PSLE EXAMINATION PAPERS 2016 - 2018 SCIENCECONTENTS Pages REVISED EXAMINATION FORMAT (examined from 2018 PSLE) PSLE SCIENCE i PAST PSLE SCIENCE PAPERS (2016-2018) 1 LIFE SCIENCE 1.1 Multiple Choice Questions 1 1.2 Open-ended Questions ar 2 PHYSICAL SCIENCE 2.41 Multiple Choice Questions 47 2.2 Open-ended Questions 81 ANSWER KEYS 101 LIFE SCIENCE PHYSICAL SCIENCELIFE SCIENCE 1.1 Multiple Choice Questions Which of the following organisms can make its own food? (1) fem (2) mould (3) beetle (4) mushroom ( ) (2018/(A)/1) Mingfa observed a living organism under the microscope, substance S substance S after some time aes organism organism Based on Mingfa's observation, which is the correct conclusion? (1) Living things grow. (2) Living things respond. (3) __ Living things need food. (4) Living things reproduce. ( ) (2018/(A)/2)The arrows in the diagram below represent different processes. - AS carbon dioxide “> dead matter What do arrows A and B represent? A B (1) | _ photosynthesis decomposition — 2) breathing decomposition (3) | _ photosynthesis breathing (4) breathing photosynthesis ( ) (2018/(A)/3) The diagram below shows a food web in a habitat. S, T, U, V, W and X represent different organisms. ae NZ Which of the following is a correct conclusion? (1) Xis.adecomposer. (2) Weats plants and animals. (3) When V decreases in number, S will increase in number. (4) The energy from the Sun is transferred to S, and then to T, U, Wand X. ( ) (2018(Ay4)Fertilisers help tiny floating plants to grow quickly and cover the surface of ponds. The following events took place when fertilisers from a farm entered a nearby pond. A The population of fish decreased. B ‘The population of underwater plants decreased, C —_The amount of oxygen in the water decreased. D Sunlight could not reach organisms in the pond Which of the following shows the correct order of events? a) @ (3) (4) A.B,C,D A,C,D,B DGAB D,B,C,A ( ) (2018/(A)/5) The chart below shows how substances P and Q are transported in the human body. Pp ——— System Y |{——__*|_systemZ Q a other parts of the body What are systems Y and Z and substances P and Q? System Y System Z Pp a (1) |. respiratory circulatory | carbon dioxide | __ oxygen (2) | circulatory respiratory | carbon dioxide | oxygen (3) | respiratory | circulatory oxygen —_| carbon dioxide (4) | circulatory | respiratory oxygen —_| carbon dioxide ( ) (2018/(Ay/6)A fruit was cut open as shown. seeds brightly-coloured, fleshy fruit Which of the following statements are correct? A The fruit and seeds were developed from a flower. B There were many ovules in the ovary. c} The seeds were small and would be dispersed by wind. D Pollination and fertilisation had taken place. (1) Aand Bonly (2) Cand D only (3) A, Band Donly (4) A,B,CandD ( ) (2018/(A)/7) Which of the following is not an impact of deforestation by cutting trees? (1) soil erosion (2) loss of habitats (3) smoke and haze (4) more carbon dioxide in the air ( ) (2018/(Ay/8)10 Which of the following shows how the mass of seed leaves changes during germination? 4 2 (1) a (2) ‘ mass of mass of seed seed leaves leaves height of young plant height of young plant Ons ® | mass of | mass of seed seed leaves leaves Lo height of young plant height of young plant ( ) (2018(Ay/9) After harvesting their crops, farmers may leave behind some dead plants on the ground. How does leaving behind dead plants benefit these farmers? (1) To provide food for animals in the soil. (2) Toallow the plants to carry out photosynthesis. (3) Tomake the soil fertile when the plants decompose. (4) To provide shelter and protection for animals in the soil. ( ) (2018/(A)/10)41 The diagram shows a flower of plant Z. The reproductive parts are hidden in the flower. reproductive parts hidden in flower female part flower of plant Z The flower gives off a strong smell. A gardener observes that the female part of the flower opens first for two days and then dies, before the male part opens and dies. How is plant Z pollinated? method | within one flower or between two flowers (1) | insect | ‘one flower 2) wind one flower @) insect ‘two flowers 4) wind two flowers ( ) (2018/(Ay/11)12 13 A,B, C, D and E are organs in the digestive system. The graph below shows the amount of undigested food leaving each organ after a meal, amount of undigested food leaving each organ organs in 7a c DE digestive system Which of the following is correct? Mouth Gullet ‘Small Intestine | Large Intestine | (1) A D B E 2) B c D A (3) B E c D (4) B E A D ( ) (2018/(A)/12) Farah observed some animal cells under a microscope before and after placing them in a liquid containing substance Y. Farah drew her observations of a cell as shown below. Before After V substance Y Which cell part allowed for the movement of substance Y into the cell? (1) nucleus (2) cell wall (3) cytoplasm (4) cell membrane ( ) (2018(Ay'13)14 15 Liyan wanted to find out whether a type of plant growing in places with different amounts of carbon dioxide will have different number of tiny openings in their leaves. She collected leaves from the same type of plant growing in different places and counted the number of tiny openings as shown below. tiny openings number of tiny openings in a given area of leaf Which of the following variables should Liyan keep constant? A size of plant B number of tiny openings in a leaf c amount of carbon dioxide in the air D amount of photosynthesis in each plant (1) Aonly (2) Cand D only (3) A,BandC only (4) A,BandD only ( ) (2018(Ay/14) Which of the following is a function of the human skeletal system? (1) protects organs in the body (2) protects the muscular system (3) transports blood around the body (4) transports food in the digestive system ( ) (2017(A)/1)16 17 Study the chart below. organisms Yes __, insect No Yes, bird No mammal Which of the following shows the characteristics represented by A and B? Characteristics | A B (1) hastur has a beak @) has six legs has feathers | @) has wings has fur | (4) | _ has hard body covering gives birth to young Which of the following organisms is not a fungus? (1) (2) (3) (4) fern yeast mould mushroom ( ) (2017(Ay/2) ( ) (2017(AY3)18 19 20 Which of the following correctly describes the transfer of energy in a community of organisms? (1) Energy is transferred from predators to prey in a food web. (2) Energy is transferred from one plant-eater to another in a population. (3) Energy is transferred from producers to consumers in the same habitat. ) (4) Energy is transferred from decomposers to producers in the same community. ( ) (2017K(Ay/4) Halim found an animal in a stream deep in a forest. Which of the following characteristics should he use to identify it as amphibian, fish or reptile? (1) presence of gills (2) type of body covering (3) method of reproduction (4) whether it can live both on land and in water ( ) (2017KAYS5) The food relationship between three organisms is shown. R——> s ——>T The following took place when a large number of organism T died. A The number of R decreased. B The number of S increased. C The number of S decreased. D There was insufficient food for S. Which of the following shows the correct sequence of events? (1) A,B,D,C (2) AD,CB @) BAD,C (4) B,D,GA ( ) (2017/(AY6) 1021 Two cells A and B are shown. B Which of the following gives the correct classification of the cells and the function of part J? Plant | Animal Funetion of part J | aio. A.B | controls movement of substances in and out ofthe cell }@) 8 | ~A_| controls movement of substances in and out ofthe cal ge} Bp | oa | gives the cell a shape _ @| aBl- | gives the cell a shape ( ) (2017(A)/7) 22 The diagram shows plant P growing on a tree trunk. Its roots grip the surface of the trunk but do not reach the ground. When tiny, dust-ike substance from plant P land on other tree trunks, they grow into new plants. Which statement about plant P is correct? (1) Wind is used for the dispersal of its spores. (2) P-grows on a tree trunk so that it can avoid insects. (3) Its roots can absorb water droplets formed from condensation. (4) Fertilisation takes place after the dust-like substance are dispersed. ( ) (2017Ay8) 123 24 Which of the following are correct? ‘A. carrying out reforestation helps to reduce soil erosion and floods B c (1) AandB only (2) AandC only (3) Band C only (4) ABandc preventing disposal of waste into water helps to reduce pollution and haze using less fuel helps to reduce haze and global warming ( ) (2017/(AY/9) Jack grew some seeds of a plant on four trays inside a room. The experimental conditions and results are shown below. Tray Soil Prien Appearance of seeds on Day 5 A ary no oO oO oO B wet no | fo c ay yes oO oO oO |__ ; | wet yes | | BL | Based only on the results shown above, what is the correct conclusion for the germination of the seeds? (1) light is required (2) water is required (3) light, water and air are required (4) air, water and warmth are required ( ) (2017/(A)/10) 1225 Astudent made three statements about sexual reproduction in plants and humans: Which of the following is correct? A Fertilisation occurs in a female reproductive part. B Reproductive cells are produced in the anthers. C The fertilised egg is found in the ovary. Plants Humans (1) B AC 2) Ac : c (3) A,B,C " A @) A,B,C AC 13, ( ) (2017/(AV/11)26 A farmer has two different plots of land, X and Y, growing similar tomato plants as shown below. ‘one tomato plant x Y He predicts that more tomatoes will be produced by adding 5 g of fertiliser to the soil around each plant. However, his wife predicts that adding 10 g of the same fertiliser will give better results. Which of the following arrangements should the farmer use to provide a correct test for both their predictions? 