myth-check-do-lemmings-jump-off-cliffs/