---
title: Animal minds: dolphins' names, orca grandmothers and whale songs — how Mova does on the tests · Biology
description: Lesson 235 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 6 of 11 tests right, exam 1 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Animal minds: dolphins' names, orca grandmothers and whale songs

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**Tests:** 6 of 11 right · **Exam:** 1 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★★ · **Understood:** 11 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 235 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/).

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/).

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### Test 1 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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In a cartoon a dolphin rescues a drowning boy and gives him a ride home. What is the real picture?

- **1.** Dolphins always save every swimmer — score 5
- **2.** Dolphins never come near people — score 6
- **3.** Dolphins have stayed near swimmers in danger, but they are wild and can be rough — **✓ the right answer** · score 8
- **4.** Dolphins carry people about as pets and take them home whenever they get tired of swimming — **← Mova's choice** · score 9

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 9, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 235, line 6: «Dolphins hunt as a team, herding fish into a tight bait ball and taking turns to dive through it; some in Florida slap mud rings so fish jump into their mouths.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «take» (+5); the same doer «dolphins» (+3); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 8. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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«dolphin's sleeping with one eye open, is it spying» What is the best answer?

- **1.** Its eyelid is broken — score 2
- **2.** Dolphins never sleep — **← Mova's choice** · score 5
- **3.** One half of its brain rests while the other half stays awake — **✓ the right answer** · score 5
- **4.** It is pretending to sleep to trick the sharks into coming close — score 1

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 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 203, line 9: «Fish have no eyelids, so they sleep with their eyes open, resting quietly near the bottom or among plants, and some parrotfish wrap themselves in a bubble of s…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «sleep» (+5); the same doer «fish» (+3). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 3, scored 5. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t3}

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«Jake reckons humpbacks just moo randomly» What is closer to the truth?

- **1.** Males sing long songs that a whole area shares and changes — **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **2.** Only the baby humpbacks sing, to call their mothers when they get lost — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **3.** Humpbacks only make one sound — no support
- **4.** Humpbacks are silent — no support

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**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 235, line 11: «Male humpbacks sing long songs that can last 20 minutes and be repeated for hours, and the song slowly changes over the years and spreads across oceans.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «male humpbacks» (+4); the same action «sing» (+3). The right option, 1, scored 2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t4}

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What would happen to an orca family if its old grandmother died before a bad salmon year?

- **1.** They would swim to a lake — no support
- **2.** They might struggle to find food — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **3.** They would all become vegetarian — no support
- **4.** Nothing, every orca knows everything — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 224, line 1: «In a city like Toronto, a family may wake up to find the green bin open and rubbish all over the drive: a raccoon has lifted the lid with its clever little han…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «feel» (+2); the same thing acted on «food» (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t5}

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«a whale is just a massive fish innit» What is wrong with that?

- **1.** Whales are mammals that came from land animals — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 6
- **2.** Whales are close relatives of octopuses and squid — score 6
- **3.** Whales are giant sharks — score 4
- **4.** Nothing, whales are fish — score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 73, line 9: «Whales are mammals whose ancestors walked on land about 50 million years ago; their back legs shrank to small hidden bones, and their closest living land relat…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «whales» (+4); the same thing acted on «mammals» (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t6}

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Your arm and a whale's flipper. What do they share?

- **1.** The same set of bones, shaped differently — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** Gills — no support
- **3.** Feathers — no support
- **4.** Nothing at all — no support

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**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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t7}

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Count them: a pod of 7 dolphins swims by, and each one has one blowhole and two flippers. How many flippers?

- **1.** 21 flippers — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** 28 flippers — no support
- **3.** 7 flippers — no support
- **4.** 14 flippers — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t8}

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A trainer shows «ball take to hoop», then «hoop take to ball». What does a trained dolphin do?

