PAPER

A
c t i c e
Pra stions
Que

Inter national DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET UNTIL INSTRUCTED.

Competitions STUDENT’S NAME:
and Assessments
for Schools

Read the instructions on the ANSWER SHEET and fill in your

NAME, SCHOOL and OTHER INFORMATION.
Use a 2B or B pencil.
Do NOT use a pen.
Rub out any mistakes completely.

You MUST record your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.

Mark only ONE answer for each question.

SCIENCE Your score will be the number of correct answers.
Marks are NOT deducted for incorrect answers.

Use the information provided to choose the BEST answer from

the four possible options.
On your ANSWER SHEET fill in the oval that matches your answer.

You may use a calculator and a ruler.

 1. Which glass object shown would be the best to measure an amount of water?

(A) (B) (C) (D)

2. The drawing shows the body parts of a snail.

breathing hole
long tentacle hard shell

eye

short tentacle

head
foot
To which part of the snail’s body is an eye attached?

(A) breathing hole (B) hard shell

(C) long tentacle (D) short tentacle

3. Scientists found the remains of some animals in a cave.

The graph shows the number and type of the remains.

15
Number of remains

10

0
leg bones teeth skulls backbones

Type of remains

How many backbones were found?

(A) 3 (B) 6 (C) 9 (D) 10

ICAS Science Practice Questions Paper A © EAA 2

4. Rocks are made up of one or more different minerals. The block below contains three
different minerals.

From which of these large sections of rock was the block cut?

(A) (B) (C) (D)

water drops
5. Some Year 3 students saw their teacher puton a plastic
inside of bag
bag over some leaves of a plant on a sunny day. One
day later, they saw drops of water on the inside of the water drops
plastic bag. on inside of bag
bag sealed
The teacher explained that the water had come from
the leaves of the plant. bag sealed

The students thought this method might also work to

find out if soil has water in it.

They set up the pots below and put them in a sunny place.

Pot X Pot Y

Pot X Pot Y
soil plastic bags empty pot

soil
bag sealed plastic bags emp

bag sealed

Their method of testing for water in soil worked positively.

What must the students have observed in the experiment?

(A) Water formed on the inside of the plastic bag over pot X only.
(B) Water formed on the inside of the plastic bag over pot Y only.
(C) Water formed on the inside of neither plastic bag.
(D) Water formed on the inside of both plastic bags.

3 ICAS Science Practice Questions Paper A © EAA

 6. Liquids that spread quickly through a paper towel are absorbed better than those that spread
more slowly.

Some children put one measured drop of four different liquids on a piece of paper towel. The
drawing shows their results after one minute.

Which liquid was best absorbed by the paper towel?

(A) (B)

soap sauce

(C) (D)

milk water

7. Rick measured a nail as shown in the diagram.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
cm
cm

Which bar on the graph represents Rick’s measurement?

(A)
(A)
Measurements

Measurements

(B)
(B)
(C)
(C)
(D)
(D)
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Length (cm)
Length (cm)

ICAS Science Practice Questions Paper A © EAA 4

 For questions 8 and 9 use the information below.

Some students made phones from a ball of string and empty tin cans as shown.

One student One student

Onespoke
Onelistened
student listened with her mouth
student spoke
with her ear
withagainst
her ear against with her mouth
this end. this end. against this end. this end.
against
string string
empty tin empty
can tin can


They tested which string phone worked best by comparing the loudness of the voice heard
at the listening end. They showed the phones in order from best phone to worst phone.

best phone
best phone worst phone
worst phone

string string
string string loose
tight loose
tight

8. Which description matches the best string phone?

(A) short, loose string with small cans

(B) short, tight string with large cans
(C) long, tight string with large cans
(D) short, tight string with small cans

9. Which condition was necessary to make this a fair test?

(A) the tin cans were all the same size

(B) the strings between the cans were kept tight
(C) the strings between the cans were kept the same length
(D) the same student listened and the same student spoke on each phone

5 ICAS Science Practice Questions Paper A © EAA

 10. The Sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

The drawing shows a view from above of a schoolyard early in the morning.
road
road

tree
tree
office classrooms
office classrooms
shadow wall
shadow wall

Which pointer is correctly showing north for this view of the schoolyard?

(A) (B) (C) (D)

(A) (B) (C) (D)
S

S
N

W
E

W
E

S
N

W
E

W
E

E
W

E
N

N

S

S
W

E
W

E
N

N
S

ICAS Science Practice Questions Paper A © EAA 6

This page may be used for working.

7 ICAS Science Practice Questions Paper A © EAA

Acknowledgment
Copyright in this booklet is owned by Educational
Assessment Australia, UNSW Global Pty Limited, unless
otherwise indicated. Every effort has been made to trace and
acknowledge copyright. Educational Assessment Australia
apologises for any accidental infringement and welcomes
information to redress the situation.

