Hidden senses: magnetic birds and turtles, ultraviolet bees, heat-seeing snakes, whiskers and lateral lines

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

Lesson 232 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 ✓

«my mate says pigeons just follow motorways home» What is the best answer?

1. Right, pigeons can only follow motorways — no support
2. Wrong, pigeons only ever follow the moon and the stars, never the roads — no support
3. Right, pigeons get lost without roads — no support
4. They may use landmarks, but also the sun, smells and probably magnetism — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 232, line 6: «Homing pigeons find their way back over hundreds of kilometres using the sun, landmarks, smells and probably a sense of the Earth's magnetic field.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «use» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same thing acted on «sun» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗

In an experiment a weak radio noise is switched on near robins. What happens?

1. Nothing, birds cannot sense anything like that — no support
2. They lose their compass direction — ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. They fly straight to Africa at once — no support
4. They sing much louder than they usually do — ← Mova's choice · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 4 with score 7, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 216, line 3: «That cheerful robin is also one of the fiercest birds in the garden: its red breast is a warning flag, and it will fight other robins to keep its patch, even s…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «sing» (+4); the same doer «robin» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

A town near a turtle beach wants to light the beach brightly all night for tourists. What is the problem?

1. Hatchlings would crawl towards the lights instead of the sea — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The sand would get too hot — no support
3. Turtles would lay more eggs — ← Mova's choice · score 10
4. Turtles like bright light, so there would be no problem at all for them — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 10, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 31, line 15: «Many female sea turtles come back to lay eggs on the beach where they hatched; scientists think they remember its magnetic signature.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «lay» (+5); the same doer «many female sea turtles» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · wrong ✗

A garden is full of red flowers. Which visitors are most likely pollinating them?

1. Nobody, red flowers need no pollen moved — no support
2. Only bees, since red is their favourite — no support
3. Moles — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. Birds, because bees see red poorly — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 153, line 4: «Films show bats tangling in hair and vampires biting people, and Batman made the bat a dark, scary sign; real bats are shy, useful animals that eat pests, spre…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «pollinate» (+2); the same thing acted on «flowers» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · right ✓

«dark tank at the zoo, the snake still hit the warm toy, how?? it's pitch black» What is right?

1. Pits on its face feel heat, so it «sees» warm things — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. Snakes have little torches in their eyes — no support
3. It guessed by luck — no support
4. It heard the toy breathing — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 232, line 4: «Each hidden sense fits a life: a snake hunting mice in the dark feels their heat, a fish in a muddy river feels the water move, and a mole in black soil touche…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «feel» (+5); the same thing acted on «heat» (+3). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

«shut up and walk, it's just a stinky post» What is the dog really doing?

1. Checking whether the post is warm enough for it to lie down next to — no support
2. Smelling for rain — ← Mova's choice · score 13
3. Trying to eat the post — score 13
4. Reading smells that say which dogs passed and how recently — ✓ the right answer · score 13

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 with score 13, tied with another option at 13 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 196, line 8: «Rescue dogs can smell a person buried under snow or rubble and can search an area much faster than a line of people.», 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 (+5); the same action «smell» (+4); the same doer «rescue dogs» (+4). The right option, 4, scored 13. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · right ✓

«mate says mantis shrimp sees way better colours than us, like 5 times better» What is right?

1. Right, it sees every colour 5 times better — score 6
2. It has many more colour cells, but tests show it is not better at telling close colours apart — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. Wrong, it sees only black and white — score 5
4. Right, and it can see through walls — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 7, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 69, line 11: «Mantis shrimps have 12 to 16 kinds of colour cells against our 3 and can see ultraviolet light, but tests suggest they are not better than us at telling close…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «tell» (+4); the same thing acted on «close colours» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · right ✓

What would happen if a fish lost its lateral line in a fast river?

1. It would find it harder to hold its place and feel danger in the water — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. It would swim faster — score 3
3. Nothing, it is only a stripe of colour — score 2
4. It could breathe air — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 232, line 16: «Fish have a lateral line, a row of pores along each side that feels water movement, so they can hold their place in a current or a shoal; blind cave fish steer…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «hold» (+4); the same thing acted on «place» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗

Count them: 2 star-nosed moles. How many nose fingers in total?

1. 88 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 22 — no support
3. 44 — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. 11 — 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: 3 cats and 1 dog sit by the door. How many tails and how many ears?

1. 8 tails and 8 ears — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 4 tails and 8 ears — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. 4 tails and 4 ears — no support
4. 3 tails and 6 ears — 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 · ★ · wrong ✗

A cartoon cat hunts at night with glowing eyes that light up the room like torches. What is true?

1. Real eyes do not make light; they reflect light that comes in — ✓ the right answer · score 5
2. Cat eyes glow in the dark because they are so hot — ← Mova's choice · score 9
3. Only black cats have torch eyes — no support
4. Cats' eyes really do shine out like lamps — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 9, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 232, line 14: «A cat's eyes seem to glow in the dark because a shiny layer at the back of the eye reflects light that comes in; no eye makes its own light.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «dark» (+4); the same doer «eyes» (+3); the same action «glow» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the means by which pit vipers detect warm-blooded prey in conditions of total darkness.

1. Electric receptors situated upon the forked tongue — no support
2. Detection of prey by sight alone — score 2
3. Heat-sensitive pits situated upon the face — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
4. Echolocation by means of clicks — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 11: «Pit vipers such as rattlesnakes have heat-sensing pits on their faces that find warm-blooded prey in total darkness.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «sensing pits» (+4); the same place «faces» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the navigation of the loggerhead turtle.

1. It follows a trail of floating vegetation — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It is guided by its mother throughout the voyage — no support
3. It navigates solely by the position of the Moon — no support
4. It appears to recall the magnetic characteristics of its natal beach — ✓ 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 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the vision of the honeybee?

1. It perceives no colour whatsoever — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It perceives infrared radiation emitted by the petals of flowers — no support
3. It perceives ultraviolet light but perceives red poorly — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It perceives red light with exceptional acuity — 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 ✓

State the function of the lateral line of fishes.

1. The detection of movement and pressure in the surrounding water — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The digestion of food — no support
3. The production of colour for display — no support
4. The absorption of oxygen from the air — 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

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/232-hidden-senses-magnetic-birds-ultraviolet-bees-heat-seeing-snakes/