Plants deeper: do trees talk? Fungi, warning smells and giant clones

Tests: 4 of 11 right · Exam: 3 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 12 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 252 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 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«trees literally text each other through mushrooms, saw it on TikTok» What is the fairest answer?

1. Yes, and they use the forest's wifi — no support
2. Yes, trees send real words to each other along their roots, just like phone calls to friends — score 1
3. Fungus threads link trees and may pass sugar and signals, but how much is still debated — ✓ the right answer · score 1
4. No, fungi and trees never touch at all — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 252, line 2: «The fungus threads trade with the tree: the fungus brings water and minerals from far through the soil, and the tree pays it with sugar. Because one fungus can…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «touch» (+4); the same doer «one fungus» (+2). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 3, scored 1. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Count them: 4 giraffes are browsing one acacia. How many legs and how many necks?

1. 8 legs and 4 necks — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. 16 legs and 16 necks — no support
3. 4 legs and 4 necks — no support
4. 16 legs and 4 necks — ✓ 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 3 · ★★ · right ✓

A giraffe eats from one acacia, then walks a long way upwind to the next. Why might that be clever?

1. Trees upwind may not have smelled the warning gas yet — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Giraffes like the wind on their face — no support
3. Upwind trees are always taller — no support
4. The wind blows the leaves straight into its mouth so it eats more — 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 many trees if all the fungi in the soil suddenly vanished?

1. They would struggle to get enough water and minerals — ✓ the right answer · score 0
2. Nothing at all would change for them — no support
3. They would start to eat insects instead — score 0
4. They would grow twice as fast — ← Mova's choice · score 1

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 4 with score 1, against 0 for the next best. Its support: lesson 62, line 17: «Athlete's foot is a fungus that grows on warm, damp skin, often between the toes; drying feet well and wearing flip-flops at the pool help keep it away.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «grow» (+1). The right option, 1, scored 0. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

In a cartoon, the trees of a forest grab Tom with their branches when he chases Jerry. What is true of real trees?

1. Real trees have no way of defending themselves from animals — score -2
2. Real trees can walk slowly to catch cats — score 3
3. Real trees can grab the animals that run past and hold them tight with branches — ← Mova's choice · score 6
4. Real trees cannot grab, but they can change their chemicals when attacked — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 252, line 14: «Some old tree stumps stay alive for years because their roots are joined to nearby trees, which keep them fed with sugar.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «keep» (+4); the same doer «nearby trees» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«a whole hill of aspens and you're telling me it's one tree?? no way» What is right?

1. Yes, but only in fairy tales — no support
2. Yes, the trunks can share one root system and the same genes — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. No, every trunk is always a separate plant, grown from its own seed — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. No, aspens only grow alone — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 157, line 16: «Agoutis open hard Brazil nut pods and bury spare seeds, and the forgotten seeds grow into new Brazil nut trees.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «grow» (+4); the same circumstance (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓

«my nan's book says the mother tree loves her babies and feeds them sugar. true or made up?» What is best?

1. Some scientists think big trees pass sugar to young ones, but «love» is a human word — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
2. True, and the babies thank her too — no support
3. All true, trees love their babies and feel sad for them just like people do — score 3
4. All made up, trees never share anything — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 252, line 7: «Fungus threads can join many trees, and some sugar and signals may pass from tree to tree, but how much and how often is still debated by scientists.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «pass» (+4); the same receiver (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · right ✓

You mow the lawn and smell the grass. What is going on?

1. Hurt grass is giving off chemical signals — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. The grass is making a sweet perfume for people — score 8
3. The hot mower blades are cooking the grass — score 0
4. Worms under the lawn are breathing out the smell — no support

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 252, line 11: «The smell of cut grass is a chemical signal given off by the hurt grass; some plants chewed by caterpillars give off smells that call wasps which lay their egg…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «give off» (+5); it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same thing acted on «chemical signal» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«how can the biggest living thing be a fungus if I can't even see it?» What is the answer?

1. It is see-through like glass — no support
2. It only comes out on dark nights when nobody is about — no support
3. Most of it is threads hidden under the ground — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. It moves far too fast for anyone to see it — ← Mova's choice · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 4 with score 6, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 133, line 3: «Imagine a beach at night: tiny turtles pop out of the sand and race towards the brightest thing they can see, which is normally the moonlit sea; that is why be…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «see» (+4); the same thing acted on «brightest thing» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A scientist plays a recording of wind to one plant and of caterpillars chewing to another. Which most likely makes more defence chemicals?

1. The one that heard the chewing — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Neither, plants cannot respond to vibrations — ← Mova's choice · score 7
3. The one that heard the wind blowing — no support
4. Both make exactly the same amount — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 252, line 13: «In an experiment, a small mustard-like plant made more defence chemicals after hearing a recording of caterpillars chewing; plants have no ears but can respond…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «respond» (+6); the same doer «plants» (+3); the same circumstance (+2). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-4). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓

«found a stump in the woods with green stuff growing round the cut, but there's no leaves. how?» What is likely?

1. Its roots may be joined to nearby trees that feed it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
2. It makes food from the dark soil — score 7
3. It is a fake stump made of plastic — no support
4. It is eating the moss growing on its top — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 9, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 252, line 5: «Many fungi in the soil join tree roots with fine threads; this partnership is called mycorrhiza, and about nine in ten kinds of plant have such fungus partners…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «join» (+5); the same thing acted on «tree roots» (+4). · 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 association between soil fungi and the roots of trees.

1. The fungus supplies water and minerals and receives sugar in return — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1
2. No exchange of any substance occurs between them — no support
3. The fungus is a parasite which invariably kills the tree within a few years — no support
4. The tree supplies water and receives sugar in return — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 252, line 6: «The fungus brings the tree water and minerals, and the tree pays the fungus with sugar made in its leaves.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «fungus» (+2); the same thing acted on «tree water» (+1). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the present state of scientific knowledge concerning the transfer of sugar between trees via fungi?

1. It has been conclusively proven that all trees share equally with their neighbours — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. It has been conclusively disproven in all forests — no support
3. It has never been the subject of investigation — no support
4. Some transfer is observed, but its extent and importance remain under debate — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 252, line 8: «The idea of a «mother tree» feeding her young through fungi comes from some scientists' work; it is a helpful picture, but trees do not feel love the way peopl…», 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 doer «trees» (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the response of an acacia tree pursuant to its being browsed by herbivores.

1. It abscises all foliage forthwith — no support
2. It renders its foliage more bitter and may emit a gas detected by neighbouring trees — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. It produces additional sweet nectar to placate the herbivore and so avert further damage — no support
4. It undergoes no alteration whatsoever — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 252, line 9: «When acacias are eaten, their leaves become more bitter, and they may give off a gas that makes nearby acacias turn bitter too; giraffes often move on and brow…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «give off» (+3); the same thing acted on «gas» (+3). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

Ascertain the reason for which a stand of aspen trees may be regarded as a single organism.

1. The trunks arise from a single connected root system and share identical genes — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The trunks were planted on the same day by a single forester, from one bag of seed — no support
3. The trunks are all of identical height — no support
4. The trunks are joined by their branches above ground — 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/252-plants-deeper-do-trees-talk-fungi-warning-smells-and-giant-clones/