- **1.** Nothing, the signs are too hard — no support
- **2.** Swims away from both, because the two signs mean the opposite — no support
- **3.** The same thing both times — no support
- **4.** Two different things, because word order changes the meaning — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 12

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 4 with score 12, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 235, line 15: «In tests in Hawaii, dolphins understood that word order in hand-signal sentences changes the meaning.», reached through what was said in the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «change» (+4); the same thing acted on «meaning» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t9}

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Two orca groups meet in the same sea. One eats fish, the other eats seals. What usually happens?

- **1.** They swap food every day — score 3
- **2.** They keep apart and use different call dialects — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7
- **3.** They join up at once — no support
- **4.** They become one family — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 7, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 203, line 7: «Tropical fish such as angelfish and neon tetras need warm water kept steady by a heater, while goldfish need cooler water, so they are usually kept apart.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+4); the same action «keep» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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«mum, why are those dolphins slapping the mud in a circle» What is going on?

- **1.** They trap fish, which jump out of the ring into their mouths — **✓ the right answer** · score 5
- **2.** They are angry at the mud — **← Mova's choice** · score 8
- **3.** They are building a nest — no support
- **4.** They are washing themselves clean in the mud, like pigs — score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 8, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 178, line 3: «Among those roots live fish that walk on mud, fish that shoot down insects with a squirt of water, crabs waving one giant claw, and in the biggest mangrove for…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «fish» (+4); the same place «mud» (+4). The right option, 1, scored 5. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓ {#t11}

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A humpback blows bubbles in a spiral under a shoal of fish. What is it doing?

- **1.** Cleaning out its blowhole with bubbles — no support
- **2.** Breathing out slowly after a long sleep — score 7
- **3.** Making a bubble net to trap the fish — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 13
- **4.** Playing with bubble rings, just for fun — score 6

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 3 with score 13, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 235, line 14: «Dolphins blow rings of air underwater and play with them, pushing and splitting them, and humpbacks blow spiral bubble nets to trap fish.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «humpbacks» (+5); the same thing acted on «fish» (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «trap» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/t11/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

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Identify the function of the signature whistle of the bottlenose dolphin.

- **1.** It is identical in every member of the species — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** It serves exclusively as an alarm in respect of approaching sharks — no support
- **3.** It serves as an individual identifier comparable to a name — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** It is produced solely during sleep — no support

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**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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2}

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Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the leadership of an orca group?

- **1.** The group possesses no leader whatsoever — no support
- **2.** The group is led by a different whale each day, chosen by the strength of its calls — **← Mova's choice** · score 3
- **3.** The group is led by the youngest calf — no support
- **4.** The group is led by an aged female whose memory of food sources aids its survival — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 195, line 6: «A clicker makes a short sharp click that marks the exact moment the dog did the right thing, and the treat follows; zoos use clicker training so animals calmly…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «animals» (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3}

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Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the use of sponges by dolphins in Shark Bay.

- **1.** The practice serves to warm the snout — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The practice was introduced by human trainers at a nearby marine park — no support
- **3.** The practice is transmitted from mother to offspring and constitutes culture — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The practice is innate in every dolphin — no support

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**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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓ {#e4}

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Ascertain the manner in which a dolphin obtains rest whilst continuing to breathe.

- **1.** By attaching itself to floating ice — no support
- **2.** By ceasing to breathe throughout the night — no support
- **3.** By resting one hemisphere of the brain at a time — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7
- **4.** By descending to the sea floor for several hours — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 235, line 13: «Dolphins rest one half of their brain at a time, keeping the other half awake to breathe and watch out, because a dolphin must choose to come up and breathe or…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same property (+4); the same action «rest» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/235-animal-minds-dolphins-names-orca-grandmothers-and-whale-songs/e4/)

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- ← previous: [234. Animal minds: the octopus, escape artist and puz…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/234-animal-minds-the-octopus-escape-artist-and-puzzle-solver/)
- next →: [236. Animal minds: elephants' memory, feelings and th…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/236-animal-minds-elephants-memory-feelings-and-the-mouse-myth/)
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