---
title: Snakes and lizards — how Mova does on the tests · Biology
description: Lesson 30 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 5 of 12 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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# Snakes and lizards

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**Tests:** 5 of 12 right · **Exam:** 1 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★★★ · **Understood:** 10 of 16 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 30 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/30-snakes-and-lizards/).

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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/30-snakes-and-lizards/).

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### Test 1 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t1}

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in jungle book kaa hypnotises mowgli with his eyes. can snakes actually do that?

- **1.** Yes, but only at night — no support
- **2.** Yes, all pythons can do it — no support
- **3.** No, because snakes have no eyes at all, they only feel and smell — score 3
- **4.** No, snakes can't hypnotise; they just have no eyelids, so they never blink — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 10

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 10, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 4: «In The Jungle Book, Kaa the python hypnotises people with spinning eyes; real snakes can't hypnotise anyone, they just have no eyelids, so their stare never bl…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «hypnotise» (+5); the same doer «real snakes» (+5). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/30-snakes-and-lizards/t1/)

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### Test 2 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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Count them: a snake, a lizard and a chameleon sit on a branch. How many legs altogether?

- **1.** 12 — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** 8 — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** 10 — no support
- **4.** 4 — 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/30-snakes-and-lizards/t2/)

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### Test 3 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t3}

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My cousin found 8 rings on a rattle and says the snake is 8 years old. Is he right?

- **1.** Yes, one ring grows each birthday — no support
- **2.** Yes, but only for desert rattlesnakes, as they grow one a year — score 2
- **3.** No, rattles have no rings — no support
- **4.** No, a ring is added at each shed, and snakes shed more than once a year — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 7, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 12: «A rattle is made of hollow rings of keratin that click together as a warning; a ring is added at each shed, and snakes may shed several times a year, so the co…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «ring» (+4); the same place «shed» (+2); the same action «add» (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/30-snakes-and-lizards/t3/)

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### Test 4 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t4}

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A cartoon chameleon turns tartan on a picnic blanket to hide. What's the truth?

- **1.** Chameleons can copy any pattern they sit on, even tartan and spots and stripes — no support
- **2.** Chameleons are always green — no support
- **3.** Chameleons change colour mostly for mood and temperature, not to hide — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 18
- **4.** Chameleons change colour only when asleep — score 13

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 18, against 13 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 16: «A chameleon is a four-legged lizard, and its tongue can be longer than its body and shoots out in a fraction of a second, and chameleons change colour mostly t…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «change» (+4); the same doer «chameleons» (+4); the same property (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/30-snakes-and-lizards/t4/)

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### Test 5 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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Why does a snake's tongue look scary even though it can't hurt you?

- **1.** It can grab your finger — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** It burns your skin like a nettle sting — no support
- **3.** It isn't a sting; it is only for smelling — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** It is full of venom — 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/30-snakes-and-lizards/t5/)

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### Test 6 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t6}

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gross a snake skin!! does that mean the snake's dead?

- **1.** No, it's a skin a bird left there — no support
- **2.** Yes, snakes shed only when they die — score 3
- **3.** Yes, it's all that's left of a snake that died here last week — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **4.** No, it shed its old skin and grew a new one under it — **✓ the right answer** · score 2

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 7, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 7: «Snakes shed their skin in one piece as they grow, starting at the lips, and their eyes turn cloudy blue just before.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «skin» (+4); the same circumstance (+3). The right option, 4, scored 2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/30-snakes-and-lizards/t6/)

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### Test 7 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t7}

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A lizard dropped its tail to escape a cat. What is different about the tail that grows back?

- **1.** It has cartilage inside instead of bone — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 12
- **2.** It grows back exactly the same, with bone — no support
- **3.** It never grows back, so the lizard has no tail for life — score 6
- **4.** It grows back as two tails — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 12, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 14: «Many lizards drop their tail when grabbed, and it keeps wriggling to distract the predator; the new tail has cartilage instead of bone.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «new tail» (+5); the same thing acted on «cartilage» (+3); the same circumstance (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/30-snakes-and-lizards/t7/)

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### Test 8 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t8}

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Pythons have tiny leg bones but no legs. What is the best explanation?

- **1.** Their ancestors had legs, and the bones are left over — **✓ the right answer** · score 4
- **2.** They are bones from mice they ate — **← Mova's choice** · score 9
- **3.** Pythons will grow legs when they are old and too heavy to slide — no support
- **4.** Pythons are growing legs right now — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 9, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 13: «Snakes push their bodies against bumps on the ground to move, and pythons still have tiny leg bones left from ancestors with legs.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «pythons» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «tiny leg bones» (+2). The right option, 1, scored 4. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/30-snakes-and-lizards/t8/)

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### Test 9 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t9}

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A pit viper and a lizard are in a dark cage with a warm mouse. Which finds it first and why?

- **1.** The lizard, because it can see perfectly well in the dark — **← Mova's choice** · score 11
- **2.** Both at once, by hearing — no support
- **3.** Neither, mice give off no heat — no support
- **4.** The pit viper, because its pits sense heat — **✓ the right answer** · score 9

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 11, against 9 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 1: «Snakes and lizards are reptiles with dry scaly skin; a lizard usually has four legs, while a snake has none and slides by pushing the sides of its body against…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same doer «lizard» (+4); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). The right option, 4, scored 9. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/30-snakes-and-lizards/t9/)

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### Test 10 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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You're walking on a British heath and see an adder. What's the sensible thing to do?

- **1.** Poke it with a long stick to see it move and hiss — **← Mova's choice** · score 12
- **2.** Leave it alone and walk round it; it bites only if disturbed — **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **3.** Pick it up, adders are harmless — score 3
- **4.** Stamp near it to scare it off — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 12, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 11, line 3: «The hard thing about wetland mud is that it has almost no oxygen, so roots can suffocate and dead plants hardly rot; poke it with a stick and stinky bubbles of…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «poke» (+4); the same circumstance (+3); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «thing» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/30-snakes-and-lizards/t10/)

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### Test 11 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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A gecko's hair-like toes stick by very weak forces. How can such weak forces hold it on a ceiling?

- **1.** The ceiling pulls it up — no support
- **2.** Each single hair is very strong on its own, like a hook — **← Mova's choice** · score 6
- **3.** The gecko is lighter than air — no support
- **4.** Millions of tiny hairs add up to a strong grip — **✓ the right answer** · score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 2 with score 6, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 15: «Gecko toes have millions of tiny hairs that stick by very weak forces between molecules, adding up to a grip strong enough to hang from a ceiling.», 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 «tiny hairs» (+2); the same property (+1). The right option, 4, scored 4. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/30-snakes-and-lizards/t11/)

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### Test 12 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t12}

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Why is a snake's way of eating whole a good fit for an animal that can't chew?

- **1.** Stretchy jaws let it swallow big prey in one piece — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** It chews its food slowly with its rough tongue instead of teeth — no support
- **3.** It cuts food with its scales — no support
- **4.** It eats only liquid food — 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/30-snakes-and-lizards/t12/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓ {#e1}

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Identify the organ by means of which a snake principally gathers scents from its surroundings.

- **1.** The eyes — no support
- **2.** The forked tongue, conveying particles to an organ in the palate — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **3.** The nostrils alone — no support
- **4.** The scales of the belly — no support

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**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 30, line 6: «Snakes smell with their forked tongue, which carries scent to a special organ in the roof of the mouth and tells which side a smell is stronger on.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «carry» (+2); the same doer «forked tongue» (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/30-snakes-and-lizards/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 mechanism whereby a snake ingests prey larger than its head?

- **1.** The prey is dissolved externally — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The prey is first chewed into portions — no support
- **3.** The halves of the lower jaw are joined by elastic tissue that stretches — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The jaw is detached from the skull and later reattached when it has finished — 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/30-snakes-and-lizards/e2/)

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

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Ascertain the principal purpose for which the chameleon alters its colouration.

- **1.** Concealment against every possible background in which it finds itself — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The signalling of mood and the regulation of temperature — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** The attraction of rainfall — no support
- **4.** The deterrence of the Sun — 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/30-snakes-and-lizards/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4}

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It is given that a lizard's tail is seized by a predator. Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the outcome.

- **1.** The tail becomes venomous — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The lizard invariably perishes — no support
- **3.** The tail may be shed and continue to wriggle while the lizard escapes — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The predator is thereby hypnotised and forgets the lizard — 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/30-snakes-and-lizards/e4/)

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- ← previous: [29. Crocodiles and alligators](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/29-crocodiles-and-alligators/)
- next →: [31. Turtles and tortoises](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/31-turtles-and-tortoises/)
- ↑ back to [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/)