The following year levels should sit THIS Paper:

Australia Year 3
Brunei Primary 3
Hong Kong Primary 3
Indonesia Year 4
Malaysia Standard 3
New Zealand Year 4
Pacific Year 3 PAPER

Singapore Primary 2 A
South Africa Grade 3

Educational © 2010 Educational Assessment Australia.

EAA is an education group of UNSW Global Pty
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THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES Australia training and consulting services and a wholly
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 Paper

a SC
Inter national
Competitions
and Assessments THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
for Schools

HOW TO FILL OUT THIS SHEET:

EXAMPLE 1: Debbie Bach EXAMPLE 2: Chan Ai Beng EXAMPLE 3: Jamal bin Abas
FIRST NAME LAST NAME FIRST NAME LAST NAME FIRST NAME LAST NAME
• Rub out all mistakes completely.
• Print your details clearly A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A
in the boxes provided. B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C
• Make sure you fill in only D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D
one oval in each column.

FIRST NAME to appear on certificate LAST NAME to appear on certificate

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B B

S
C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C

N
D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D D

E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E

I O
F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F

T
G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G G

H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H

S
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I

E
J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J J

K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K K

U
L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L L

Q
M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M M

N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N

E
O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P

C
TI
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q

R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

C
T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T T

A
U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U

V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V

R
W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W W

P
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z

’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’ ’
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

DATE OF BIRTH CLASS

Day Month Year (optional)

Are you male or female?

Male Female *045603* 0

1
0

1
0

1
0

1
0

1
0

1
A

B
K

Does anyone in your home usually speak a language other than English? 2 2 2 2 2 C M

Yes No 3 3 3 3 3 D N

4 4 4 4 E O

School name: 5 5 5 5 F P

6 6 6 6 G Q

Town / suburb: 7 7 7 7 H R

8 8 8 8 I S

Today’s date: Postcode: 9 9 9 9 J T

TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS

Example: Ari added cordial to water to make a jug of drink.

What will be the volume of the drink in the jug?

(A) 50 mL
(B) 150 mL
(C) 200 mL
(D) 250 mL

The answer is 250 mL, so you would fill in the oval ,

D

as shown.

A B C D

START
1 A B C D

2 A B C D

3 A B C D

4 A B C D

5 A B C D

6 A B C D

7 A B C D

8 A B C D

9 A B C D

10 A B C D

Paper

a SC
Inter national
Competitions
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with appropriate Australian privacy legislation. for Schools

Visit www.eaa.unsw.edu.au for more details.

 LEVEL OF
QUESTION KEY key reasoning
DIFFICULTY
Four glass objects are shown: a measuring cylinder, a test tube, a
round bottom flask and a funnel. Graduations (marks), which are
1 A Easy
only on the measuring cylinder, allow different amounts of water to
be measured accurately.
Observe the diagram carefully: the eyes are at the end of the long
2 C Easy
tentacles.
The column (bar) graph that represents the number of backbones is
3 C Easy
a little under 10, so (C) is the best answer.
Options B, C and D all contain the three coloured minerals
showing in the block, but only option (D) has the black line crossing
4 D Medium
the layers of the brown mineral and the three minerals in the
correct sequence.
The teacher explained that when a plastic bag was placed over a
plant, the water that formed on the inside of the plastic bag had
come from the plant.
5 A Medium
For the test to show that water came from the soil in the same
manner, the water must form inside the plastic bag over the pot
with soil in it (pot X), and water must not form inside the plastic
bag over the pot with no soil in it (pot Y).
As all drops were the same measured size, the fastest spreading
6 D liquid would wet the biggest area of paper. This would be the liquid Medium
that was best absorbed by the paper. Water has the biggest wet area.
Note that there are two scales, one for the nail and another for the
graph. The nail is 4.5 cm long. The end of column A is in line with
7 B the end of the nail but the graph scale indicates that the column is Medium
only 2 cm long, and so column A is wrong. Column C is 5 cm long
and column D is almost 8 cm long, so they are both wrong.
There are four string phones. From the diagram, the far left phone
8 B Medium/Hard
is the best phone. It is short, it has a tight string and large cans.
The students tested which phone worked best by changing the
length of the string, the tightness of the string and the size of the
9 D cans. Options A, B and C describe the variables that the student Medium/Hard
changed in the test(s). Option D describes the variable that needed
to stay the same.
As the shadows of the trees, buildings and walls are toward the
bottom left hand corner, the Sun must be toward the top right hand
10 A Hard
corner. As this is early morning and the Sun rises in the east, the
top right hand corner must be east.

ICAS Science Practice Questions Paper A © EAA

 LEGEND

Level of difficulty refers to the expected level of difficulty for the question.

Easy more than 70% of candidates will choose the correct option.

Medium about 50–70% of candidates will choose the correct option.

Medium/Hard about 30–50% of candidates will choose the correct option.

Hard less than 30% of candidates will choose the correct option.

ICAS Science Practice Questions Paper A © EAA