CAMBRIDGE PRIMARY SCIENCE 3: TEACHER’S RESOURCE

Workbook answers
Unit 1 Plants are living things
Topic 1.1: Alive or not alive?
Focus
1 alive – sheep, plant, tree, cactus
not alive – match/flame, river, clouds, clock

Practice
2 a Moves Needs water Grows Makes Needs Can Has Alive?
and food waste air sense young
A goat ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
A cat ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
The Moon ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗
A tree ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
A dolphin ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
An ant ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
b A Accept any suitable answers for why
one living object is alive.
B Accept any suitable answers for why
the Moon is not alive.
Challenge
3 a Living things Things that were once alive Things that have never been alive
frog spawn wood rain
crab fan
tree rock
plastic building block
c Plus one additional object drawn in
each box.

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Topic 1.2 Plant parts Practice

2 Plant with light: drawing of a healthy plant
Focus
1 Drawing coloured in appropriately and Plant with no light: drawing of a small,
labelled as shown. unhealthy plant with small leaves.

Challenge
flower
3 a Seeds A and C will not grow strongly
because they are not growing in a
sunny place.
b Seeds B and D will grow well because they
are growing in a sunny place.
leaf
c Plants need light so that the leaves can
make food/sugar.

Topic 1.4 Plants need water and

stem
the right temperature
Focus
1 a Plant C cannot grow well because it is
roots too cold.
b Plant A cannot grow well because it is
too hot.

Practice c Plant B can grow well because it has the

right temperature.
2 roots: to hold the plant down and absorb
water from the soil. Practice
flower: to make seeds. 2 a Plant B grew the best because the good
stem: to hold the plant parts up and soil held enough water for the plant to
transport water. grow. The root could absorb enough water
from the soil.
leaf: to make food for the plant.
b Plant C grew the least because the stones
Challenge had no water. The root could not absorb
3 Without leaves … the plant cannot make any water.
food/sugar.
c Plant A grew a little because the root
Without a stem … the plant will not stand up. absorbed a little water. The sandy soil
Without flowers … the plant will not holds only a little water.
make seeds. Challenge
Without roots … the plant will not be held in 3 a Day 1
place or absorb water from the soil. 10
9
Topic 1.3 Plants and light 8
Plant height (cm)

7
Focus 6
1 a Plant C will grow well because it has most 5
light. 4
3
b Plants A, B and D will grow less well
2
because they have less light.
1
c Plant A/B/D would grow better if it was 0
water no water
moved next to plant C.

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Day 10 f Mixing vinegar and bicarbonate of soda

10 makes a gas called carbon dioxide.
9
8
g Air is a mixture of gases.
Plant height (cm)

7 h Most of the air is a gas called nitrogen.

6
5 Topic 2.2 Separating mixtures
4
3 Focus
2 1 mixture
1
0
water no water
sieve
b The plant which was watered grew better.
This was because it had water and could
grow/all plants need water to grow.
c Accept 5 or 6 cm.

Unit 2 Mixing materials

Topic 2.1 Solids, liquids and gases
magnet
Focus
1 1: water in the bottle – liquid
2: tree trunk – solid
3: water in pond – liquid
mixture
4: air in the balloon – gas
5: air in the bubble – gas
6: rock – solid
7: water in puddle – liquid
8: metal slide – solid 2 a We can use a sieve to separate a mixture
of rice and beans.
Practice b We can use a magnet to separate a mixture
2 Solid Liquid Gas of metal pins and sand.
brick shampoo air
rice oil oxygen
(Learner’s (Learner’s (Learner’s
own example) own example) own example)

Challenge
3 a A solid stays the same shape unless it
is compressed.
b A liquid changes shape easily.
c Humans breathe a gas called oxygen.
d Vinegar is a liquid.
e Bicarbonate of soda is a solid.

