Goldfish and pond fish: the three-second memory myth
Tests: 7 of 12 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 10 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 204 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 ✓
«lol goldfish forget in 3 sec, so every lap is a new world» What is right?
- 1. It is a myth; goldfish remember for months — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
- 2. Yes, it is a proven fact that scientists checked — no support
- 3. They remember only their name and nothing else — score 8
- 4. They forget in one second — score 3
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 9, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 55, line 5: «Cartoons show bears snoring all winter and waking up in spring with a big stretch, and goldfish forgetting everything in 3 seconds; real bears sleep more light…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «remember» (+5); the same doer «goldfish» (+2); the same property (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗
«it's always waiting at the top when I walk in, coincidence?» What is likely?
- 1. It wants to jump out of the tank to meet you — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Goldfish cannot see people through the glass — no support
- 3. It has learnt that you bring food — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. It is just a coincidence every single time — 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 ✓
«we won a goldfish at the fair, the little bowl's fine innit» What is right?
- 1. A bowl is perfect for life — no support
- 2. It only lives a week anyway — score 2
- 3. It needs a big tank with a filter, as it can grow big and live for years — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
- 4. It needs no water changes, because goldfish clean the water by swallowing the dirt — score 2
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 204, line 8: «All goldfish, gold, white, black and spotted, were bred long ago in China from a dull greenish wild carp, and goldfish released into ponds and lakes can turn d…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «turn» (+5); the same doer «goldfish» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★★ · right ✓
«my nan's had a goldfish for 22 years, she's lying surely» What is right?
- 1. It is possible, goldfish can live over twenty years — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 2. Only koi live that long — no support
- 3. Goldfish live only three months — score 2
- 4. Goldfish live only a year, so she must have had lots of them — score 3
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 204, line 6: «A small round bowl is too small for a goldfish: goldfish can live over twenty years and grow as long as a pencil or more, and they make lots of waste.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «live» (+2); the same property (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗
In Finding Nemo a fish goes down a drain and reaches the sea. What happens to a real flushed goldfish?
- 1. It swims all the way home to the ocean through the pipes, just like in the film — ← Mova's choice · score 8
- 2. It lives in the pipes happily — score 3
- 3. It is not set free, and released fish can harm wild rivers — ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 4. It turns into a sea fish — score 2
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 204, line 14: «Flushing a goldfish down the toilet is not kind and does not set it free; released goldfish can harm wild rivers, and a fish swimming home to the sea through t…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «pipes» (+5); the same action «swim» (+2); the same property (+1). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★★ · right ✓
What would happen if a pet goldfish was released into a big lake?
- 1. It would stay tiny and gold — score 3
- 2. It would always die at once, because lake water is far too cold — score 3
- 3. It could grow huge, turn dull and harm wild fish — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
- 4. It would swim back to the shop — score 3
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 9, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 204, line 8: «All goldfish, gold, white, black and spotted, were bred long ago in China from a dull greenish wild carp, and goldfish released into ponds and lakes can turn d…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «turn» (+4); the same doer «goldfish» (+3); the same property (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓
«the pond's frozen on top, the fish are dead for sure» What is more likely?
- 1. They flew away — score -1
- 2. They are on top of the ice — score 6
- 3. They are resting slowly near the warmer bottom — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
- 4. They are frozen solid — score -3
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 204, line 10: «In winter pond fish slow down and rest near the bottom, because the deepest water of a pond stays slightly warmer and does not freeze solid.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «bottom» (+5); the same action «rest» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★★ · right ✓
«there's a big grey bird standing dead still by our pond, bless» What is it doing?
- 1. Hunting the fish, so they need hiding places or a net — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
- 2. Sunbathing — no support
- 3. Guarding the pond for you against cats and foxes at night — score 3
- 4. Waiting for a bus — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 1 with score 10, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 203, line 13: «Fish notice movement and shadows, which often mean a bird is hunting, and they also feel movements in the water with a line of sensors along their sides called…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same action «hunt» (+3); the same doer «bird» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗
«why are they all gasping at the top, are they bored?» What is right?
- 1. They are practising jumping — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. They want to see you — no support
- 3. The water is short of oxygen, so change some water and check the filter — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. It is a fish game in which the winner is whoever stays at the top the longest — 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 ✗
Count them: 6 goldfish and 2 koi in the pond. How many eyes?
- 1. 12 — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. 8 — no support
- 3. 32 — 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 11 · ★★ · right ✓
Count them: a heron stands on one leg next to the pond with 3 frogs. How many legs in total, the lifted leg too?
- 1. 14 — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. 13 — no support
- 3. 12 — no support
- 4. 10 — 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 12 · ★★ · wrong ✗
«the big one keeps chasing the little one non stop» What should you think?
- 1. It is always just a game, even if the little one never gets a rest — no support
- 2. The little one is the boss — ← Mova's choice · score 8
- 3. They are in love — no support
- 4. Some chasing is normal, but non-stop chasing is bullying — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 200, line 10: «Rabbits eat some of their own droppings, soft ones made at night, to digest their food a second time; this is normal and healthy, and the hard round droppings…», 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 doer «hard round droppings» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · 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 memory of the goldfish?
- 1. Goldfish possess no capacity for memory — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Goldfish retain information for three seconds only — no support
- 3. Goldfish are capable of learning tasks and retaining them for months — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Goldfish recollect solely their own name — 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 reason for which a small spherical bowl is unsuitable for the keeping of a goldfish.
- 1. The fish may attain considerable size and age and produces substantial waste — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. The fish is unable to perceive curved surfaces and therefore swims continuously into the glass — no support
- 3. The fish requires corners in which to sleep — ← Mova's choice · score 8
- 4. Spherical vessels are invariably too warm — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 152, line 10: «Small round bowls are bad for goldfish: their waste quickly makes the water dirty and short of oxygen, so they need a big tank with a filter; a fish that keeps…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «need» (+5); the same doer «fish» (+2); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+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 · right ✓
It is given that pond fish are observed near the bottom of a pond during winter. Ascertain the most accurate explanation.
- 1. The deepest water remains somewhat warmer, and the fish reduce their activity — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
- 2. The surface water is excessively bright — no support
- 3. The fish are engaged in the construction of nests in the mud for the eggs of the spring — no support
- 4. The fish have perished from the cold — 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 204, line 3: «Watch the fish in a garden pond in winter: they sink to the bottom and barely move, because cold water slows their bodies down and the deep water stays a littl…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «stay» (+5); the same doer «deep water» (+2); the same property (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the disposal of a goldfish by flushing.
- 1. The fish is transformed into a marine species — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. The fish is thereby returned safely to the sea — no support
- 3. The fish is not thereby liberated, and released fish may harm wild waters — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. The fish thrives within the sewage system — 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/204-goldfish-and-pond-fish-the-three-second-memory-myth/