Question 1

The diagram below shows a mimosa plant closing its leaves when it was touched. What characteristic of living things was the mimosa plant showing?

Accepted Answer

(4) Living things respond to changes in their surroundings.. The mimosa plant closing its leaves upon touch is a direct reaction to a stimulus (being touched) in its environment. This demonstrates the characteristic of living things to respond to changes in their surroundings.

Question 2

The table below shows the characteristics of organisms, W, X, Y and Z. A tick (v) shows that the organism has the characteristic. Which of the organisms, W, X, Y and Z, is most likely a non-flowering plant?

Accepted Answer

(2) X. Non-flowering plants (like ferns) reproduce from spores and make their own food (do not get food from other living things). Organism X has a tick for 'Reproduce from spores' and no tick for 'Get their food from other living things', fitting the description of a non-flowering plant. Organism W can only be seen under a microscope, suggesting a microorganism. Organism Y gets its food from other living things, and Organism Z reproduces from spores and gets food from other living things, which is characteristic of a fungus.

Question 3

Study the classification chart below. Which of the following are classified incorrectly?

Accepted Answer

(3) staple | owl. The classification chart categorizes things into 'Living Things' (rose plant, mushroom, cat, owl) and 'Non-living Things' (table, scissors, staple, chair). In option (3), 'staple' is listed under 'Living Things' (it is non-living) and 'owl' is listed under 'Non-living Things' (it is living). Both are incorrect classifications within this single option.

Question 4

The graph below shows the number of bacteria M at different temperatures. Based on the graph, which temperature is most suitable for bacteria M to grow?

Accepted Answer

(2) 45 °C. The bar graph shows the highest number of bacteria M (around 50-55) at 45 °C, indicating that this temperature is the most favorable for its growth.

Question 5

The diagram below shows some fish. What characteristics do all the above fish have? A They have scales. B They breathe through gills. C They have three body parts. D They give birth to young alive.

Accepted Answer

(1) A and B only. All fish possess scales (A) and breathe using gills (B). Fish do not typically have three distinct body parts like insects (C), and most fish lay eggs rather than giving birth to live young (D is incorrect as not all fish give birth to live young). Therefore, only A and B are universal characteristics among the given fish.

Question 6

Devi wrote down some properties of organism X. Organism X: It is a useful fungus. It needs air, food and water. It can be used to make bread to make dough rise. What can organism X be?

Accepted Answer

(1) yeast. Yeast is a type of fungus known for its utility in baking, specifically for making bread dough rise through fermentation. The properties listed (useful fungus, needs air/food/water, makes dough rise) perfectly describe yeast.

Question 7

Study the flowchart below. Based on the above flowchart, which of the following questions represent P and Q?

Accepted Answer

(1) P: Does It have feathers? | Q: Does it have three body parts?. The flowchart first differentiates by 'Does it lay eggs?'. If 'No', it's a dog. If 'Yes', it proceeds to P. From P, if 'Yes', it's a bird (birds lay eggs and have feathers). If 'No' from P, it proceeds to Q. From Q, if 'Yes', it's an ant (ants lay eggs and have three body parts). If 'No' from Q, it's a lizard (lizards lay eggs but do not have three body parts like insects). Therefore, P is 'Does it have feathers?' and Q is 'Does it have three body parts?'.

Question 8

The diagram shows two plants. Which of the following statements is correct?

Accepted Answer

(4) Both plants A and B can make their own food.. Plant A is a tomato plant (flowering plant), and Plant B is a bird's nest fern (non-flowering plant). Both are plants and perform photosynthesis to make their own food. Therefore, statement (4) is correct. Statement (1) is incorrect because both make their own food. Statement (2) is incorrect because Plant A reproduces from seeds, not spores. Statement (3) is incorrect because only Plant B reproduces from spores.

Question 9

Which of the following statements about the life cycle of a mosquito is correct?

Accepted Answer

(4) The mosquito at the adult stage spreads diseases.. Mosquitoes lay eggs on water (1 is incorrect), and larvae live in water (2 is incorrect). The larva and pupa stages look very different from the adult (3 is incorrect). Adult mosquitoes, particularly females, are known vectors for spreading diseases (4 is correct).

Question 10

Which of the following animals has larva as one of its stages?

Accepted Answer

(3) butterfly. Butterflies undergo complete metamorphosis, which includes an egg stage, a larval stage (caterpillar), a pupal stage, and an adult stage. Grasshoppers and cockroaches undergo incomplete metamorphosis (egg, nymph, adult), lacking a larval stage. Chickens hatch from eggs as chicks, which are similar to miniature adults, and do not have a larval stage.

Question 11

The following objects are grouped according to the materials they are made from. In which group should a metal key belong to?

Accepted Answer

(2) Group 2. Group 1 contains objects made of fabric (bath towel, skirt). Group 2 contains objects made of metal (coin, paper clip). Group 3 contains objects made of rubber/plastic (eraser, balloon). Group 4 contains objects made of paper (newspapers, magazine). A metal key is made of metal, so it belongs to Group 2.

Question 12

Sam used a hammer to hit an iron nail into the wall as shown below. Which of the following shows the correct property of the material that was used to make part W of the hammer?

Accepted Answer

(1) Strength. Part W is the head of the hammer, which is used to strike nails. For this purpose, the material must be very strong and hard to withstand the impact force without deforming or breaking. Strength is the most crucial property here.

Question 13

Mrs Lim wanted to buy a swimming float for her child to use during water play at the seashore. To make sure that her child could use the swimming float to stay afloat, it must have the following properties: It is flexible. It is waterproof. It must be able to float on water. Which material is most suitable to make a swimming float?