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Practice 3 Correct answers should include any two of

the following:
3 soil The sand will go
and Do not use hot water without an adult
through the holes (or similar).
roots but the rice
Do not taste the dissolved sugar (or similar).
will not.
Do not put the glass/equipment on the edge of
the table (or similar).
rice The rice will go
and Do not spill the water (or similar).
through the holes
sand but the beans Challenge
will not. 4 a 3
b 5 − 1 = 4
rice The soil will go c Yes
and through the holes d the water temperature/how hot the
beans but the roots water was
will not.
e how much/how many teaspoons of
sugar dissolved
Challenge f Correct answers include the amount of
water, the same solid, the same liquid,
4 a Correct answers will indicate that Zara
stir each the same number of times.
has not labelled the rocks.
b Correct answers will indicate that Zara Topic 2.4 Filtering
has not labelled the sand or the sieve and
that her drawing of the sand on the plate
Focus
is not neat. Also, her drawing of the sieve 1 The correct order is:
is not neat. Put the filter paper into the funnel.
Put a cup under the funnel.
Topic 2.3 Dissolving
Pour the mixture into the filter paper.
Focus
Practice
1 a Sand is insoluble in water.
2 a No
b Salt is insoluble in cooking oil.
b The water was still dirty/The water still
c Salt is soluble in water. had some dirt in it.
d The more water there is, the more salt 3 a No
can dissolve. b The water was less dirty/The water was
e When a solid dissolves in water, the cleaner when it came out.
solid cannot be seen but the water is 4 Yes
still transparent.
Challenge
Practice 5 a No
2
b Sugar is soluble in water/sugar dissolves in
water/You cannot use a filter to separate
a solid that has dissolved.
6 a No
b Salt is soluble in vinegar/salt dissolves in
vinegar/ You can’t use a filter to separate
a solid that has dissolved.

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7 a Yes
b Salt is insoluble in oil/Salt does not Unit 3 Light and shadows
dissolve in oil/the salt will stay in the filter.
Topic 3.1 Shadows
Topic 2.5 Separating materials Focus
from rocks 1
Focus
1 p
l
c a r b o n d i o x i d e
s a r i
t t e e
i u s s
c r e
a l
s m e l t i n g

Practice
2 a Any three fuels from oil, petrol, natural
gas, petrol, diesel (accept coal, charcoal,
wood, paraffin).
b Fuels contain carbon.
Practice
c When fuels are burned, a gas called
2 For each object a reasonable shadow should
carbon dioxide is made.
be drawn.
d Accept any valid example of humans
burning fuel, such as driving a car, heating Challenge
a house, cooking food. 3 All three shadows should be marked as wrong
with a cross.
e Global warming is a problem because it is
causing the Earth to get warmer. (Accept The following should then be drawn:
any valid consequence, such as sea levels The aeroplane shadow faces in the same
rising, ice melting, animals finding it hard direction as the aeroplane.
to find food or becoming extinct.) The ladder shadow is upright, touching the
ladder.
Challenge
The cycle shadow has white spaces to show the
3 a Cobalt is a metal.
wheels and frame. The shadow touches the cycle.
b Cobalt is used for making batteries.
Topic 3.2 Changing shadows
c They separate the cobalt ore from the
rocks by breaking the rocks. Focus
d The children work in the mines to 1 Two reasonable shadows should be drawn for
earn money to live. each of the four objects.

e People who buy mobile phones or electric Practice

cars could help by buying these products 2 Kamal’s shadow at 4pm should be longer and
from people who do not use cobalt from stretching down to the left.
mines where children work/Buy phones or
electric cars that do not have cobalt. Challenge
3 a 10 cm
b 10 cm

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c As the drumstick is moved towards the They might

light source the shadow gets bigger/grows. get water
in their
Topic 3.3 Transparent materials eyes. ✗
✓ ✓
Focus The sunlight
sunglasses
1 Metal – opaque is too
See through plastic – transparent bright ✓
Glass lamp – transparent
They might
Egg shell – opaque
get water
Wood – opaque
in their
Rock – opaque
eyes. ✗
Plastic window – transparent
Magnifying glass – transparent The sunlight
is too
Practice bright ✗
2 Outside on a bright day – slightly dark indoors
sunglasses
Sunny beach – dark sunglasses Topic 3.4 Translucent materials
Very bright, snowy environment – very
Focus
dark sunglasses
1
Challenge Can you read this? transparent
3

