Whales
Tests: 7 of 12 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 10 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 26 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 the cartoon the whale shoots a fountain of seawater out its head. true or nah?
- 1. True, but only after it eats a ship — score 9
- 2. Nah, the spout is its warm breath turning to mist — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
- 3. Nah, whales have no blowhole — no support
- 4. True, it squirts out all the sea water that it swallowed — score 10
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 10, tied with another option at 10 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 26, line 4: «Cartoon whales shoot a fountain of sea water out of their heads and swallow ships whole; the spout is breath, not a fountain, and the biggest whale of all eats…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «spout» (+5); the same thing acted on «breath» (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓
My little brother says whales are big fish cos they live in the sea. What's the best answer?
- 1. No, they breathe air and feed babies milk, so they are mammals — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 13
- 2. Yes, but only the small ones — no support
- 3. No, they are a kind of shark — score 8
- 4. Yes, anything in the sea is a fish — score 0
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 13, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 26, line 7: «Whales are mammals: they breathe air, are warm-blooded, give birth to live young and feed them milk.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «breathe» (+4); the same doer «whales» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «air» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Count them: a pod of four orcas swims past. How many hearts and how many tails?
- 1. 16 hearts and 4 tails — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. 4 hearts and 8 tails — no support
- 3. 4 hearts and 4 tails — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. 8 hearts and 4 tails — 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 ✓
Why could a blue whale never have lived on land at its size?
- 1. Land is too warm for blue whales — no support
- 2. It would get lost on land without the ocean currents to guide it — no support
- 3. Water supports its weight, and on land its body would crush itself — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 1
- 4. Its baleen would grow too long — no support
Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 26, line 6: «The blue whale is the largest animal ever known, around 30 metres long and about 150 tonnes or more, with a heart of about 180 kilograms; the water holds up it…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «crush» (+2); the same place «land» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1); a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗
What would happen to a whale calf if it were born head first and the birth took a long time?
- 1. It would breathe through its skin — no support
- 2. It might drown before it could breathe — ✓ the right answer · score -4
- 3. It would swim away at once — no support
- 4. Nothing, whale calves can breathe under water for days — ← Mova's choice · score 2
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 4 with score 2, against -4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 26, line 15: «A whale calf is born tail first under water, so that it does not drown during the birth, and its mother helps it up for its first breath; a newborn blue whale…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «calf» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-2). The right option, 2, scored -4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗
In the Pinocchio story a whale swallows a man whole. Why is this very unlikely for a blue whale?
- 1. It only eats on Sundays — ← Mova's choice · score 6
- 2. It lives far too deep in the sea for people to reach — score 3
- 3. Its teeth would chew him up first — no support
- 4. Its throat is far too narrow, as it eats tiny krill — ✓ the right answer · score 4
Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 26, line 4: «Cartoon whales shoot a fountain of sea water out of their heads and swallow ships whole; the spout is breath, not a fountain, and the biggest whale of all eats…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «eat» (+3); the same doer «biggest whale» (+3). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Why do you think scientists study the up-and-down beat of a whale's tail as a clue to its past?
- 1. Whales copied it from fish — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It is how its land-running ancestors' backbones bent — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. It shows how deep the whale can dive — no support
- 4. It is the only way to swim at all — 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 8 · ★★ · right ✓
ugh whale poo, gross, why'd anyone care about that
- 1. It feeds plankton, and plankton makes much of Earth's oxygen — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
- 2. It turns into the soft white sand that we find on the beach — no support
- 3. It is used to make whale oil — no support
- 4. It keeps sharks away from beaches — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 26, line 18: «Whale poo spreads nutrients that feed plankton, and plankton makes much of Earth's oxygen.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «feed» (+5); the same thing acted on «plankton» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Which animal is a whale's closest living land relative?
- 1. The elephant — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. The hippo — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. The horse — no support
- 4. The walrus — 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 · ★★ · right ✓
Why might an old orca grandmother be so useful to her family?
- 1. She remembers where to find food in hard times — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. She keeps all the young calves warm with her thick blubber — no support
- 3. She is the only one who can sing — no support
- 4. She is the fastest swimmer — 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 ✓
Most whaling was banned in 1986. What happened to humpback whales afterwards?
- 1. Their numbers recovered a lot — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
- 2. They turned into a new species — no support
- 3. Nothing changed at all — no support
- 4. They died out completely — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 26, line 17: «Whaling, the hunting of whales for oil and meat, nearly wiped out some species; most whaling was banned in 1986, and humpbacks have recovered a lot.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «recover» (+4); the same thing acted on «lot» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 12 · ★★ · right ✓
A sperm whale dives for an hour. Which must it do before diving and after coming up?
- 1. Sleep on the surface for a day — no support
- 2. Breathe air at the surface — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
- 3. Eat a mouthful of plankton — no support
- 4. Fill its gills with water — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 26, line 7: «Whales are mammals: they breathe air, are warm-blooded, give birth to live young and feed them milk.», 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 (+3); the same action «breathe» (+2); the same thing acted on «air» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · 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 visible spout emitted by a surfacing whale?
- 1. It consists of seawater ingested and subsequently expelled — ← Mova's choice · score 5
- 2. It consists of gas expelled from the gills — score 5
- 3. It consists of steam produced by digestion — score 5
- 4. It consists of exhaled warm and moist air forming a mist — ✓ the right answer · score 5
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 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 26, line 3: «A whale breathes through a blowhole on top of its head, and the tall spout is warm wet breath turning to mist, the way your breath steams on a frosty morning.», 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 «tall spout» (+2). The right option, 4, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓
Identify the principal grounds upon which whales are classified as mammals rather than fish.
- 1. They possess fins and inhabit the sea — score 2
- 2. They respire by means of gills — score 3
- 3. They deposit eggs upon the seabed — no support
- 4. They respire air, are warm-blooded and suckle their young — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 26, line 7: «Whales are mammals: they breathe air, are warm-blooded, give birth to live young and feed them milk.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «breathe» (+2); the same doer «whales» (+1); the same thing acted on «air» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓
Ascertain the direction in which the tail flukes of a whale are moved in swimming.
- 1. Vertically, that is, up and down — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. In a circular motion — no support
- 3. They are held motionless — no support
- 4. Laterally, that is, side to side — 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 ✗
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the dietary habit of the blue whale.
- 1. It subsists principally upon seaweed gathered from the shallows of the coast — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It subsists principally upon seals — no support
- 3. It subsists principally upon large sharks — no support
- 4. It subsists principally upon krill a few centimetres in length — ✓ the right answer · 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/26-whales/