Question 1

A snail hides itself in its shell when touched. This shows that the snail is a living thing because it ____

Accepted Answer

D. can respond to changes. Hiding in its shell when touched is a response to a stimulus (touch). Responding to changes in the environment is a characteristic of living things.

Question 2

Anthony kept a caterpillar in a glass tank with some food and water. He covered the tank with a clear plastic sheet and sealed it tightly to prevent the caterpillar from escaping. The caterpillar died three days later. What could Anthony have done to ensure that his caterpillar survived longer?

Accepted Answer

D. Poke some holes in the clear plastic sheet.. The sealed tank prevented air from entering. Living things need air to survive, so poking holes in the plastic sheet would allow air in and let the caterpillar live longer.

Question 3

The picture shows a fern growing in the soil. Which of the following statement(s) about the fern is/are true? A. It reproduces by spores. B. It absorbs food from the soil it grows on. C. It is able to make food in the presence of light.

Accepted Answer

D. A and C only. Ferns are non-flowering plants that reproduce by spores (A true). Like other green plants, they make their own food by photosynthesis in the presence of light (C true). They do not absorb food from soil (B false).

Question 4

The diagram shows four animals A, B, C and D. Based on the observable characteristics, which animal does not belong to the same group as the rest?

Accepted Answer

A. Animal A. Animals B (bee), C (ant) and D (beetle) are insects with 6 legs and 3 body parts. Animal A is a spider with 8 legs and 2 body parts, so it does not belong to the insect group.

Question 5

Ameen classifies the three animals, P, Q and R as shown. Which groups of animal do P, Q and R belong to?

Accepted Answer

D. P: mammal, Q: amphibian, R: reptile. P has fur → mammal. Q has no fur but has moist skin → amphibian. R has no fur and no moist skin → reptile (dry, scaly skin).

Question 6

Alvin had two slices of bread from the same loaf, A and B. He toasted slice A and sprinkled some water on slice B. He left each bread on a plate in the kitchen and they were untouched for five days. At the end of the fifth day, mould was observed on Bread B and no mould was seen on Bread A. Based on the observations only, what can Alvin conclude?

Accepted Answer

A. Mould needs water to grow.. Bread A was toasted (dry) and had no mould; Bread B had water and grew mould. The only variable changed was water, so the conclusion based on the observation is that mould needs water to grow.

Question 7

Three students made statements about bacteria. Alex: Bacteria comes in different shapes. Betty: All bacteria are harmful to us. Charles: Bacteria can only be seen with a microscope. Which student(s) is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

B. Alex and Charles only. Bacteria come in different shapes (Alex correct) and are too small to see without a microscope (Charles correct). Not all bacteria are harmful — some are useful (Betty incorrect).

Question 8

Which of the following shows the life cycle of a plant?

Accepted Answer

C. Seed → Young → Adult → Seed. A flowering plant's life cycle goes Seed → Young plant → Adult plant → produces seeds, which restart the cycle.

Question 9

The plant below is at its ____ stage.

Accepted Answer

B. adult. The plant shown has flowers, meaning it has reached the stage where it can reproduce. This is the adult stage of the life cycle.

Question 10

The diagram shows the life cycles of a grasshopper and mealworm beetle. Which of the following is a similarity between the animals at stage X and stage Y?

Accepted Answer

A. Both can moult.. Stage X is the nymph (between egg and adult in the grasshopper's 3-stage cycle) and Stage Y is the larva (between pupa and adult in the beetle's 4-stage cycle). Both nymphs and larvae moult as they grow.

Question 11

At which stage is the butterfly is harmful to the farmers' plants?

Accepted Answer

B. larva. The larva (caterpillar) stage of the butterfly feeds on the leaves of plants, damaging the crops, so it is harmful to farmers' plants.

Question 12

Which statement about the life cycles of both the butterfly and chicken is correct?

Accepted Answer

A. Both their young do not have wings.. Both the young of the butterfly (larva/caterpillar) and the young of the chicken (chick) do not have wings (or have undeveloped wings unable to fly). Butterfly has 4 stages but chicken has 3, so B is wrong; chick looks similar to adult, so C is wrong; butterfly larva pupae adult are not all on land, so D wrong.

