Question 1

The diagram below shows two living things. Which of the following statements about the two living things are true?
A  Both can grow.
B  Both can reproduce.
C  Both can respond to changes.
D  Both can make their own food.

Accepted Answer

C. A, B and C only. Both a potted plant and a rabbit are living things, so they share the characteristics of living things: they can grow, reproduce and respond to changes. However, only the plant can make its own food, so D is wrong. A, B and C are all true.

Question 2

Study the classification chart below. Based on the classification chart above, which letter W, X, Y or Z best represents bread mould?

Accepted Answer

D. Z. Bread mould is a non-green, non-flowering living thing that cannot make its own food and cannot move from place to place. Following the chart: 'cannot make its own food' → 'cannot move from place to place' = Z.

Question 3

Joe decided to keep his pet mouse in a cage shown below. What should he do to help the mouse to stay alive?

Accepted Answer

B. Put some food in the cage.. The cage already has holes (for air) and a water bottle, so air and water are provided. The mouse still needs food to stay alive, which the cage does not have. Adding more mice would increase competition, not help survival.

Question 4

Jack measured the size of a tree trunk in his garden shown below. He recorded his results in the bar graph below. What can he conclude from his results?

Accepted Answer

A. The tree has grown.. The bar graph shows the length (circumference) of the tree trunk increasing each year from 2013 to 2016. An increase in size over time indicates that the tree has grown.

Question 5

Sue observed the changes of a plant in her garden over a few years. Based only on the diagram above, which one of the following statements is not true?

Accepted Answer

C. It reproduces from spores.. The diagram shows a young banana-like plant growing into an adult plant with fruits. From the diagram, we can tell it is a flowering plant that makes its own food and bears fruits. It reproduces from seeds inside the fruits, not from spores, so statement 3 is not true.

Question 6

The diagram below shows a plant growing around a wooden pole. What is the function of part X?

Accepted Answer

A. To support the stem. Part X is the tendrils/clasping structure that wraps around the wooden pole. Its function is to support the weak stem of the climbing plant by anchoring it to the pole.

Question 7

Study the living things below. Three pupils Ali, Ben and Cindy made the following statements about the two living things shown above.
Ali: They can make their own food.
Ben: They have roots, stems and leaves.
Cindy: They do not produce flowers.
Which of the pupils have made the correct statements?

Accepted Answer

A. Ali and Ben only. Both the fern and the papaya tree are plants that have roots, stems and leaves, and both can make their own food, so Ali and Ben are correct. However, the papaya tree produces flowers (and fruits), so Cindy's statement is wrong.

Question 8

Mary carried out an experiment using two similar plants shown below. The plant in set-up Y has its roots removed. After two days, she recorded her observations in the table below. What does she want to find out from her experiment?

Accepted Answer

A. To find out if roots take in water.. The only difference between the two set-ups is the presence/absence of roots (oil layer prevents evaporation, water volume identical). Set-up X (with roots) lost 50 ml of water while set-up Y (no roots) lost 0 ml. This tests whether roots are responsible for taking in water.

Question 9

Max conducted an experiment. He removed only the leaves of a plant shown below. He watered the plant daily. After a week, he observed that the plant had wilted and died. Which of the following statement(s) best explain(s) why the plant died?
A  The stem did not have any support.
B  The plant was not able to make food.
C  The plant was not able to absorb water.

Accepted Answer

B. B only. Without leaves, the plant cannot carry out photosynthesis (make food), so it eventually dies. The plant was still watered daily, so it could still absorb water through its roots. The stem still has its own support.

Question 10

Four pupils Alan, Billy, Colin and Daniel made some statements about some animal groups.
Alan: All insects and birds can fly.
Billy: Amphibians like lizards have dry skin.
Colin: Animals that produce milk have hair.
Daniel: Amphibians and fish breathe through their gills.
Which one of the following pupils has made a correct statement?

Accepted Answer

C. Colin. Alan is wrong: not all insects/birds can fly (e.g. ants, penguins). Billy is wrong: lizards are reptiles, not amphibians. Daniel is wrong: amphibians breathe through moist skin/lungs (adults), not gills. Colin is correct: mammals (animals that produce milk) have hair/fur.

Question 11

Study the flow chart below. Based on the flow chart above, which letter A, B, C or D best represents a seal?

Accepted Answer

D. D. A seal is an animal (Yes → animal). It does not live on land (lives in water) (No → next question). It has hair/fur (Yes → D). So the seal is best represented by D.

Question 12

The table below shows how some animals can be grouped. Which of the following are suitable headings for group X and Y?

Accepted Answer

B. X: Lay eggs | Y: Gives birth to the young. Group X contains tilapia (fish), pelican (bird) and beetles (insects) — all lay eggs. Group Y contains orang-utan, elephant and bat — all mammals that give birth to live young. Option A is wrong (tilapia cannot fly). Option C is wrong (pelican does not live in water; bat does not live in water). Option D is wrong (mammals do not have two body parts).