5g of fertiliser added GQ 109 offertiliser added @ x @ Z fe x ( ) (2017/12) 1427 Asscientist studied the effect of light on plant S. His observations are shown below. average number average height ofleaves of plant (cm) amount of ‘amount of light (units) light (units) Which of the following will he most likely observe when plant S is grown under different amounts of light? (a) (2) low amount of light | high amount of light low amount of light | high amount of light (3) 4) low amount of light | high amount of ight | | low amount of light | high amount of light ZA ( ) (2017(AV/13) 1528 — Minah built a small pond in a garden on Day 1 Minah observed three types of animals, mosquito, butterfly and frog living in the garden, ‘The number of days needed for their eggs to hatch is shown below. Characteristic mosquito | butterfly frog Number of days needed for eggs to hatch 1 3 2 On Day 15, what would Minah most likely find in the pond? (1) mosquito larvae and butterfly larvae (2) mosquito larvae and tadpoles (3) frog eggs and mosquito larvae (4) frog eggs and butterfly larvae ( ) (2017(A)/14) 29 Which of the following characteristic(s) is/are found in birds, but not in other animals? A They lay eggs. B They have wings cG They have a streamlined body. D They have feathers on their bodies. (1) Bonly (2) Donly (3) A,BandD only (4) A.B,CandD ( ) (2016(A)/1) 1630 Meifen classified three types of cells as shown. x Yes Does it contain chloroplast(s)? Y Yes Zz What could X, Y and Z be? x Zz (1) cheek cell leaf cell root cell (2) root cell cheek cell leaf cell (3) leaf cell root call cheek cell (4) cheek cell root cell leaf cell 17 ( ) (2016(Ay2)31 Study the distribution of seeds by plant P. : wind direction : water direction : parent plant :seed One of the following fruits is from plant P. Which one is this fruit? a) (3) (2) % pod-like structure ‘wing-like structure ( ) (2016/(A)/3) 1832 The characteristics of two organisms are shown below. Organism Characteristic s T Makes its own food | No | Yes Produces spores Yes | Yes What could organisms S and T be? s it (1) | flowering plant mushroom 2 fem mushroom @) fem flowering plant (@ | __ mushroom fem ( ) (2016/(Ay/4) 33 The diagram shows the direction of blood flow in some parts of the body. | A rich in rich in oxygen rich in rich in oxygen carbon carbon dioxide dioxide le What do A, B and C represent? A _ B c (1) lungs other parts of the body heart (2) heart lungs other parts of the body 2) lungs ___heart other parts of the body (4) heart other parts of the body lungs ( ) (2016/(A)/5) 1934 Study the table below. Parts of the digestive system | | Key a [Kk [ t | m | |v:presont [ Removes water from food v Passes food to the bloodstream v Digestion takes place vfwlv Which of the following correctly shows the parts labelled J, K, Land M? (2) a) M. a kK kK {——L lr (3) (4) L.———_4 J K K —u {——L —y -——-M ( ) (2016(Ay/6) A 2035 Thomas set up his stall on a field as shown. After one month, he noticed that the grass patch below the stall turned yellow. LA _La ZiT on LY fan —~ S rass patch Which of the following best explains why the grass patch turned yellow? (1) There is not enough water for the grass. (2) There is not enough oxygen for the grass. (3) There is not enough sunlight for the grass, (4) There is not enough carbon dioxide for the grass. ( ) (2016/(Ay77) 36 Kerry put a plant in a beaker of red-coloured water. After one day, he cut the stem, A section of the stem is shown © c @ 7 \ od © 8 Kerry observed that tube B turned red but not tube C. Why? (1) Tube B transports food from the roots to alll parts of the plant. (2) Tube B transports water from the roots to all parts of the plant. (3) Tube B transports food from the leaves to all parts of the plant. (4) Tube B transports water from the leaves to all parts of the plant. ( ) (2016/(A)/8) 2137 38 The diagram shows a food web. s Lisa made three statements about the food web. A Tis a predator. B There is only one producer. C Allthe energy in S is transferred to W. Which statement(s) is/are correct? (1) Aonly (2) Bonly (3) Aand B only (4) A,Bandc ( ) (2016/(A)/9) The diagram shows flowers of two plants. Plant A and plant B are of the same type. Plant A Plant B Which of the arrows shows) pollination taking place? (1) Xonly (2) Yonly (3) Wand Y only (4) W.YandZ only ( ) (2016/(Ay'10) 2239 40 Study the diagram below. G @ Which of the following statements are correct? A Hand G are formed from a flower. B Helps to disperse G. C Gis developed from an ovule. (1) Aand B only (2) Aand C only (3) Band Conly (4) A,Bandc ( ) (2016(Ay/11) Which one of the following is a result of increased greenhouse effect? (1) more deforestation (2) more water pollution (3) more floods and droughts (4) more air pollution and haze ( ) (2016KAY/12) 2341 Devi conducted an experiment on photosynthesis in a dark room using the set-up below. She measured the amount of gas collected in the measuring cylinder after some time. tracing paper that allows some light to pass through gas collected water lamp water plant Muler [TTT eT] Devi repeated her experiment by increasing variable X and keeping all other variables constant. Her results are shown below. amount of gas collected variable X What could variable X be? (1) number of water plants (2) volume of water in the set-up (3) number of sheets of tracing paper (4) distance of water plants from the lamp ( ) (2016/(A)/13) 2442 John conducted an experiment to study the food relationship between animals X, Y and P. Animal P feeds on leaves only. Animals X, Y and P had no disease. At the start, John placed some animals P and X in a tank with some leaves. He counted the number of animals at the end of each week. After two weeks, he added animal Y. John's results are shown below. size of population Which of the following is correct? (1) Animal Y fed on animal X. (2) Animal Y fed on animal P. (3) Animal X fed on animal Y. (4) Animal X fed on animals Y and P. ( ) (2016(Ay/14) 2543 The diagram shows the life cycle of a flowering plant. “oN adult plant young plant Which of the following is correct? seed Process(es) at X Process(es) at Y () fertilisation pollination @) dispersal pollination and fertilisation (3) | pollination and fertilisation | dispersal and germination (4) | pollination and germination | _ fertilisation and dispersal 26 ( ) (2016K(Ay'15)1 LIFE SCIENCE 1.2 Open-ended Questions 1 Unripe bananas are green and contain chlorophyll unripe bananas containing chlorophyll (2) Bananas curve upwards when growing. Suggest a reason why bananas grow upwards. (1) {b) Ripe bananas are yellow and give out gas X. Priya wants to investigate whether gas X will help unripe bananas to ripen more quickly. She has only the items below. She may use some or all of them. Item Quantity ripe banana 2 unripe banana 2 Priya used two identical clear containers for her investigation. What item(s) should she put inside the container for each set-up? 2] Experimental set-up’ Control set-up: (2018/(B/29) 272 The adult of bird K lays its egg in the nest of another type of bird, L. This only happens when the adult of bird L is not at its nest. Bird K flies away after laying its egg and does not return. egg of bird K eggs of bird L nest of bird L (a) The egg of bird K looks very similar to the eggs of bird L. Explain how this similarity helps bird K to survive, f The young of bird K grows more quickly than the young of bird L. Once it is big enough, it will push the smaller young of bird L out of the nest. adult of bird L feeding the young young of bird K young of bird L {b) If more of bird K successfully lay their eggs in the nests of bird L, predict how the population size of bird L will change. Give a reason for your answer. ro} (c) The adutts of bird L usually build their nests close together instead of far apart. Predict how the population size of bird K will change. Give a reason for your answer. ti] (2018/(8/30) 283 ‘A farmer measured the amount of light entering his greenhouse at four different times of the day. (a) (b) [ Time | Amount of light (units) | 2am | 25 6am 50 42pm 260 6pm 150 State at which time of the day the rate of photosynthesis is highest. Explain your answer. tt) A greenhouse needs to be kept warm on cold days and cool on hot days. Some greenhouses have pockets of air in their roofs in order not to become too cold or hot. plants Between two sheets of material F is a pocket of air. The volume of each pocket could be changed as air is pumped into and out of the pocket. eonencemnsms Len rad two sheets of pocket J} Pocket material F of air ef lr ERT air is pumped in air is pumped out Explain how this set-up uses a property of air to allow greenhouses to keep warm on a cold day. (2) (2018/(8)/31) 294 Diagram 1 shows a process, R, that takes place in the life cycle of a coconut plant. coconut fruit structure J structure K Diagram 1 (a) Name process R. 1 {b) State all the conditions needed for process R to take place i (©) Diagram 2 below shows some parts of a coconut fruit. The seed coat surrounds a fleshy solid, P. fibrous husk seed coat empty space fleshy solid, P Diagram 2 (i) Solid P serves an important function in process R. Explain why this function is. important before structure J as shown in Diagram 1 develops. it] (ii) Explain how a characteristic of the coconut fruit as shown in Diagram 2 helps in its dispersal. i) (2018/(B)/32) 305 The Aedes mosquito spreads dengue fever in humans, (a) In Country X, the number of cases of dengue fever is affected by the amount of rainfall. Study the graphs below. 250 200 amount of 150 rainfall (mm) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 500 400 number of 399 dengue cases 200 100 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Use the information above to answer (i) and (i) (i) State the relationship between the amount of rainfall and number of dengue cases for March to August. Explain why this relationship is observed. 