Accepted Answer

(3) Plastic. A swimming float needs to be flexible (for inflation and comfort), waterproof, and buoyant (able to float). Plastic (especially inflatable plastic) perfectly meets all these requirements. Wood can float but is not flexible. Fabric is flexible but not inherently waterproof or buoyant. Ceramic is neither flexible nor buoyant.

Question 14

Samuel wanted to compare the flexibility of three rods made of different materials. He used the set-up below to hang some weights at the side of the rods. He then recorded the distance, d, that the rods could bend. Which of the following should Samuel keep the same to ensure a fair test? A Use rods of the same length B Use rods of the same material C Use weights of the same mass D Use rods of the same thickness

Accepted Answer

(4) A, C and D only. The aim is to compare the flexibility of rods made of *different materials*. Therefore, the material of the rod (B) is the independent variable and should be changed. All other factors that could affect the bending (flexibility) must be kept constant to ensure a fair test. These include the length of the rods (A), the mass of the weights (C), and the thickness of the rods (D).

Question 15

Four children, Anna, Ben, Cassy and Dan, visited the Hildan Playscape. There were four walls built with different materials E, F, G and H in the room. A tick (v) in the table below shows that the material has the physical property. The children stood behind the walls built with different materials as shown in the diagram below. Which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

(3) Ben can see Anna and Cassy.. From the table: E (transparent), F (translucent), G (transparent), H (opaque). The children are arranged as Anna (behind E), Ben (behind F), Cassy (behind G), Dan (behind H).
(1) Dan is behind H (opaque), so Dan cannot see anyone. False.
(2) Cassy is behind G (transparent) but Dan is behind H (opaque). Cassy cannot see through H. False.
(3) Ben is behind F (translucent). Anna is behind E (transparent) and Cassy is behind G (transparent). Since F is translucent, Ben can see through it, though perhaps not clearly, to Anna and Cassy. This is true.
(4) Anna is behind E (transparent). Anna can see Cassy (behind G, transparent). However, Anna cannot see Dan because Dan is behind H (opaque). False.

Question 16

Jill carried out an experiment using four different materials placed in a beaker containing 200 ml of water. After some time, she removed the materials and recorded the amount of water left in each beaker. The results are shown in the graph below. Based on the above results, which material is most suitable to make part Z of the rain boots to keep the feet dry?

Accepted Answer

(1) A. To keep feet dry, the material for rain boots must be waterproof, meaning it should absorb the least amount of water. In this experiment, a higher amount of water left in the beaker indicates less water was absorbed by the material. Material A has the highest amount of water left (approximately 190 ml), which means it absorbed the least amount of water (200 ml - 190 ml = 10 ml). Thus, Material A is the most waterproof and suitable.

Question 17

Viknesh spun a freely suspended bar magnet as shown below. When the magnet stops spinning, which direction will the magnet be pointing in?

Accepted Answer

(4) North-South. A freely suspended magnet will always align itself with the Earth's magnetic field, with its North pole pointing towards the Earth's magnetic North (which is geographically North), and its South pole pointing towards the Earth's magnetic South (geographically South). Therefore, it will point in the North-South direction.

Question 18

Aisha placed a bar magnet onto the door of a refrigerator. The magnet dropped to the floor when she let go of the magnet as shown below. Which one of the following statements explains why the magnet did not attract the door of the refrigerator?

Accepted Answer

(2) The door of the refrigerator is not made of a magnetic material.. For a magnet to attract an object, the object must be made of a magnetic material (such as iron, nickel, or cobalt). If the magnet did not stick to the refrigerator door and dropped, it implies there was no magnetic attraction. This indicates that the door of the refrigerator is not made of a magnetic material.

Question 19

Two magnets were placed near to each other in the arrangement as shown below. What will be observed when the two magnets are brought nearer to each other?

Accepted Answer

(3) Both magnets will move towards each other.. The U-shaped magnet has its North pole (N) on the right side of its open end and its South pole (S) on the left side. The bar magnet has its South pole (S) on top and North pole (N) on the bottom. The North pole of the U-shaped magnet is facing the South pole of the bar magnet. Since unlike poles attract, the two magnets will move towards each other.

Question 20

Some identical pins were attracted to the U-shaped magnet as shown below. Which of the following statement(s) about the observation above is/are correct? A The pins are magnets. B The pins are made of a magnetic material. C The U-shaped magnet is strongest at its poles.

Accepted Answer

(4) B and C only. A: The pins are attracted to the magnet, but this does not mean they are permanent magnets themselves; they could be made of a magnetic material and become induced magnets. So, A is incorrect. B: For attraction to occur, the pins must be made of a magnetic material. So, B is correct. C: The diagram shows that more pins are clustered at the ends (poles) of the U-shaped magnet than in the middle, indicating that the magnetic force is strongest at the poles. So, C is correct. Therefore, B and C are correct.

Question 21

Four identical iron bars, W, X, Y and Z, were being stroked in the same direction by a magnet. The table below shows the number of times each iron bar was stroked by the magnet. Based on the table, which iron bar will attract the most number of steel clips?

Accepted Answer

(4) Z. In the stroking method of magnetization, the more times a magnetic material (like iron) is stroked in a consistent direction by a magnet, the stronger it becomes as a temporary magnet (up to a saturation point). A stronger magnet will attract more steel clips. Bar Z was stroked 41 times, which is the highest number among the options, indicating it will be the strongest magnet and thus attract the most steel clips.

P3 Science SA2 2025 — St Hildas

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