Question 13

Sandy placed four similar slices of bread A, B, C and D into four similar boxes which were at different temperatures. She observed the growth of bread mould on the four slices of bread over a period of time. She recorded her observations in the table below. Based on the table above, how many days would it take for the bread mould to appear on bread B?

Accepted Answer

C. 9. As the temperature increases, the number of days for bread mould to appear decreases (A: 5°C → 12 days; C: 20°C → 7 days; D: 30°C → 4 days). At 10°C (B), the value should lie between 12 and 7, so about 9 days is the most reasonable.

Question 14

Jeremy recorded his observations of organism P in the box below.
It cannot make its own food.
It can be useful or harmful to humans.
It can only be seen under a microscope.
Based on Jeremy's observations, which of the following best represents organism P?
A  bacteria
B  mushroom
C  bracket fungi

Accepted Answer

A. A only. Organism P can only be seen under a microscope. Mushrooms and bracket fungi are visible to the naked eye, so they are eliminated. Only bacteria are microscopic and match all three observations.

Question 15

Study the classification chart below carefully. Which of the following is best represented by letters A, B, C and D?

Accepted Answer

B. A: mouth | B: nose | C: heart | D: ribcage. Digestive system parts already include small intestine and stomach → A is mouth. Respiratory parts already include lungs and windpipe → B is nose. Circulatory parts already include blood and blood vessel → C is heart. Skeletal parts already include skull and backbone → D is ribcage.

Question 16

Which two systems work together to deliver oxygen to all parts of the body?
A  Respiratory system
B  Circulatory system
C  Digestive system
D  Skeletal system

Accepted Answer

A. A and B only. The respiratory system takes in oxygen from the air, and the circulatory system transports the oxygen via blood to all parts of the body. They work together for oxygen delivery.

Question 17

Alvin placed four different materials J, K, L and M of the same size and thickness into four beakers containing equal amounts of water. After ten minutes, the materials were taken out of the water and weighed. The results are recorded in the table below. Which material J, K, L or M is most suitable for making a bath towel?

Accepted Answer

D. M. A bath towel should absorb the most water. Increase in mass shows water absorbed: J +6 g, K +20 g, L +10 g, M +25 g. M absorbs the most water, so M is most suitable for making a bath towel.

Question 18

Study the classification chart below. Based on the chart above, how were the objects grouped?

Accepted Answer

D. By the material they are made of. Group A: cotton wool and cotton towel (cotton). Group B: window pane and spectacle lens (glass). Group C: ice-cream stick and satay stick (wood). Group D: iron pin and metal ruler (metal). Each group is made of the same material.

Question 19

The diagram below shows a fish tank. Which of the following properties should the material used for part Q of the fish tank have?
A  Flexible
B  Waterproof
C  Transparent
D  Able to float on water

Accepted Answer

B. B and C only. Part Q (the wall of the fish tank) must be waterproof so water does not leak out, and transparent so one can see the fish. It should not be flexible (must be rigid to hold water) nor needs to float.

Question 20

Wendy carried out an experiment using four bags A, B, C and D made of different materials. She put apples, one at a time, into each bag until it began to tear. She recorded her observations in the table below. Based on the results in the table, what does she want to find out from her experiment?

Accepted Answer

B. To find out which bag is the strongest.. By measuring how many apples each bag holds before tearing, Wendy is testing how much weight/load the bag can support, which indicates the strength of the material. The bag that holds the most apples is the strongest.

Question 21

Kasper tried to magnetise an iron nail with a magnet using the stroke method in the direction shown below. After stroking the iron nail 15 times, the iron nail attracted three steel pins. He repeated the experiment with another similar iron nail. What should he do if he wants to attract more than three steel pins?

Accepted Answer

B. Stroke the iron nail using the same pole more than 15 times.. In the stroke method, increasing the number of strokes (using the same pole, in the same direction) makes the iron nail a stronger magnet, which can attract more steel pins. Using both poles or stroking less would weaken or cancel the magnetism.

Question 22

The diagram below shows a freely suspended magnet. In which direction will a freely suspended magnet point?

Accepted Answer

D. North-South direction. A freely suspended magnet always comes to rest pointing in the North-South direction, with the north pole pointing north and the south pole pointing south. This is the principle of a compass.

Question 23

Study the pictures below. Which of the objects below is not a use of electromagnets?

Accepted Answer

C. stapler. Scrap iron cranes, maglev trains and telephones all use electromagnets in their working. A stapler uses a mechanical spring and does not involve any electromagnet.

Question 24

Two bar magnets AB and CD can be arranged as shown below. Which of the following arrangements of the magnets is not possible?

Accepted Answer

D. Reversed L-shape: D–B on top with A to the right; C vertical below D. Given the original arrangement C–D | A–B, D and A attract (so D and A are opposite poles). Working out the poles of each magnet (e.g. A=S, B=N, C=N, D=S, or vice versa) and checking each option, option 4 places like poles together (D next to B with both being the same pole), which is impossible because like poles repel.

P3 Science SA2 2023 — CHIJ

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