2] (ii) The number of dengue cases takes about three to four weeks to change after the. amount of rainfall changes. Dengue fever develops about two weeks after a person is bitten by an Aedes mosquito. Give another reason why the number of dengue cases does not change immediately after the amount of rainfall changes. tl 31(b) Male mosquitoes do not bite and do not spread dengue fever. When a male mosquito carrying bacteria W mates with a female mosquito, the eggs will not hatch. In 2016, male mosquitoes carrying bacteria W were released into some housing estates in Singapore. The number of dengue cases in these housing estates decreased after the release of these male mosquitoes. Explain why. 2] (2018/(B)/33) A farmer grew some young plants far apart from one another to prevent overcrowding. (a) Explain why growing far apart from one another benefits the plants. [1] The farmer found many tiny insects feeding on the stems of his plants during the day. (b) These insects used their mouths to dig into the stems of the plants. Explain why these insects fed on the stems. i) (c) The tiny insects produced drops of sweet, sticky substance from their bodies. tiny insect sweet, sticky substance stem (i) _ Large ants could be found near these tiny insects but do not feed on them. Explain why it is an advantage for the large ants to be near the tiny insects. i) (ii) The tiny insects do not have wings and cannot move far. Explain why it is an advantage for the tiny insects to have the large ants near them. [1] (2018/(BY/34) 32(a) (b) The diagram shows half a seed. Part Q protects the baby plant. baby plant ‘State another function of part Q. 1) | FishT | Melvin observed stages in the life of fish T and fish W as shown. lO =Ey + ep | stored food egg young (stage 1) young (stage 2) adult Fish W young adult (gives birth to young) Based on Melvin's observation, state a characteristic of the young of fish T that helps it to survive in stage 1 (1) State a characteristic of the young of fish W which gives it an advantage to survive compared to the young of fish T at stage 1. Explain your answer. i 33(ili) Fish T lays its eggs inside a cave as shown. It is known to protect its eggs. Explain how laying eggs in a cave helps fish T to protect its eggs. [1] (2017/(By/29) (a) Bacteria M can cause illness when it is present in large numbers. Rahim conducted an experiment to find out how quickly bacteria M can reproduce when it is kept at different temperatures. His results are shown below. Temperature at which _ bacteria M is kept (°C) At the start of experiment 24 hours later 30 1 a 120 36 1 250 40 1 130 4 1 i Seeinico) (1) Describe how the amount of bacteria M changes with temperature. tl (ii) Bacteria M can be found on raw food. The human body temperature is 37 °C. Based on the information given, suggest why bacteria M will reproduce quickly in the human intestines when raw food is eaten. i 34(b) Rahim carried out a second experiment to find out if bacteria M can be killed at high temperatures. He heated the same amount of bacteria at different temperatures for 15 seconds. His results are shown below. Amount of bacteria M left after 15 seconds amount of bacteria at start of experiment ‘Temperature (°C) 80 90 100 He cooked some raw food to 100 °C. The cooked food was left at 30 °C for several hours. Based on the results of Rahim's two experiments, explain why the cooked food may no longer be safe to eat? 2] (2017/(8/30) 35A farmer observed a food relationship in his farm: plantE ———+ insect B The farmer learnt that another insect, L, is a predator of insect B. Insect L also likes to feed on pollen. Using this information, he grew plant E between rows of plant D, as shown. Plant D Based on the information above, explain how this farming method allows the farmer to grow plant E without pesticides. 2) (2017/(BY/31) 3610 (a) (b) (c) The diagram shows cells during a process H in the reproduction of an animal Part C controls all the activities of the cell. Name part C. [1] Process H also occurs in plant P. The diagram shows how a fruit is formed from the flower of plant P. The fruit of plant P has been cut open. —> | Process G |—> [ Process H ]—> 4 flower fruit (i) Describe process G. i) (ii) State the part of the flower that J developed from. tl Ina population of plant K, each plant has only red flowers or only white flowers. farmer collected seeds from plant K with red flowers to grow new plants. Explain why the new plants will have only red flowers. fa} (2017/(BY/32) 3711 Asscientist carried out an experiment to measure the volume of blood supplied per minute to different parts of the human body during two activities: resting and running. Volume of blood supplied per minute (cm?) legs ‘small intestine (a) Describe how oxygen in the environment reaches the legs. fea) (b) Using the graph above, explain how running after a meal affects the absorption of digested food in the small intestine. t (2017(BY/33) 38(b) (c) Four parts of a plant are shown below. Draw arrows (———») in the diagram below to show how water is transported in a plant. stem leaves roots flowers | (i) Describe the process of photosynthesis in green plants. [1] (ii) _ Insect R eats its way into a tree trunk. This affects the growth of the roots of the tree. Explain why. tl) Plant T grows in a desert. Itis able to store air in the leaves. Carl observed the cells of a leaf of plant T during the day and at night as shown. tiny opening Day (45 °C) Night (9 °C) Based on Car'’s observations, explain how plant T is adapted for photosynthesis in a desert. 2) (2017/(BY/34) 3913 An animal M grows on the shell of a crab as shown below. animal M growing on shell (a) Animal M has a poisonous sting. Explain how the crab would benefit from its relationship with animal M. a (b) Animal M can also grow on a rock. Explain why it is an advantage for animal M to grow on the crab instead of growing on a rock tt (2016(BY/31) 4014 Tosstore seeds for long periods of time, a farmer placed them in a large underground hole as shown. The hole was filled completely with seeds and the opening was sealed to prevent rainwater and air from entering seal seeds at the : centre did not K . , seeds in outer germinate layer germinated (a) After some time, the farmer found that seeds in the outer layer of the hole germinated but the seeds at the centre of the hole did not germinate. Explain why. 2] (b) Would the seeds at the centre of the hole decompose after some time? Explain your answer. tt] (2016/(B)/32) a115 At the beginning, island Q had plants and animals but island R had no plants and no animals. island Q island R A few years later, island R started to have plants. Later on, animals were also found there. (a) Suggest one way how island R started to have plants. ty (b) Give a reason why animals could be found living on island R only after plants were found growing there. (1 (c) After some time, a scientist observed that the population of animals on island Q remained constant but the population of animals on island R increased rapidly. Explain why the population on island R increased rapidly. t] (2016/(BY33) 4216 The diagram shows white and black moths. The moths frequently rest on tree trunks. black moth The bark of tree trunks in Town A was light in colour. (a) Which moth would survive better in Town A? Explain your answer. i (b) After several years, air pollution caused the bark of tree trunks in Town A to turn dark in colour. Based on this information, what would happen to the population size of both moths in ‘Town A after several years? Explain your answer. 2] (c) The life cycle of the moth is similar to that of the butterfly. The graph shows the mass of a moth during different stages of its life cycle. mass of moth time Name stage C of the life cycle of the moth. Suggest a reason why there is no gain in mass during stage C. tt) (2016/(B)/34) 4317 Samy conducted an experiment using the set-ups below. He placed four similar test tubes A, B, C and D in different comers of a dim room. ed 15cm 60cm 15m erent (a) The graph shows the amount of water in the test tubes over a period of time. amount of water in test tube time Based on the graph, (i) explain why different distances of light from the plant affect the amount of water lost. 1 (ii) which variable, light or wind, has a greater effect on the amount of water lost? Give a reason for your answer. tt] 4418 (b) ‘Samy observed that a plant P growing in a sunny area has smaller leaves than the same type of plant growing in a shaded area leaf Ain sunny area leaf B in shaded area Based on Samy's experiment, suggest a reason why leaf A is smaller in size than leaf B. 1) (2016/(B)35) A greenhouse provides a suitable environment for growing certain crops. A farmer planted some strawberries in his greenhouse. To produce sweet strawberries, he must ensure that the plants get at least 8 hours of sunlight daily. (a) (b) Suggest how having at least 8 hours of sunlight daily may help in producing sweet strawberries. ft) In some cold countries, greenhouses are built next to a power station. There are pipes to transport the waste gases and heat produced by the power station to the greenhouses. Suggest one benefit of this arrangement to the environment. i (2016(B)'36) 4519 Liwen conducted an experiment using four identical tubes as shown. stopper \V//) light light light Be a A, }+— snail black box water: A After a few hours, a drop of liquid Y was added to each tube. When liquid Y was added, the colour of water changed according to the amount of carbon dioxide present. (a) Each number below represents a different colour. The number for the colour of the water in tube Ais 4. \creasing amount of carbon dioxide purple red yellow 7 ‘Suggest a number for the colour of the water in tubes B and D. tl Tube B: Tube D: (b) __Liwen predicted that tube C has more carbon dioxide than tube A. However, her friend ‘Santhi said that this may not be true. Explain why tube C may not have more carbon dioxide than tube A. 2] (2016(8y/37) 462 PHYSICAL SCIENCE 2.1 Multiple Choice Questions Alex performed a jump. The three stages of his jump are as shown. PS \ AS jumping highest point landing At which stage(s) did gravitational force act on him? (1) landing only (2) jumping and landing only (3) highest point and landing only (4) jumping, highest point and landing ( ) (2018/(A)/15) Helen put a ceramic plate and a wooden bowl in the refrigerator overnight. When she removed the plate and the bow! from the refrigerator at the same time, her hands felt that the plate was colder than the bowl. Which of the following explains why her hands felt that the plate was colder than the bowl? (1) The plate conducted heat better than the bowl (2) The plate had a lower temperature than the bow. (3) The plate had a greater surface area than the bow! (4) The plate allowed cold air to escape faster than the bowl ( ) (2018/(A)/16) 473 Solar panels are placed on the rooftops of some houses to produce electricity during daytime. solar panel Which energy received by the solar panels is used to produce electricity? (1) light energy (2) sound energy (3) kinetic energy ( (4) potential energy ( ) (2018(AY/17) ‘Ah Teck placed three solids made of materials X, Y and Z into a container of water. His observation is shown below. He made two statements: A “X and Y are the same material.” B *Y and Z are different materials.” Which statement(s) can be concluded from his observation? (1) Aonly (2) Bonly (3) AandB (4) Neither Anor B ( ) (2018(AY'18) 48Carrie placed a packet of coffee into a mug without overflowing as shown. a packet of coffee Which of the following about the packet of coffee is correct? a) (2) (3) (4) ‘Substance R is a liquid at 160 °C and a gas at 480 Both the shape and the volume of the coffee did not change. The shape of the coffee changed but the volume did not. The volume of the coffee changed but the shape did not. Both the shape and the volume of the coffee changed. ( ) (2018(A)/19) Which of the following is possible? Melting point of R (°C) Boiling point of R (°C) (1) 120 | 450 (2) 120 500 (3) 200 450 4) 200 500 ( ) (2018/20) 49Jason set up four different circuits using identical bulbs and batteries as shown. In which circuit would bulb P be the brightest? (1) (2) &e (3) 4) ( ) (2018/(Ay21) 508 Firemen wear the clothing as shown when they put out fires. Based on the properties shown below, which material is most suitable for making the firemen’ clothing? | Material Tc srong | flexible | waterproof good conductor (1) A * vy | * v @|) 8B v * v * @ | ¢ v vy * 4) D v v ov 51 Key v: yes *: no ( ) (2018/(A)/22)9 Jennifer made a game using the objects shown below. fishing rod P fish A magnet fish B magnet fish C iron bar plastic holder The lower end of the bar was used for catching toy fish. Rod P could catch fish A and C only. Rod Q could catch fish A and B only. Which of the following shows the bars for rods P and Q? (1) Pp Q 2) P Q N 8 ; iron bar 8 N @) P Q 4) Pp Qa 8 i ' iron iron bar bar N ( ) (2018(Ay23) 5210 Guowei stood under a lamp as shown x Ww Y He walked from position W to position X, and then to position Y in a straight line. Which graph shows how the length of his shadow changed during this time? (1) (2) length of length of shadow shadow 4 time time (3) (4) © ength of @ ength of shadow shadow time time ( ) (2018/(Ay/24) 53"1 Ahmad conducted an experiment by placing two glass beakers each containing 50 m/ of liquid L in the same room. The liquids were kept at different temperatures. He measured the volume of liquid L remaining in each beaker after some time. Part of his results are shown below. | Exposed surface | Temperature | Volume of liquid L Seed area (cm?) °c) ing (mi) 28 if 40 28 60 30 Ahmad repeated the experiment u: the liquids had different exposed surface areas. Part of his results are shown below. ising another two beakers with 50 mi of Temperature liquid L. This time, Exposed surface Volume of liquid L ceed area (cm?) ec) remaining (mi) 28 60 30 A 60 20 What are the possible values of Tand A? T A a) 10 19 @l 1 | 42 | (3) 90 19 (4) 90 42 54 ( ) (2018/(AY/25)42 When three identical blocks were attached to a table top using three identical springs, the springs were compressed. Which of the following would be observed? (1) (2) (3) (4) table top ( ) (2018/(A)/26) 55143 Asteel bar AB was magnetised using the “stroke” method as shown in Diagram 1. Diagram 2 shows the magnetic poles of AB affer it was magnetised magnet Diagram 2 Steel bars CD and EF were magnetised as shown in Diagram 3 and 4. ey IE Diagram 3 Diagram 4 Which of the following shows the magnetic poles of bars CD and EF? T a) N s N s c D E F (2) N s s N c D E F ) s N N s c D E F @) s N s N c D E F ( ) (2018/(A)/27) 5614 Eugene used the set-up below to find out the time taken for a bob to make one swing. The bob makes one swing when it moves from A to B and back to A. string bob He conducted four experiments. He did not change the size of bobs and the type of strings. His results are shown below. Experiment | Mass of bob | Length of string | Time taken for (units) | —_ (units) one swing (units) A 3 | 8 9 B 4 14 12 Cc 5 8 8 ~ | D 5 20 14 Which two experiments support the hypothesis he longer the string, the longer the time taken for one swing"? (1) AandB 2) Aandc (3) BandD (4) CandD ( ) (2018/(A)/28) 5715 The diagram shows a cylinder and a plunger. Ahmad filled the cylinder with some water as shown. cylinder +— plunger Why is Ahmad able to push the plunger downwards without air or water escaping? (1) airhas weight (2) air occupies space (3) airhas no definite shape (4) air has no definite volume ( ) (2017(Ay/15) 16 The diagram shows the change of state of water C ; +) x liquid : C » solid What are processes X and Y? f x 7 (1) freezing evaporation (2) condensation | freezing @) freezing condensation (4) condensation melting ( ) (2017/(Ay16) 5817 Aninsect is covered in a shell that supports its body and protects its organs. This shell is made of material C. shell of material C Which property of material C allows the shell to perform the functions described? (1) strength (2) flexibility (3) waterproof (4) ability to float ( ) (2017(Ay/17) 18 Aisha conducted an experiment by heating substance P. At the start, P was a solid at 30 °C. After 15 minutes of heating, P reached a temperature of 100 °C as shown. After 15 minutes ——e solid P liquid P (30°C) " (100 °C) heat Based on Aisha's experiment, which one of the following is possible? Melting point of P (°C) | Boiling point of P (°C) (1) 20 405 (2) 25 400 (3) | 30 95 ‘| (4) | 50 110 | ( ) (2017(Ay18) 5919 20 Aball tied to a string was released. It swung and hit the plastic bottle. The bottle fell down. ball bottle SS floor ‘Which of the following shows the correct conversion of energy? (1) (2) (3) (4) kinetic energy of ball — potential energy of ball + kinetic energy of bottle potential energy of ball — kinetic energy of ball —- kinetic energy of bottle Kinetic energy of ball > kinetic energy of bottle —> potential energy of bottle potential energy of ball > potential energy of bottle > kinetic energy of bottle ( ) (2017/19) Which of the following is a possible effect on the water cycle when the temperature of the environment increases? (1) (2) (3) (4) Condensation of water vapour decreases resulting in more rain. Condensation of water vapour increases resulting in less clouds. Evaporation of water increases resulting in more rain. Evaporation of water decreases resulting in less water vapour in the ai. ( ) (2017Ay/20) 6024 Two magnets A and B were placed close together with their north poles as shown. A B When B was released, it moved along the surface of the floor. Which of the following shows the direction of the magnetic force acting on A and the direction of frictional force acting on B? Magnetic force acting on A_| Frictional force acting on B a) _ i) —_— @) | — @ | —_ ( ) (2017/21) 6122 Anengineer set up a system using light bulb P and alarm Q to alert him when the temperature of an oven is too high. He used a metal rod that expands easily when temperature increases. The table shows his results at different temperatures. ‘Temperature of the oven (°C) Light bulb P. Alarm Q 26 off off 100 on off 300 on on Which of the following is his set-up? (1) metal contact electrical contact ‘metal rod wall of oven (4) L 6» > [ol ( ) (2017/(A)/22) 6223 Bulbs A, B, C and D were connected in a circuit hidden in a wooden box shown below. All the light bulbs lit when the circuit was closed. wooden box Melissa removed one light bulb from the circuit each time and observed what happened to the rest of the light bulbs. Her observations are recorded in the table below. (2017/(Ay23) 6324 Sulaiman placed two empty identical containers, K and M, both initially at room temperature, on a table. He poured 500 cm? of boiling water into container K and 250 cm* of boiling water into container M. container K container M The temperatures of water in K and M were recorded every minute for some time. Which of the following is the correct graph for his results? (1) (2) temperature (°C) temperature (°C) 100 time (minutes) time (minutes) (3) @) temperature (°C) temperature (°C) 100 Fi — > time (minutes) time (minutes) ( ) (2017/(A)/24) 6425 Acompass has a small magnet that can rotate freely as shown. north pole of small magnet Four bar magnets were arranged such that they were attracted to one another. A compass was then placed near end P and the direction of the compass needle is as shown below. compass ‘What would be the direction of the needle when the compass was placed at Q? (1) ) (2) ®@ (3) ©) (4) 2 ( ) (20171(A)/25) 6526 spring is compressed and released at A. It moves to B as shown, The graph shows the amount of different types of energy of the spring at A. Energy (units) Types of elastic gravitational Kinetic energy y Potential potential energy Zz energy energy B ground Which of the following graphs shows the amounts of different types of energy for the spring at B before it hits the ground? (1) (2) Energy (units) Energy (units) Types of elastic gravitational kinetic energy elastic gravitational potential potential energy potential potential energy energy energy energy Types of kinetic. energy energy (3) (4) Energy (units) Energy (units) Types of Types of elastic gravitational kinetic energy elastic gravitational kinetic energy potential potential energy potential potential energy energy energy energy energy ( ) (2017Ay26) 6627 Weishen has three sheets of different materials with different shapes cut in the middle. Only one sheet is made of a material that allows light to pass through. Q | ;A f | ‘30m 3cm sheet L sheet M sheet P He conducted an experiment in a dark room using the setup below. screen torchlight Which of the following could be seen on the screen? (1) (2) (3) (4) ( ) (2017(Ay/27)28 Wenkang sat on a ride at an amusement park. Q elastic rope P Diagram 1 Diagram 2 When released, the stretched elastic ropes pulled Wenkang upwards as shown in Diagram 1, The elastic ropes stretched to a maximum length when he was at the highest point Q as shown in Diagram 2. Which one of the following correctly explains why Wenkang was slowing down as he moved from Pt0Q? (1) Elastic potential energy was converted to heat by friction. (2) Elastic potential energy was converted to gravitational potential energy. (3) Elastic force was increasing as he was moving upwards. (4) Elastic force was pulling him in opposite direction to his weight. ( ) (20171(A)/28) 6829 30 Which of the following statements about condensation and evaporation are correct? ‘A Both processes involve a change in state. B Both processes do not occur at fixed temperatures. One process involves heat gain while the other involves heat loss. (1) AandBonly (2) AandConly (3) Band C only (4) ABandc ( ) (2016KAy16) Study the table below. —. State of substance at__| Substance 2o°c | 40°c | 60°C A solid solid solid B solid solid | liquid c solid solid liquid Which of the following is a correct conclusion? (1) The boiling point of substance C is 60 °C. (2) The melting point of substance B is 60 °C. (3) Substance A has the highest freezing point (4) Substance B has a lower boiling point than substance A. ( ) (2016KAY17) 6931 In the four circuits, all the bulbs and batteries are new and identical. h g bulbA bulb B bulb C bulb D Which of the following two bulbs have the same brightness? (1) AandB (2) AandD (3) Bandc (4) CandD ( ) (2016(Ay/18) 7032 Old car tyres are tied together to form a wall along racing tracks. This helps to protect spectators and drivers when accidents happen. wall made of old car tyres Which properties of the old car tyres help to ensure safety? (1) strength and flexibility (2) hardness and strength (3) hardness and flexibility (4) strength and smoothness ( ) (2016(Ay19) 33 Aman used a hammer to drive a nail into a piece of wood. hammer. nail Which factor will not affect how deep the nail goes into the wood? (1) mass of the nail (2) mass of the man (3) height the hammer was raised (4) friction between nail and wood ( ) (2016(Ay20) 134 Aboy gave a kick to a block of ice. The block of ice moved along the floor to G and then to W. It stopped at W. block of ice Which of the following is correct? Forces acting on the block of ice at G w Friction Weight Friction Weight lov v v a) | — present @) v v v @) v v v (4) v | v v | ( ) (2016/(A)/21) 35 The diagram shows five lamps connected to two batteries. ‘When one of the lamps is not working, only two lamps remain lit. Which lamp is not working? a) A 2) 8B @) ¢ @) oD ( ) (2016(AV22) 7236 The diagram shows a cylinder and a plunger. Ahmad filled the cylinder with 20 cm? of water, leaving 10 om® of air. |— cylinder 30 cm’ ;— Plunger 20 cm? air 10 cm? —_ water ‘What would Ahmad see after he pushed the plunger downwards as far as he could without any air or water escaping? (1) (2) 30 cm? 30 em 20 cm® 20 cm? t— Plunger ° 1oemH—=—_— _{]| oe a aH water (3) (4) 30 em* 30 cm? |__ plunger 20 cm? }— Plunger 20 cm* air tO water tom) — _ =H water ( ) (2016(Ay23) 7337 Which of the following diagrams correctly shows how trees play a part in the water cycle? (1) water vapour ae [ rivers pean ) trees (2) 7 ~ water vapour clouds rivers and seas (3) ( \ water vapour clouds U (4) water vapour clouds. rivers and seas trees ( ) (2016(Ay24) 7438 Ablock of wood slid down a slope after it was released at the top as shown in Diagram 1 The graph shows the amount of different types of energy of the block at point P. block of wood Energy (units) Types of Diagram 1 kinetic potential heat energy energy energy The experiment was repeated with oil applied on the surface of the slope. Which graph correctly shows the amounts of different types of energy at P? (1) (2) Energy (units) Energy (units) Types of a Types of kinetic potential heat energy Kinetic potential heat energy energy energy energy energy (3) (4) Energy (units) Energy (units) Types of kinetic potential heat rane ; Types of energy energy a wey aan heat energy ( ) (2016/(Ay25) 7539 Toy blocks were held together by friction between the blocks. Ramsy attached blocks Q and P to block L as shown in Diagram 1. When a third block R was added, blocks R and Q fell to the ground as shown in Diagram 2. Diagram 1 Diagram 2 Which one of the following is the reason why the two blocks fell? (1) (2) (3) (4) The weight of R was greater than the weight of Q Friction between Q and P was less than the total weight of R and Q. Friction between P and L was less than the total weight of R, Q and P. The total weight of R and Q was greater than the total weight of Q and P. 76 ( ) (2016(AY26)40 Asman has four different toy parachutes, A, B, C and D. hole string mass ‘The details of the four toy parachutes are given in the table. [Parachute Area of hole (cm) | Length of string (em)| __ Mass (g) A 1 10 | 20 B 1 5 0. | c 1 10 40 ml D 3 5 20 | ‘Asman predicts that the length of string of a toy parachute does not affect the time needed for it to fall to the ground. Which pair of toy parachutes should he use to test his prediction? (1) (2) (3) (4) AandB AandD BandC CandD ( ) (2016(AY27) 741 Containers in set-ups A, B and C below are of the same size and thickness but made of different materials. The containers were filled with the same volume of water at 100 °C and left on a table. thermometer }— glass set-up A set-up B Which graph correctly shows the temperature of water in the three set-ups over a period of time? a 2 ) temperature of water (°C) temperature of water (°C) 4 100| A 100 c B A c B L______, time time 3) temperature of water (°C) @ temperature of water (°C) 4 100 100] B c A A Cc B ah time time ( ) (2016/(Ay/28) 7842 Minah used the set-up below to conduct an experiment. She used a light sensor to measure the amount of light on the screen. light sensor shadow screen torchlight - length of shadow She varied the position of one of the items in the set-up and recorded her observations for each position as follows. Light sensor reading (units) | Length of shadow (cm) 100 SE ae _ 220 14 280 7 | What change did Minah make? (1) torchlight was moved towards the object (2) object was moved towards the torchlight (3) screen was moved towards the torchlight (4) torchlight was moved away from the screen ( ) (2016/(Ay/29) 7943 Kumar hung three identical springs each attached to a block of equal mass from the ceiling. What would he see? (1) ( ) (2016/(A)/30) 802 PHYSICAL SCIENCE 2.2 Open-ended Questions Peter has a toy train that runs on batteries. He placed plates of food on the train as shown below. toy train (a) When he switched on the toy train, it moved along the track. Fill in the boxes below to show the energy conversion as the train is moving. 2 Battery Wires Train (b) Peter did not change the batteries. Give a reason why the train moved faster as the food was removed. tt) (c) Peter placed a wooden block under the track at point H. ——— Error st Explain why the train moved more slowly as it moved from G to H. io (2018/(B)/35) 81{a) State what is temperature. (1] Susan heated a beaker of water. She stopped heating when the water started to boil and recorded the temperature of the water every five minutes. Her results are shown below. Temperature (°C) 100: 90) 80 70. 60 50 —t 40 30 20 10 0 1015202530 ag Time (min) (b) Based on the graph, state the room temperature. [1] (c) Explain why it will be more accurate to record the temperature every minute for the first five minutes. tt) (2018836) 823 ‘Seng Huat connected his phone to the electricity supply with a wire. The plug of the wire fitted the phone properly. electricity plugs supply phone wire Diagram 1 (a) The wire is covered with rubber. State a property of rubber that makes it safe for this use, a {b) Seng Huat held the phone by the wire. plug phone Diagram 2 Diagram 3 () The phone did not drop off immediately in Diagram 2. Explain why the phone did not drop off. tt (ii) The phone dropped to the ground after a few seconds as shown in Diagram 3. Explain, in terms of forces, why the phone dropped. tt (2018(By/37) 834 Carol wanted to set up a circuit to ight up a corridor using two special switches. Each switch can be tured to position A or position B. She set up the circuit so that the bulb will be lit as described in the table below. Bulb is lit Yes No No Yes (2) The diagram shows part of the circuit. Complete the circuit so that it will work as described. (31 A A wire ° ° wire B B Switch 1 ‘Switch 2 (b) Carol wanted to add a new bulb to the circuit without decreasing the brightness of the first bulb when the circuit is closed. Describe how you would connect the new bulb to the circuit, (1) (2018/(B)/38) 845 Aworker used a truck to deliver blocks of ice. A mist was seen when ice was taken out of the truck as shown. truck (a) Explain how the mist was formed. 2 (b) The mist disappeared after a short time. Explain why. i (c) Thick plastic strips were hung at the door to prevent the ice inside the truck from melting. Explain why. 11) (2018/(BY/39) 856 Samy set up a doorbell as shown. The iron cylinder and electric circuit are fixed in place. The iron rod can swing about point P. A spring is fixed to the iron rod. The other end of the spring is fixed. iron rod (can swing about P) fixed plate R bell wire coiled around a fixed iron oylinder P. spring (fixed to iron rod) ||! When Samy closed the switch, the iron rod hit the bell to produce a ‘ding’ sound. ‘When he opened the switch, the iron rod hit plate R to produce a ‘dong’ sound (a) Explain how the ‘ding’ sound is produced when Samy closed the switch. (1) (b) Suggest two changes to the set-up to produce a louder ‘ding’ sound, {1 (€) Without changing the iron rod and plate R, suggest a change to the set-up to produce a louder ‘dong’ sound. Explain your answer. (e4] (2018/(B)/40) 867 A metal lid was fitted tightly onto an empty glass jar. Mary placed the lid in hot water. glass jar. metal lid hot water 4 (a) After a while, she found it easier to remove the lid. Explain why. (1) +— thick glass wall boiling water —| {b) When Mary took a cold thick-walled glass from a refrigerator and placed it in boiling water as shown above, the glass cracked. Explain why. fea) (2017/(BY/35) 87(2) State a difference between evaporation and boiling. (1 (b) Fatimah fried some bananas and put two pieces each in box R and box S as shown below. hole in the lid hot fried bananas Box R ‘She observed that the bananas in box R became slightly wet after some time, but not those in box S, Explain why the bananas in box R became wet. (2) (2017(By/36) 88Dingwei wanted to investigate how the number of batteries affects the number of paper clips attracted by a rod using the set-up below. battery switch ol t / paper clip He placed the rod 1 cm from some paper clips and counted the number of paper clips that were attracted to it. His results are shown below. number of paper clips oN 8 Oo number of batteries 3 4 (a) Name one suitable material for the rod. tl] (b) Suggest two reasons why the number of paper clips attracted did not increase when the number of batteries was increased from three to four. ie} (2017(BY/37) 8940 Muthu performed an experiment on two different types of springs, P and Q, of the same length using the set-up shown in Diagram 1. spring ruler pin (taped to spring) mass Diagram 4 He measured the extension of the spring after adding a mass. His results are shown in Table 1 below. Spring P Spring Q Mass (9) | extension (cm) | extension (om) 100 29 19 200 6.1 40 aoe 00 5.9 400 24 [81 Table 1 (a) _ Based on his results, state the relationship between the mass and extension of spring P. 1 (b) Explain the purpose of the pin in the set-up. 0) 90Muthu used spring P to make a dish rack as shown in Diagram 2. plate tretched spring P metal disc Diagram 2 (c) When Muthu removed a few plates quickly from the top, the metal disc moved up continuously from A to C. Name the main forms of energy of the metal disc at B. a (d) Next, Muthu changed all the spring P to spring Q. He put back all the plates on the metal disc, Based on the results in Table 1, describe one difference Muthu will observe of the new dish rack with spring Q when he removes a plate from the top. Explain your answer. 2 (2017/(BY/38) 9141 John wanted to compare how fast a wooden block can move on different planks using the set-up below. He released the block, measured the distance moved by the block down the plank and the time taken. LQ— wooden block | plank R (a) Asshorter plank made of the same material as R was placed at the same height, h. Will the block take a shorter, longer or the same time to reach the bottom of the plank? Explain your answer in terms of energy changes. 21 (b) John’s results for plank R are shown below. distance (cm) 4 80 _ * time (s) 0 1.0 2.0 John repeated the experiment with a wooden plank of the same length. The wooden block moved down the plank more slowly. () State which graph, J, K, L or M shows the correct results for the wooden plank. 1 distance (em) graph K graph L 4 graph J 80 — _ AN ‘“T~ graph M > time (s) Graph: 92(ii) Besides the height, h and the length of the plank, state two other variables that John must keep constant for the comparison. tl (2017/(By/39) 12 Poh Lee wants to remove water from the ground using a water pump when it rains heavily. He uses the set-up shown below to turn on the water pump. metal rods. water pump wooden block Rain water enters the container through a hole at G. (a) State a property of rubber that allows the set-up to work properiy. (1) (b) _Desoribe and explain how the water pump is tured on when it rains heavily. 2 93() Without using different apparatus, suggest one way to turn on the water pump when it rains less heavily. Explain your answer. fa} (2017/(By/40) 13 When air became very cold suddenly, cracks appeared on the pavement. cold wind —_ ———~ yp. a SSA pavement crack Explain how the change in temperature caused the pavement to crack. (2) (2016838) 9414 Xiaoming conducted an experiment using the set-ups shown. The two beakers were identical and contained hot water at the same temperature. thermometer. wooden cover wooden cover: ~ . beaker of | beaker of hot water —Y= hot water block of wood large glass container set-up A set-up B (a) After some time, Xiaoming found that the temperature of water in set-up B was higher than that in set-up A. Explain why. 2 (b) Animal Q below lives in cold countries. It has a thick layer of fur on its body. thick layer of fur Based on the results of Xiaoming’s experiment, explain how the thick layer of fur of animal Q would help to keep it warm. i) (2016/(By39) 9545 Jiaxian used the set-up shown to investigate the magnetic force between two magnets. wooden rod magnet A magnet A P magnet B magnet B Diagram 1 Diagram 2 (a) _ Explain why magnet A stayed in the same position above magnet B as shown in Diagram 1. 1] (b) —_Jiaxian pushed magnet A towards magnet B as shown in Diagram 2. He found that he needed to push harder as distance P decreased. Explain why. i (c)__Atoy ball, G, floated above a base because of magnetic force as shown in Diagram 3. Asecond toy ball, H, had a rod through its centre that was connected to a base as shown in Diagram 4, Both balls were made of the same material and of the same size. direction of rotation direction of rotation sG> ball G magnets base base Diagram 3 Diagram 4 Jiaxian rotated both balls with the same amount of force. Explain why H stopped rotating around the rod after a few rounds but G continued to rotate many more rounds before stopping i (2016/(By/40) 9616 (a) (b) Huiting’s mother bought a new pot that has a layer of material that prevents food from sticking to its surface during cooking. Huiting’s mother stopped her when she wanted to use a metal scrub to clean the pot. metal scrub layer of material pot Explain how the metal scrub will damage the pot. ra} Huiting wanted to find out the hardness of two materials H and F. She used a rounded object made of material G and forced it into each material with the same force. The results of her experiment are shown below. rounded object rounded object of material G of material G object of object of material H material F List materials F, G, H in increasing order of hardness. Explain your answer. 2 (2016/(8y41) 9717 Haziq used the set-up shown to find out how the type of bulb affects the temperature of its, surrounding. wooden box with a lid data logger {- temperature sensor Bulb R was lit up. He covered the box and recorded the temperature of the air in the box over a period of 10 minutes. Then he removed bulb R and left the box uncovered for 15 minutes before repeating the experiment with bulb S and then bulb T. The results are shown in the table. Temperature of air in box (°C) Type of bulb Atthe beginning | After 10 minutes R 25 | 30 s 25 | 33 T 25 | 36 (a) Fill in the boxes to show the energy changes in the bulb. [1 changed into ———} | + energy energy energy (b) Give a reason why Haziq left the box uncovered for 15 minutes before repeating the ‘experiment with the next bulb. t {c) Which bulb, R, S or T should Haziq use to light up his room so as to reduce energy used by the air conditioner? Give a reason for your answer. i) (2016/(8y/42) 9848 (a) _ Aninfiated balloon was placed in a toy rocket as shown below. When air was released from the balloon, the toy rocket moved upwards. toy rocket " A . inflated balloon After moving some distance, no more air was released from the balloon at G. Explain why the toy rocket was still able to move from point G to the highest point H and then fell downwards. (2) {b) The diagram below shows the path of a balloon moving in many different directions when air escapes from it. =~ co ~ 7 Snr me J OA — If there is no wind in the room, suggest a reason why the balloon does not move in a straight line. a (2016/(8y/43) 9919 Aride at an amusement park for children becomes unsafe when the mass of a child is too high. Therefore, a child can board the ride only if his/her mass is less than 40 kg. Set-up Ais used to detect a child with mass 40 kg or more. contacts ‘spring set-up A (2) What type of material are the contacts made of? Why? tt {b) An engineer says that the design of set-up A is not safe. He says it will be safer if the bulb lights up when a child of acceptable mass stands on it. Give a reason why the design of set-up A is not safe. ty (c) How should set-up A be changed to allow a child who is 50 kg and below to board the ride? {1 (2016/(B)/44) 100+ Explanations are in grey (bullet points). 1 LIFE SCIENCE 1.1 Multiple Choice Questions 1. (4) + Afemis a green plant and so it can carry out photosynthesis to make its own food. 2 (2) + The organism responded to substance S and moved away from substance S after some time. There was no change in the size and number of the organism. 3 (4) + The cow gives out carbon dioxide when breathing, + The plant takes in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. 4 (4) Sis producer as it does not feed on anything else. Energy from the Sun is transferred to producers which carry out photosynthesis to make food. This energy is then transferred to T, U, W and X in the food web when they feed on one another. + A decomposer feeds on all dead organisms. Thus, X is not a decomposer. 5. (4) + When tiny floating plants cover the surface of ponds, they block out sunlight from reaching organisms in the pond. + Underwater plants are unable to carry out photosynthesis to make food and die as result. + The amount of oxygen in the water decreases due to the absence of photosynthesis. + Fish die due to the lack of oxygen in the water. 1 6. 7. (2) + Oxygen (Q) is transported from the respiratory system (Z) to the circulatory system (Y) before it is transported to the other parts of the body. + Carbon dioxide (P) is transported from the other parts of the body to the circulatory system (Y) and then to the respiratory system (Z). (3) + The female part of a flower has an ovary which contains ovules. Upon pollination and fertilisation, the seed develops from the ovule. Multiple ovules develop into multiple seeds. + The seeds are unlikely to be dispersed by wind as they are found inside a brightly-coloured fleshy fruit. Itis more likely to be dispersed by animals. (3) + Smoke and haze result from burning trees. (2) + Seed leaves provide food for the germinating plant to grow until it is able to make its own food. As the height of young plant increases, it develops its own leaves and is able to carry out photosynthesis to make its own food. Thus, the seed leaves are no longer needed and the mass of seed leaves decreases.12.( 4) 13.( 4) 14.( 1) 10.( 3) + When plants decompose, they are broken down into nutrients that make the soil fertile. 11.(3) + As the male part of the flower opens after the female part dies, it indicates that pollination does not take place within the same flower. + The strong smell given off by the flower attracts insects which help in the pollination between two flowers. Most digestion occurs in the small intestines, where digestion is completed. + Little digestion takes place in the mouth as food does not stay in the mouth for a long time + Foodis transported through the gullet from the mouth to the stomach. No digestion takes place in the gullet. The cell membrane is partially permeable and controls the movement of substances in and out of the cell + An animal cell does not have a cell wall The size of the plant should be kept constant to ensure that the experiment is fair. + The amount of carbon dioxide in the air is the independent variable and the number of tiny openings in a leaf is the dependent variable. + The amount of photosynthesis in ‘each plant will vary according to the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. 15. (1 16. 17. (4 18. 