Myth check: do ostriches bury their heads in the sand?

Tests: 6 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 12 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 151 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 ✓

In a cartoon an ostrich hides its head in the sand and the lion walks past. What is true?

1. A real ostrich would run, kick or lie flat; with its head in the sand it could not even breathe — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. Only cartoon lions are fooled, but real lions are fooled by it too, which is why ostriches still do it — no support
3. That is exactly what real ostriches do — no support
4. It works because lions cannot see bottoms — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 151, line 7: «An ostrich that senses danger and cannot run may lie flat with its neck on the ground, so it is hard to spot from far away.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+4); the same action «lie» (+2); the same doer «ostrich» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · right ✓

«my uncle saw an ostrich with its head in the ground at the safari park, so the myth's real innit» What is right?

1. It was probably turning its eggs in the nest pit, which looks like that from far away — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
2. Yes, so the myth is true — no support
3. It was eating the sand for lunch, because ostriches need sand to make their eggshells — score 1
4. It was hiding from your uncle — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 4, line 17: «Ostriches do not bury their heads in the sand; they lay their heads flat on the ground to hide and turn their eggs in a nest scraped in the soil.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «turn» (+4); the same thing acted on «eggs» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · wrong ✗

Three ostriches stand in a row. How many toes do they have altogether?

1. 30 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 6 — no support
3. 18 — no support
4. 12 — ✓ 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 4 · right ✓

Two ostriches walk past. How many legs and wings do they have altogether?

1. 4 legs and 4 wings — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. 2 legs and 2 wings — score 8
3. 8 legs and 4 wings — score 8
4. 4 legs and no wings — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 137, line 5: «Praying mantises wait very still, then shoot out spiky front legs that fold like a pocket knife to grab insects in a fraction of a second; a mantis has six leg…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «spiky front legs» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «spiky front legs» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · wrong ✗

«mate says ostriches are thick, they hide their heads and leave their bum out lol» What is the best answer?

1. They are not foolish: they turn their eggs carefully, guard their chicks and run very fast — ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. Yes, because their brain is smaller than their eyes, so they cannot think properly at all — score 2
3. Yes, but only the males do it — no support
4. He's right, they're the dumbest birds — ← Mova's choice · score 9

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 9, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 102, line 12: «The ostrich is the biggest living bird and lays the biggest egg, as heavy as about 20 to 24 hen's eggs, with a shell strong enough for a person to stand on.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+4); the same thing acted on «biggest living bird» (+3); the same doer «ostrich» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · wrong ✗

What would happen to an ostrich that really kept its head under sand for a long time?

1. It would hear lions better — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Nothing, it can breathe sand — no support
3. It would run out of air — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It would cool down nicely — 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 · wrong ✗

A lion creeps towards a resting ostrich on the open plain. What will the ostrich most likely do?

1. Fly straight up into the nearest tall tree and wait there — score -4
2. Bury its head and wait — ← Mova's choice · score 9
3. Spot it with its huge eyes and sprint away — ✓ the right answer · score 8
4. Sit on the lion — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 with score 9, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 151, line 14: ««Burying your head in the sand» means pretending a problem is not there; the saying comes from the myth, not from real ostriches.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «head» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «bury» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · right ✓

«stand on an ostrich egg? it'll smash, obviously» What is right?

1. It only holds if it is cooked — score 2
2. Yes, it's as thin as a hen's egg — no support
3. Its shell is so strong a grown-up can stand on it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
4. Yes, they are so thin that they break if you even look at them — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 151, line 11: «An ostrich egg is the largest egg of any living bird, about 15 centimetres long and as heavy as about 20 to 24 hen's eggs; its shell is so strong that a grown-…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same doer «shell» (+2); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · right ✓

Your teacher says: «Stop burying your head in the sand about the homework!» What does she mean?

1. You are ignoring a problem you need to face — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1
2. You are playing too much in the sandpit and should come in now — no support
3. You are very good at hiding things — no support
4. You should do your homework outside — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 151, line 14: ««Burying your head in the sand» means pretending a problem is not there; the saying comes from the myth, not from real ostriches.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «problem» (+2). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2); a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · wrong ✗

Why might a lying-down ostrich be safer than a standing one?

1. Lions never eat birds that are lying down, because they think they are dead — no support
2. It can kick better lying down — score 1
3. It is closer to its buried head — ← Mova's choice · score 8
4. A big bird flat on the ground is much harder to spot from far away — ✓ the right answer · score -1

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 8, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 151, line 5: «Ostriches do not bury their heads in sand; they could not breathe, and it would not make them safer.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «bury» (+5); the same doer «ostriches» (+4). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-1). The right option, 4, scored -1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · right ✓

«ostrich wings are just for show, right» What is right?

1. Yes, they do nothing at all — no support
2. They help it balance and steer when running, shade chicks and cool it on hot days — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. They let it fly short distances over rivers and up onto the tops of rocks — no support
4. They are used to dig the nest — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 151, line 16: «Ostriches cannot fly, but their wings help them balance, steer and turn sharply when running, shade their chicks and cool them on hot days.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «cool» (+4); the same property (+3). · 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 practice of ostriches burying their heads in sand.

1. The practice occurs exclusively among juvenile birds — no support
2. The practice is confined to periods of sleep — no support
3. The practice does not occur; the belief arose from observation of the bird lowering its head to the nest — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. The practice occurs habitually when a predator approaches, the bird believing itself thereby concealed from view — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 76, line 14: «The ostrich is the biggest living bird, up to about 2.7 metres tall, and runs at around 70 kilometres per hour; it does not bury its head in sand; the myth may…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «lower» (+4); the same thing acted on «heads» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the principal means by which the ostrich evades a predator.

1. Flight on foot at a velocity of approximately seventy kilometres per hour — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Ascent into the branches of trees — no support
3. Concealment of the head beneath the surface of the ground until the predator has withdrawn — ← Mova's choice · score 5
4. Prolonged feigning of death — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 151, line 17: «The Roman writer Pliny the Elder wrote almost 2,000 years ago that ostriches hide their heads in bushes, and the story grew from there.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «heads» (+4); the same action «hide» (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Ascertain the aggregate number of toes possessed by two adult ostriches, given that each foot bears the number characteristic of the species.

1. Sixteen — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Twelve — no support
3. Twenty — no support
4. Eight — ✓ 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

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the function of the stones swallowed by the ostrich?

1. They are swallowed accidentally and serve no purpose — score 4
2. They are regurgitated by the bird and arranged in a circle in order to construct the nest — no support
3. They are retained in the gizzard and grind food, the bird possessing no teeth — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. They serve as ballast against strong winds — ← Mova's choice · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 88, line 15: «Crocodiles swallow prey whole or in big chunks, and they also swallow stones, which may help them grind food or stay balanced in water.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «stones» (+3). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand/