--- title: The ape house: orangutans, gibbons, bonobos and how apes think — how Mova does on the tests · Biology description: Lesson 85 of the biology course of Mova's primary school: 9 of 12 tests right, exam 1 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/) / 85 # The ape house: orangutans, gibbons, bonobos and how apes think **Tests:** 9 of 12 right · **Exam:** 1 of 4 right · **Kind:** ★★★ · **Understood:** 10 of 16 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72` Lesson 85 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/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/). 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/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/). ### Test 1 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t1} In The Jungle Book, King Louie the orangutan sings in an Indian jungle. What would you fix? - **1.** Orangutans live in Africa, but they do sing — score 8 - **2.** Real orangutans live only on Borneo and Sumatra, and cannot speak — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 11 - **3.** Nothing, orangutans are common in India and often sing to each other — no support - **4.** Orangutans live in South America — score 8 **Why:** It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 11, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 85, line 4: «Apes still cannot talk like us, because their throats and mouths are built differently, and King Louie singing in The Jungle Book is doubly made up: real orang…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «live» (+4); the same doer «real orangutans» (+4); the same place «borneo» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t1/) ### Test 2 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t2} 2 orangutans, 3 gibbons and 4 bonobos. how many tails, think before u answer - **1.** 3 — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** 9 — no support - **3.** 4 — no support - **4.** 0 — **✓ 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t2/) ### Test 3 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t3} «bonobos are just chimps innit» What is right? - **1.** They are a separate kind, slimmer, led by females, south of the Congo — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7 - **2.** No, bonobos are a kind of monkey with a tail — score 5 - **3.** Yes, chimps turn into bonobos when old — no support - **4.** Yes, bonobo is just the baby name for a chimp before it grows up big and strong — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 85, line 11: «Bonobos are a separate kind of ape, slimmer than chimpanzees, and live only in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, south of the Congo River, while chimps liv…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «lead» (+4); the same circumstance (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t3/) ### Test 4 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t4} How could a river make two kinds of ape grow apart? - **1.** Rivers have no effect on animals — no support - **2.** Apes on one side drink more water and grow bigger — score 4 - **3.** The river water slowly changes the colour of the apes on one side of it — no support - **4.** Apes cannot swim, so groups on each side live apart for ages — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8 **Why:** It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 4 with score 8, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 16, line 10: «Bonobos look like slim chimpanzees, live only south of the wide Congo River, which apes cannot swim across, while chimps live to the north of it, have groups l…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «swim» (+4); the same doer «apes» (+4). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t4/) ### Test 5 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t5} «my ape got 10 out of 10 in a memory game, so it's smarter than me» Which is wiser? - **1.** Being good at one game does not mean being clever at everything — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** No, apes cannot remember anything — no support - **3.** Memory games only measure eyesight — no support - **4.** Yes, one game proves the ape is smarter than you in every single way there is — **← Mova's choice** · score 7 **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 85, line 2: «Apes are clever in ways you can watch: an orangutan puts a sack on its head when it rains, apes tap puzzles on touch screens, and an orangutan that sees a mark…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same place «ways» (+3); the same doer «apes» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 1, 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/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t5/) ### Test 6 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t6} What would happen if you put a mark on a dog's face and showed it a mirror? - **1.** It would draw a mark on the mirror — no support - **2.** It always picks the mark off at once with its paw, like an ape would — no support - **3.** It usually ignores the mark, as dogs rarely pass this test — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 3 - **4.** It would learn to speak — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 85, line 15: «In the mirror test, great apes, dolphins, elephants and magpies have noticed a mark on their own body, dogs and cats usually ignore it, and human babies usuall…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «mark» (+2); the same action «ignore» (+1); the same property (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t6/) ### Test 7 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t7} You are at a shop and see «palm oil from protected forests» on a label. Why could buying it help orangutans? - **1.** It supports farms that do not cut down their forests — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score -1 - **2.** Palm oil is fed to zoo orangutans — no support - **3.** It makes palm trees grow faster in zoos — no support - **4.** The money is posted straight to the apes in the forest — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score -1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 85, line 8: «Wild orangutans live only on Borneo and Sumatra and are critically endangered, largely because forests were cut down for palm oil farms.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «cut down» (+1); the same thing acted on «forests» (+1). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t7/) ### Test 8 · ★★★ · wrong ✗ {#t8} «can't the orangutan just swim off the island and escape» What is right? - **1.** No, because the water is too hot — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** Yes, orangutans are strong swimmers and cross rivers every day — no support - **3.** Great apes do not swim naturally, so the moat keeps them in — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** Yes, but only at night — 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t8/) ### Test 9 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t9} Which is the fastest way to cross a forest canopy for an ape? - **1.** A gibbon swinging arm over arm — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 9 - **2.** A bonobo hopping along on one leg — no support - **3.** A gorilla climbing slowly up the trunk — no support - **4.** An orangutan walking on the ground — no support **Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 85, line 10: «Swinging arm over arm is called brachiation; gibbons are the fastest apes in the trees, reported at around 50 kilometres per hour.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «swing» (+4); the same place «arm» (+3); the same thing acted on «arm» (+2). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t9/) ### Test 10 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t10} A cartoon gorilla says whole sentences to its keeper. What is closest to the truth? - **1.** Some apes learned many signs, but scientists argue if it is language — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** Gorillas really do speak words, but quietly and only to their own keepers — no support - **3.** All apes can talk but choose not to — no support - **4.** Apes understand no signs 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t10/) ### Test 11 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t11} A visitor counts 3 gibbon pairs singing duets. How many gibbons are singing? - **1.** 6 — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 8 - **2.** 3 — score 8 - **3.** 9 — score 8 - **4.** 4 — score 8 **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 85, line 3: «Bonobos settle a quarrel with a hug instead of a fight, and in the morning the gibbons sing loud duets to say «this part of the forest is ours».», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «sing» (+5); the same doer «gibbons» (+3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t11/) ### Test 12 · ★★★ · right ✓ {#t12} Why would a male orangutan want huge cheek pads? - **1.** They store food for the long, hungry winter months — no support - **2.** They help him float in rivers — no support - **3.** They keep rain out of his ears — no support - **4.** They show others he is a strong, grown-up male — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 7 **Why:** It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 85, line 6: «Some grown-up male orangutans grow wide cheek pads called flanges, which show others they are strong grown-ups, and a throat sac that makes their «long call» c…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «wide cheek pads» (+4); the same action «show» (+2); the same thing acted on «others» (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/t12/) ### Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓ {#e1} Identify the principal threat to the survival of wild orangutans. - **1.** The clearance of their forests, largely for palm oil — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support - **2.** The consumption of excessive quantities of fruit — no support - **3.** The coldness of the winters on Sumatra — no support - **4.** Predation by lions upon the island of Borneo — 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/e1/) ### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2} Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the conduct of bonobo groups? - **1.** They resolve disputes exclusively by vocal duets — no support - **2.** They are led by a single dominant male who resolves disputes by combat — no support - **3.** They are led by females and resolve disputes through hugging and grooming — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **4.** Each bonobo lives in solitude — **← Mova's choice** · score 7 **Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 16, line 10: «Bonobos look like slim chimpanzees, live only south of the wide Congo River, which apes cannot swim across, while chimps live to the north of it, have groups l…», 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 action «live» (+2); the same doer «bonobos» (+2). The right option, 3, 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/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/e2/) ### Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e3} Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the capacity of apes for speech. - **1.** They speak fluently, but only in the presence of their keepers — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** They cannot articulate words, though some have acquired many signs — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** They are incapable of learning any sign whatsoever — no support - **4.** They possess grammar identical to that of humans — 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/e3/) ### Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e4} Determine what is demonstrated by an animal that, upon seeing a mark on its face in a mirror, touches that mark upon its own body. - **1.** That it believes the reflection to be another animal — **← Mova's choice** · no support - **2.** That it apprehends the reflection to be itself — **✓ the right answer** · no support - **3.** That it wishes to remove the mirror — no support - **4.** That it is incapable of perceiving colour — 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/85-ape-house-orangutans-gibbons-bonobos/e4/) - ← previous: [84. The ape house: gorillas and chimpanzees](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/84-ape-house-gorillas-and-chimpanzees/) - next →: [86. The monkey house and the lemurs of Madagascar](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/86-monkey-house-and-lemurs-of-madagascar/) - ↑ back to [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/)