19. ( ( ) ‘The human skeletal system is made up of mainly bones which are hard and help to protect the soft organs in the body. The muscular system is responsible for the movement of the body and covers the bones. The muscular system is also responsible for transporting food in the digestive system. The circulatory system transports blood around the body. ) An insect does not have fur, so option (1) is not possible. Both an insect and a bird have wings so option (3) is not possible. Abird has feathers but a mammal does not. Thus, characteristic A is “has six legs" and characteristic B is “has feathers” ) A fern is a non-flowering plant. Yeast, mould and mushroom are examples of fungi ) Energy is transferred from producers to consumers living in the same habitat. Energy is transferred from prey to predator in a food web. A plant-eater does not eat another plant-eater as they only eat plants. Energy is transferred from the sun to producers. ) The characteristic must be unique to each type of animal. Fish have scales, reptiles have scaly skin, and amphibians have smooth, slimy skin. Fish and young amphibians have gills. Amphibians, fish and reptiles reproduce by laying eggs. Amphibians and reptiles can live on both land and water.20. (3) 21. 22. (3) + Organism T feeds on organism S. ‘When a large number of organism T died, there were fewer animals that ate organism S, so the number of S increased. + More organism S fed on organism R, so the number of R decreased + This resulted in insufficient food for organism S. Some of them died and the number of S decreased. (2) + Cell Ais an animal cell and cell B is a plant cell as plant cells have cell walls but animal cells do not. The cell wall gives the cell a shape. So, options (1) and (4) are not possible. + Part J points to the cell membrane which controls the movement of substances in and out of the cell. Plant Ps a flowering plant so it does. not reproduce via spores but by pollination. Fertilisation takes place before the dustulike substance are dispersed. + Plant P grows on a tree trunk as it depends on the tree for structural support. + Since its roots do not extend to the soil on the ground but are exposed on the surface of the trunk, the roots absorb water from the water droplets formed from condensation. 23. (2) + Disposal of waste into water is a form of water pollution. Thus, preventing the disposal of waste into water does not help to reduce pollution and haze, which are forms of air pollution 24, 25. (3) 26. ( 2) + In Trays Aand C, all seeds did not germinate as there was an absence of water. + In Tray C, although light was present, the seeds did not germinate. + In Trays B and D, some seeds germinated regardless of the presence of light. + The trays were placed in the same room with constant temperature and air. + Thus, itcan be concluded that water is required for the germination of the seeds based on the results shown. in both plants and humans, fertilisation occurs in a female reproductive part. + The fertilised egg is found in the uterus in humans. Anthers are not present in humans. Thus, only statement A is correct for humans. * Anthers contain pollen which are the reproductive cells of plants. Once pollen is transferred to the stigma of another plant, the egg cell which is found in the ovary becomes fertilised. Thus, statements A, B and C are correct for plants. 2) For a fair test to be conducted, each plot of land must have plants that have 5 g of fertiliser added, 10 g of fertiliser added, and no fertiliser added. + Only option (2) contains the arrangement described, 27. (2) + When exposed to low amount of light, the plant will produce a lower average number of leaves and have a higher average height. When exposed to high amount of light, the plant will produce a higher average number of leaves and have a shorter average height.28. (3 30. 31. 32, ( ) The frog eggs would not have hatched by Day 15 and will be found in the pond. Mosquito eggs would have hatched and larvae will be found in the pond. Butterflies do not lay eggs in water. ) Insects also lay eggs and some of them have wings. Many fish also have a streamlined body, Only birds have feathers. ) Plant cells have cell walls but not animal cells. Root calls are underground and do not carry out photosynthesis, Thus, they do not have chloroplasts. ) The seeds are not dispersed in the direction of the flowing river. Thus, option (3) is incorrect. The seeds are not dispersed in the direction of the wind. Thus, option (4) is incorrect. In the diagram, the seeds are dispersed very far from the parent plant, which is not possible with the type of dispersal shown in option (2) which is by splitting. The fruit in option (1) has hooks that cause it to stick onto animals’ fur. This explains why the seeds can be dispersed far from the parent plant. ) Both the mushroom and the fern produce spores for reproduction. ‘The fern can carry out photosynthesis to make its own food. The mushroom takes in food from decaying matter. 33. 35, 36. 37. 38, (4) + Blood flows from the heart to the lungs and also to the rest of the body. Thus, A is the heart. + Blood flowing from the lungs to the heart should be rich in oxygen. + The heart then pumps the oxygen- rich blood to the other parts of the body. (1) + Digestion starts in the mouth (M) and continues in the stomach (K) and small intestine (L). + Food is passed to the bloodstream at the small intestine. + The large intestine (J) removes water from food. (3) The stall blocks sunlight from reaching the grass under it. + The grass underneath was not able to carry out photosynthesis fora very Jong time and so it tuned yellow. (2) + The coloured water was transported up the water-carrying tubes, thus causing them to tum red. (2) + There is only one producer R. It does not feed on anything else, but is food for animals S, T and U. + Tis nota predator. It is a herbivore because it eats R, a plant. + Energy is lost at every step of a food chain, (4) + Pollination is the transfer of pollen (male gamete) from the anthers onto the stigma of a flower. (4) + His the fruitwall. G is the seed which develops from the fertilisation of the ovule. + When the fruit is ripe, it will dry up and split open, dispersing the seeds.40. at. 42. (3) + The greenhouse effectis the increase of the Earth’s temperature caused by the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This traps heat in the atmosphere and causes weather patterns to change, resulting in more extreme weather such as floods and droughts. (1) + The amount of gas collected shows the amount of photosynthesis carried out because photosynthesis produces gas (oxygen) which will be collected in the measuring cylinder. + Increasing volume of water would not affect the amount of photosynthesis, + Increasing the number of sheets of tracing paper (option 3) and increasing the distance between the water plants and lamp (option 4) would cause the plants to get less light. This would decrease the amount of photosynthesis and the amount of gas collected. + Only increasing the number of water plants would increase the amount of photosynthesis occurring and so, increase the amount of gas collected. (1) + After animal Y was added to the tank, animal X decreased in number. This was because animal Y fed on animal X. + Animal X fed on animal P. Thus, when animal Y was added, animal P increased in number as there were fewer animal X that fed on animal P, 43. (3) + Pollination is the transfer of pollen (male gamete) from the anthers onto the stigma of a flower. + Fertilisation is the process of the male and female gametes combining to give an embryo, which will then develop into a seed. + After seeds have been dispersed from the parent plant, the seeds undergo germination if the conditions are suitable. 1.2 Open-ended Questions 1. (a) They grow upwards towards sunlight so that they can carry out photosynthesis. (b) Experimental set-up: 1 ripe banana and 1 unripe banana Control set-up: 1 unripe banana + As unripe bananas are green and contain chlorophyll, they are able to photosynthesise to make food which is stored in the plant. (a) The egg of bird K will be looked after by bird L until it hatches and the young of bird K will be taken care of by bird L, thus helping bird K to survive. (b) The population size of bird L will decrease as more smaller young of bird L will be pushed out of their nests to their death by the larger bird k (c) The population size of bird K will increase as there are more nests for bird K to lay more of its eggs in. + As bird L is unable to distinguish between its own eggs and the egg from bird K, bird L will care for the egg from bird K like its own. Upon hatching, bird L will continue to provide food for the young of bird K as well as its own young3. (a) The rate of photosynthesis is the highest at 12 pm because there is the highest amount of light at that time. (b) Air is a poor conductor of heat, and hence is a good insulator of heat. It does not allow heat to travel through it easily and hence heat is trapped in the air pockets, keeping the greenhouse warm on a cold day. + Rate of photosynthesis increases as the amount of light increases. + When air is pumped in, more heat is trapped in the air pocket to keep the greenhouse warm on a cold day. When air is pumped out, less heat is trapped in the air pocket to keep the greenhouse cool on hot days. (a) Germination (b) Water, oxygen and a suitable temperature. (c) (i) Structure P provides food for the germinating plant to grow until it has developed leaves and is able to make food on its own. (ii) The fibrous husk enables the fruit to float on water and allows. it to be dispersed by water. (a) (i) From March to August, as the amount of rainfall increased, the number of dengue cases increased. A higher amount of rainfall leads to an increased amount of stagnant water, which female Aedes mosquitoes can lay their eggs in. More Aedes mosquitoes are produced, which results in the increase in number of dengue cases. (i) Aedes mosquitoes can become infective after they have bitten a person who has dengue fever. 7. (b) The male mosquitoes mated with the female mosquitoes found in these housing estates, causing them to produce eggs that do not hatch. Fewer Aedes mosquitoes were bred, causing a decrease in the number of dengue cases in these housing estates. + As the number of dengue cases are still high, the mosquito can still spread the virus after it has bitten a person who has dengue fever. (a) Plants do not need to compete with other plants for nutrients and light when they are grown far apart from one another. (b) The insects feed on the stem to obtain food in the phloem and water in the xylem, () (i) The large ants feed on the sweet, sticky substance produced by the tiny insects. (ii) The large ants protect the tiny insects against predators. + By being near the tiny insects, the large ants have a ready supply of food. As the tiny insects do not have ‘wings and cannot move far, they can be eaten by predators easily. + This is an example of mutualism, a symbiotic relationship in which each organism benefits from the other. (a) It provides food for the seedling (b) (i) The young of fish T has stored food which helps it to survive in stage 1. (ii) The young of fish W has fully developed parts while the young of fish T in stage 1 does not So, the young of fish W is able to find food more easily and protect itself better, giving it an advantage to survive. (iil) It keeps the eggs safe from predators and prevents the eggs from being carried away by water currents.(a) (b) The young of fish T is not fully developed and lacks the ability to find food on its own. The young of fish W is similar to the young of fish T in stage 2, where parts are fully developed and they are capable of surviving to adulthood. Fish lay many eggs at one time as a majority of them do not survive. So, fish usually find ways to protect their eggs. (i) As the temperature increases from 30 °C to 35 °C, the amount of bacteria increases. But as the temperature increases above 35 °C, the amount of bacteria decreases. (i) The temperature of human intestines provides a suitable environment for bacteria to reproduce as 37 °C is the optimum temperature for bacteria to grow. The second experiment shows that bacteria remain on the food after cooking. The first experiment shows that at 30 °C, bacteria are able to reproduce. After several hours of being left at 30 °C, the amount of bacteria on the cooked food would have increased and so itis no longer safe to eat. Bacteria grows at an optimum temperature of 37 °C. At lower temperatures, bacteria reproduction slows down. At high temperatures, bacteria are unable to reproduce or die. Bacteria can usually be killed at high temperature but they must be heated for a longer period of time. Some bacteria are resistant to heat and can survive in extremely high temperatures. 10. Insect L will feed on insect B, so no pesticides are required to get rid of insect B. Plant E does not produce flowers while Plant D does. Thus, insect L can feed on the pollen from Plant D and leave Plant E uneaten. Thus, this farming method allows the farmer to grow plant E without pesticides. + Thisis a type of symbiotic relationship as plant E depends on insect L to protect it from being eaten by insect B. (a) Nucleus (b) (i) Process G is pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther to the stigma of a flower. (ii) J developed from the ovules within the ovary of the flower. ()_ The new plants had only red flowers because the trait for red flowers was passed on from the parents to their offspring. + Process G is pollination as it happens before process H which is fertilisation. + Many characteristics of an organism are passed on from parents to offspring to ensure continuity of their kind.11. (a) (b) 12. (a) (b) Oxygen from the environment enters the lungs through breathing. The oxygen dissolves in the blood and is transported via the blood vessels and capillaries of the circulatory system to all parts of the body, including the legs. Running after a meal will decrease the absorption of digested food in the small intestine as the volume of blood supplied to the small intestine is much lower than that supplied to the legs. Red blood cells in the blood carry oxygen to various parts of the body. As the volume of blood supplied to the small intestine is lower while running, much of the digested food is unable to be transported to other parts of the body via the circulatory system and absorption decreases. ‘stem |— [leaves] { roots flowers} (i) Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants take in carbon dioxide and water in the presence of light energy and chlorophyll to make food. (ii) The tree trunk contains tubes that transport food made by photosynthesis. When insect R eats its way into the tree trunk, the roots are unable to receive nutrients from the leaves of the tree and hence cannot grow. (c) The stomata of the leaves of plant T open at night so that they can store carbon dioxide from the air in the leaves for photosynthesis to take place in the day. The stomata close in the day to reduce water loss to the surroundings so that water can be used for photosynthesis. + Plants take up water from the soil through the roots. The water is transported by tubes in the stem to the leaves and then flowers. + Although the roots take up water from the ground, they will not be able to grow if no nutrients are transported to them. The parts above the eaten part of the tree trunk will also decline in growth after a while as water from the roots cannot be transported upwards. + Desert plants have many adaptations to help them survive the hot and dry environment. By closing their stomata in the day, they are able to reduce water loss significantly and continue photosynthesising. 13. (a) Animal M will protect the crab and prevent it from being eaten by predators. It stings any predators that try to pick up the crab. (b) When animal M grows on the crab's shell, it can move around with the crab and get more food from the different places that the crab goes to. Animal M cannot move to other places if it grows on a rock. + Animal M and the crab both benefit from this living arrangement. This type of interaction is called symbiosis.44. (a) (b) 15. (a) (b) (co) Water and air could enter through the soil at the sides and bottom of the hole. The seeds in the outer layer received water and air and so they germinated. The water and air could not reach the seeds at the centre and so they did not germinate. Yes, the seeds at the centre would decompose after some time. After a longer time, decomposers, water and air would reach the seeds at the centre. The farmer only put the seal at the top and not around the sides and bottom of the hole. Thus, water and air could still enter the hole. There are tiny gaps between the soil particles which allow water and air to enter. When the seeds receive water and air, they will start germinating. However, they are buried deep in the ground so most of the young plants will not be able to grow to the surface where there is light. They will die before they can reach the surface of the soil Decomposers in the soil will cause the seeds to decompose if they are left for too long, ‘Seeds of the plants on island Q were carried to island R by floating on the water and grew into new plants: there. Without plants on island R, animals would not be able to survive as they would not have any food. There were no predators on island R yet. Usually plants must start growing before other animals can survive in the habitat. This is because plants are producers and are the source of energy for all animals. 16. (a) (b) (o) The white moth would survive better. It would not be seen so easily by its predators as it is light in colour like the tree trunks that it rests on. The black moth population would increase but the white moth population would decrease. The black moth would be able to survive better as it is not easily seen on the dark tree trunks. The white moths would be more easily seen and eaten by predators. Stage C is the pupal stage. The pupa does not eat so it does not increase in mass. This example shows how the pollution that humans cause can affect animals in the environment. The white moth survived better when there was little or no pollution and the tree trunks were light-coloured. The black moth survived better when air pollution increased and the soot in the air stuck to the trunks of the trees, causing them to turn a dark colour.17. (a) (i) The greater the distance from the lamp, the less light the plant gets. This causes the plant to lose less water through its leaves. (ii) Light has a greater effect. When the lamp and the fan are at the same distance from the plant, the amount of water in the test tube decreases more for set-up Athan for C. (b) Plant P is growing in a place that has more light so it may lose too much water from its leaves if they are large. + Every test tube has a layer of oil on the water. This is to prevent the water from evaporating, + Thus, any decrease in the amount of water in the test tube would be because of the plant losing water through its leaves. + For (a) (ii), set-ups B and D can be compared as well. 18. (a) The strawberry plants can get more light and carry out more photosynthesis. They can make more sugars which are stored in the strawberries () The plants in the greenhouse can take in the carbon dioxide in the waste gases so that it does not add to the greenhouse gases that cause global warming. * Another possible answer for (b) would be that more energy need not be used to heat up the greenhouse to a suitable temperature, but the heat from the power stations can be used instead. This saves energy. 19. (a) Tube B:3 Tube D: 6 (b) Theplantcan carry out photosynthesis because there is light. The plant may take in more carbon dioxide during photosynthesis than the snail can give out. This would cause the carbon dioxide in tube C to be less than tube A. + There is light provided for tubes B and C so the plants in those tubes will be able to photosynthesise and take in carbon dioxide. + However, tube D is in a black box and so the plant in it cannot carry out photosynthesis. Thus, the plant. does not take in carbon dioxide but it gives out carbon dioxide instead. This causes the amount of carbon dioxide in tube D to be the highest of all four tubes. 2 PHYSICAL SCIENCE 2.1 Multiple Choice Questions 4.04) + Gravitational force acts at all times. 2(1) + Ceramic is a better conductor of heat than wood. In other words, wood is a better insulator of heat than ceramic and loses heat at a slower rate than ceramic. outa) + Solar panels absorb light energy from the Sun and convert it into electrical energy. 4.(2) + YandZare clearly different materials as Y sinks in water while Z floats in water. + Although X and Y both sink in water, they may be made from different materials which both sink in water. Thus, we cannot conclude that they are the same material. 10