The reptile house: Komodo dragons, chameleons, tortoises and crocodiles

Tests: 8 of 12 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 9 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 88 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 a chameleon lands on a tartan picnic blanket and turns tartan. What would you fix?

1. Real chameleons change colour mostly for mood and warmth — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 16
2. Chameleons cannot change colour at all — score 12
3. Chameleons turn tartan only in Scotland — score 8
4. Right, chameleons copy any pattern exactly, even tartan and stripes — score 12

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 16, against 12 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 5: «And cartoon chameleons turn into tartan or vanish against any background; real chameleons change colour mostly to show their mood and control their temperature…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «change» (+4); the same doer «real chameleons» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «colour» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓

A tortoise in a cartoon takes off its shell to take a bath. What is true?

1. The shell is part of its skeleton and cannot come off — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
2. Only old tortoises can leave their shells — score 5
3. Tortoises really do leave their shells behind at bath time — score 5
4. Tortoises swap shells with each other — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 9, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 88, line 11: «A tortoise's shell is part of its skeleton, joined to its ribs and backbone, so it can never leave it.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «shell» (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+3); the same thing acted on «part» (+2); the same circumstance (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · right ✓

2 crocodiles, 1 Komodo dragon and 3 tortoises. how many legs and tails

1. 24 legs and 6 tails — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. 18 legs and 6 tails — no support
3. 24 legs and 3 tails — no support
4. 12 legs and 6 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 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«croc's yawning, must be bored lol» What is right?

1. It is bored and wants a toy — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It is waiting for birds to clean its teeth every time — no support
3. It is letting heat out, because it cannot sweat — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It is about to roar — 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 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«he's crying, he feels bad for the fish» What is right?

1. Yes, crocodiles feel sorry for their prey and cry while they eat it — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Crocodiles never have tears at all — no support
3. The tears come from air pushed while chewing, not sadness — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. He is crying because the fish was too spicy — 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 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen to a beach of turtle eggs if the sand got warmer and warmer?

1. All the eggs would hatch faster as males — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. The eggs would turn into crocodiles — no support
3. More would hatch as females — ✓ the right answer · score 3
4. Nothing, warmth does not matter — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 88, line 16: «In crocodiles, alligators and many turtles, the warmth of the nest decides whether the eggs hatch as males or females; in sea turtles, warmer sand gives more f…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «hatch» (+2); the same doer «eggs» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). The right option, 3, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓

You see a reptile with a wide U-shaped snout and no lower teeth showing. What is it?

1. An alligator — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. A Komodo dragon — no support
3. A little house gecko — no support
4. A Nile crocodile — 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 ✓

«komodo had babies with no dad?? fake news» What is right?

1. It is true; some zoo females laid eggs that hatched with no male — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The father was hiding in the enclosure all along, behind the rocks — no support
3. It is fake; all reptiles need a father — no support
4. The keepers swapped the eggs — 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 9 · ★★ · right ✓

Why might virgin birth help a lonely female on a small island?

1. Her babies would be bigger — no support
2. She would live for ever — no support
3. She could still start a family with no male nearby — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2
4. She could fly over the sea to another island to find a mate — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 18, line 11: «Lions are the only truly social cats; a pride is related females, their cubs and a few males, and together they hunt big prey, guard cubs and defend their land.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «related females» (+2); the same circumstance (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · right ✓

A chameleon is 15 centimetres long. About how far can its tongue reach?

1. About 30 centimetres — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. About 3 metres — no support
3. About 15 millimetres — no support
4. About 1 centimetre — 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 ✗

Why might slow animals like giant tortoises live longer than fast ones?

1. Their shells make them magic — ← Mova's choice · score 3
2. They never get hungry, so they never have to go out looking for food — score 2
3. They are always asleep — score 2
4. Their slow lives seem to help them live long — ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). 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 6, line 3: «Arctic animals are built like thermos flasks: thick fur and fat, small ears, short legs and snouts, and tricks like sleeping under a bushy tail or living in tu…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «arctic animals» (+2); the same action «build» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★★ · right ✓

In Peter Pan the crocodile swallows a ticking clock. Which is true of real crocodiles?

1. They chew their food slowly like cows, for a long time — no support
2. They swallow prey whole or in chunks, and sometimes stones — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
3. They eat only clocks and metal — no support
4. They never swallow anything whole — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 7, against 2 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 remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «prey» (+5); the same action «swallow» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the principal reason for which a crocodile is observed to lie with its jaws open.

1. It is awaiting the arrival of birds, which it seizes as prey — ← Mova's choice · score 5
2. It is incapable of closing its jaws while at rest — no support
3. It is signalling to its keepers for food — no support
4. Being incapable of sweating, it releases heat by this means — ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 5, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 88, line 4: «The crocodile lying with its mouth wide open is not waiting to bite; it cannot sweat, so it lets heat out through its mouth, much as a dog pants.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «wait» (+4); the same doer «crocodile» (+4). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 4, scored 3. · 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 colour change of the chameleon.

1. It serves chiefly to display mood and to regulate temperature — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. It serves exclusively to match the background upon which it rests — ← Mova's choice · score 2
3. It is produced by the ingestion of coloured insects — no support
4. It occurs only during sleep — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 45, line 11: «Chameleons change colour mostly to signal to other chameleons and to warm up or cool down, not to match any background; a cold chameleon turns darker to soak u…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «match» (+4); the same thing acted on «background» (+1). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). 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 ✗

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the determination of sex in crocodilian embryos?

1. It is determined by the colour of the shell — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It is determined by the temperature at which the eggs are incubated — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. It is chosen by the parents after hatching — no support
4. It is determined by the size of the mother — 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 ✓

Determine the reason for which a tortoise is unable to depart from its shell.

1. The shell is too heavy to lift — no support
2. The shell forms part of its skeleton, joined to ribs and backbone — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. The shell has no opening of sufficient size — no support
4. The tortoise is held in place within the shell by its claws — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 88, line 11: «A tortoise's shell is part of its skeleton, joined to its ribs and backbone, so it can never leave it.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «shell» (+3); the same action «join» (+2); the same circumstance (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/88-reptile-house-komodo-chameleons-tortoises-crocodiles/