Question 13

The bar graph shows the stages and the number of days that animal Z spends at each stage of its life cycle. How many days does it take for animal Z to become a pupa after hatching from its egg?

Accepted Answer

B. 10. After hatching from the egg, animal Z is in the larva stage which lasts 10 days. So it takes 10 days as a larva before becoming a pupa.

Question 14

Jill wanted to find out the positions of a metal spoon and a rubber ball when the two objects are placed in the water. Which of the following correctly shows the position of the metal spoon and rubber ball correctly?

Accepted Answer

C. Metal spoon: D, Rubber ball: A. A metal spoon sinks to the bottom of water (position D). A rubber ball floats on the water surface (position A).

Question 15

Study the flowchart. The diagram shows two children bouncing up and down on a trampoline. Based on the above flowchart above, which material, A, B, C or D, is most suitable to make part Z of the trampoline?

Accepted Answer

D. D. Part Z is the bouncy fabric of the trampoline which must be flexible and strong (to support people without tearing). Following the flowchart: flexible? Yes → strong? Yes → material D.

Question 16

Dawn would like her room to be completely dark during the day. Based on the information above, which property should the curtain have?

Accepted Answer

D. Does not allow light to pass through. For the room to be completely dark, no light from outside should enter through the window. The curtain must be opaque — it must not allow any light to pass through.

Question 17

Three identical iron rods are used to make electromagnets A, B and C in the set-ups as shown. Arrange the electromagnets from the strongest to the weakest.

Accepted Answer

A. B, C, A. Strength of an electromagnet increases with more coils of wire and more batteries. Set-up B has the most coils, set-up C has more batteries than A with the same coils, and A has the fewest. Hence B > C > A.

Question 18

Carrie has 3 similar-sized steel bars, J, H and K, as shown. Carrie placed the steel bars near each other and recorded her observations in the table below. Based on the above observations, which of the steel bars are definitely magnets?

Accepted Answer

B. J and K only. J and H attract (no info on which is the magnet). J and K repel — only two magnets can repel, so J and K must both be magnets. K and H attract — confirms H may or may not be a magnet, but since J repels K, both J and K are definitely magnets.

Question 19

The diagram shows two magnets, P and Q. Paper clips are attracted to the magnets. Three students made the following comments. Andy: P and Q are made of aluminium. Bala: The paper clips are made of magnetic materials. Claudia: P is a stronger magnet than Q. Which student(s) is/are definitely correct?

Accepted Answer

B. Bala only.. Bala is correct — paper clips are attracted to the magnets, so they must be made of magnetic materials. Andy is wrong — aluminium is not magnetic; magnets are not made of aluminium. Claudia is wrong — we cannot compare strength because the magnets have different shapes/poles arrangements, and the same number of paper clips can be attracted.

Question 20

The diagram shows what happens when 4 ring-shaped objects, A, B, C and D, were placed through a wooden rod. Which objects are definitely magnets?

Accepted Answer

C. A, B and C only. A sits on the wooden base. B floats above A — they must be repelling, so both A and B are magnets. C floats above B — they must also be repelling, so C is also a magnet. D sits on top of C; it could be a magnet attracted to C, or simply a magnetic material (not definitely a magnet). Hence A, B and C are definitely magnets.

Question 21

Barry made three magnets, P, Q, R, using the stroke method with different number of strokes. The table below shows the number of clips each magnet can attract. What is the number of clips most likely attracted by magnet P?

Accepted Answer

C. 6. More strokes → stronger magnet → more clips attracted. R: 5 strokes → 3 clips; Q: 15 strokes → 12 clips. P has 10 strokes (between R and Q), so the number of clips should be between 3 and 12. Only 6 fits.

Question 22

An experiment was carried out by placing four different magnets, E, F, G, H, one at a time at one end of a ruler. Ismail moved the paper clip slowly from the starting point towards the magnet until it was attracted by the magnet. The distance from which the paper clip was attracted to the magnet was recorded in the table. Based on the results, which is the strongest magnet?

Accepted Answer

A. Magnet E. A stronger magnet can attract a paper clip from a further distance. Magnet E attracts the paper clip from the greatest distance (11 cm), so it is the strongest magnet.

P3 Science SA2 2023 — Anglo Chinese

Related papers