Person Does this Use a ✓ or Should the Can you read this?
person a ✗ to say protection
need eye whether the be dark like translucent
protection? sentence is sunglasses?
Can you read this?
true or false
They might
get water
Can you read this? opaque
in their
✓ eyes. ✗ ✓
visor
The sunlight
Practice
is too
bright ✓ 2 Arun is right because translucent glass reduces
glare (the reason for this does not need to be
They might given).
get water
in their Challenge
✓ eyes. ✓ ✗ 3 a The dentist and her patients do not want
The sunlight people to see inside.
is too b People do not like to see the bright
mask bright ✗ light bulb.
They might c People do not want other people to look
get water into the house.
in their
✓ eyes. ✓ ✗
The sunlight
is too
goggles bright ✗

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Topic 4.2 Animal groups and

Unit 4 Staying alive different life cycles
Topic 4.1 Human organs Focus
Focus 1 Any suitable animal in each group, such as
(in table order) elephant, turtle, eagle, termite,
1
frog and shark.

intestines Practice
2 a foal, young horse, adult
b very similar
c any of these: for protection, for food, for
brain milk, for warmth

Challenge
3 The correct order is:
The adult lays eggs close to the sea.
heart Baby turtles hatch.
Baby turtles start to grow.
The young turtle grows to become an adult.
4 Turtle eggs hatch at night to avoid being eaten
lungs by other animals

Topic 4.3 Food chains

Focus
1 plant beetle chicken lion
stomach
plant rabbit lion
plant mouse lion

Practice Practice
2 Accept reasonably placed organs: 2 a plant caterpillar frog hawk
brain inside the head b plant mouse snake eagle
lungs in the chest
heart in the chest c plant fish shark
stomach and intestines in the lower torso. 3 Each food chain starts with a plant
Challenge because this is a producer that gets its
energy from the Sun.
3 lungs – take in air so that we can breathe
brain – helps you think Challenge
heart – pushes blood around the body 4–5 Each answer should consist of a producer, the
stomach and intestines – get nutrients from consumer given in the question and another
your food consumer, such as:
NB: most body parts rely on all of these parts, plant rabbit fox
so you might allow other links.
plant caterpillar bird
4 a exercise seaweed fish whale
b air
c body or organs

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Topic 4.4 Fossils Practice

2 a The boot
Focus
b The sandal
1 What kind Where might
of animal is it have lived? c 2N
this?
d Yes
fish in water or
a river or a Challenge
lake or the 3
sea 1N school bag
turtle on land and
5N 3 bananas
sea
10N apple

fish in water or 20N table

the sea or
a lake or a 50N chair
river
spider in a forest Topic 5.2 Gravity
or amongst
rocks Focus
1

Practice
2 a Left side: Accept a drawing of the fish
buried under rocks, stones/mud
b Right side: Accept any fish-like drawing

Challenge
3 a elephant, rhinoceros, mammoth
b accept any drawing of an animal with tusks
4 a accept any carnivore
b sharp teeth or teeth for biting

Unit 5 Forces and

magnets
Topic 5.1 Forces and forcemeters
Focus
1 Type of footwear Force needed to pull it
boot 5N
shoe 2N
trainer 3N
sandal 1N

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Practice Practice
2 Uses gravity: a, c, e, f 2 Correct answers will show a labelled arrow
Does not use gravity: b, d pointing in the opposite direction to the
movement, and should be drawn close to the
Challenge surfaces where the friction happens.
3 a True a
b False
c False
d True
friction
e False

Topic 5.3 Friction

b
Focus
1 a

friction

push

c
friction

b pull

friction

friction 3 Correct answers will explain that friction slows

down moving objects.

Challenge
4 a Correct answers will explain that
this conclusion does not address the
investigation question.
b Correct answers will state that the surface
c with most friction was the carpet.

friction

gravity

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Topic 5.4 Amazing magnets Topic 5.5 Magnetic materials

Focus Focus
1 red blue attract red blue 1 a and b
S N S N

book
red blue attract red blue
N S N S nail

keys
red blue repel red blue
S N N S

balloon

red blue repel red blue paper clip N S

N S S N

Practice
2 A magnet has a north pole and a south pencil
toy duck
pole. ✓
Two north poles attract each other. ✗ Practice
Only south poles attract metal paper clips. ✗ 2 Magnetic Non-magnetic
A north pole and a south pole attract each
steel aluminium
other. ✓
iron wood
Magnets repel non-magnetic materials. ✗
plastic
Challenge rock
3 Correct answers should explain the following:
3 a Some metals are magnetic.
A pole that repels a north pole is also a
north pole. b Materials that are not metal are non-
magnetic.
A pole that repels a south pole is also a
south pole. Challenge
or 4 p n
A pole that is attracted to a north pole o o
is a south pole. a l u m i n i u m
A pole that is attracted to a south pole e a m a
is a north pole.
g a g
n g n
s e n e
a t t r a c t e t
e t i
r e p e l i c
l c

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d Possible answers: The Moon and Earth

Unit 6 The Earth and are the right shapes. The orbit of the
Moon is the right shape.
the Moon e Possible answers: The Moon and Earth
are too small. The orbit of the Moon
Topic 6.1 The shape of the Earth, is too fast. The Moon and Earth are
Sun and Moon being held up. The Moon and Earth are
the wrong colours. The Earth is not a
Focus football. The Moon is not an orange.
1 Sphere Cuboid Cylinder
Challenge
Football Book Can
Sun Cardboard box Pencil 3 a Planet Size of real Size of model
planet (km) planet (cm)
Earth
Mercury 5000 5
Moon
Venus 12 000 12
Practice Earth 13 000 13
2 a A sphere Mars 7000 7
b Gas Jupiter 140 000 140
c The Sun Saturn 116 000 116
d The Sun Uranus 51 000 51
e 10 ÷ 2 = 5 times stronger. Neptune 49 000 49
Challenge b Jupiter
3 a Answers should show that learners c Mercury
understand that people have travelled
around the Earth and that we can see d 1390 cm or 13.9 m
from space that the Earth is a sphere.
Topic 6.3 The phases of the Moon
b Answers should show that learners
understand that gravity makes/pulls things Focus
into spherical shapes. 1 a Full Moon
c Acceptable answers will suggest that the b New Moon
Earth looks flat when you stand on it or that
people thought it was flat because gravity c (Northern hemisphere) waning crescent,
pulls downwards everywhere on Earth. (Southern hemisphere) waxing crescent.
d (Northern hemisphere) first quarter,
Topic 6.2 The Moon (Southern hemisphere) last quarter.
Focus e (Northern hemisphere) waning gibbous,
1 a True (Southern hemisphere) waxing gibbous.
b False Practice
c True 2 a The crescent Moon drawn should be less
full than a quarter Moon.
d True
b The full Moon drawn should be
e False
approximately circular.
Practice c The gibbous Moon drawn should be fuller
2 a The orange than a quarter moon but not circular.
b The football
c Arun

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Challenge b (Wednesday 5 April) Waxing crescent.

3 a (Tuesday 4 April) The crescent Moon (Friday 7 April) Waxing gibbous.
drawn should be fuller than that shown c Eight hours
on 3 April but less full than that shown on
5 April and at a similar angle. d Later
(Thursday 6 April) The Moon drawn e Fifty minutes
should be approximately a semicircle and
at a similar angle to the other Moons
shown in the Moon diary.
(Saturday 8 April) The gibbous Moon
drawn should be fuller than that shown
on 7 April but less full than that shown on
9 April and at a similar angle.

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