Question 1

Zoe learns that all living things need air, water and food to stay alive. Which set-up can she use to keep her grasshopper alive?

Accepted Answer

3. Set-up 3 (leaf + water, metal plate with holes). The grasshopper needs air (holes in lid), food (leaf) and water. Only set-up 3 provides all three.

Question 2

Which statement is not true about animals?

Accepted Answer

4. They can make their own food.. Animals cannot make their own food; only plants can do so through photosynthesis. Animals grow, reproduce and respond to changes.

Question 3

The diagram shows a painting hanging on a wall. Iron is used to make nails because iron ____.

Accepted Answer

3. is strong. Iron nails must support the weight of the painting and be driven into the wall; the most relevant property is its strength.

Question 4

A, B, C and D are the various stages in the life cycle of a butterfly. Which of the following shows the correct order of the stages?

Accepted Answer

4. A → D → C → B → A. Butterfly life cycle: egg (A) → caterpillar/larva (D) → pupa (C) → adult butterfly (B) → back to egg.

Question 5

The diagram shows the life cycle of a plant. What is the stage marked X?

Accepted Answer

2. seed. The stage after the adult plant and before the young seedling in a plant life cycle is the seed.

Question 6

Which of the following is a correct function of the root?

Accepted Answer

1. holds plant firmly to the soil. A function of the root is to anchor the plant firmly in the soil. Keeping the plant upright is done by the stem; food is made by leaves; transport of water and food is done by the stem.

Question 7

In which part of the digestive system is food absorbed into the blood?

Accepted Answer

3. small intestine. Digested food (nutrients) is absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine.

Question 8

The diagram shows a magnet brought near a glass block. What will happen to the glass block?

Accepted Answer

2. It will not move.. Glass is a non-magnetic material, so the magnet exerts no force on it and the glass block will not move.

Question 9

Which one of the following is not a source of heat?

Accepted Answer

3. A woollen cap. The Sun, a lighted bulb and a candle flame all give off heat. A woollen cap does not produce heat; it only traps body heat to keep the wearer warm.

Question 10

The shadow of the object is formed on the screen because ____.

Accepted Answer

1. the object blocks light. A shadow is formed when an opaque object blocks light from reaching the screen.

Question 11

Study the flowchart below. Based on the flowchart given, which of the following are likely to be correct? A. P is an insect. B. Q is a bird. C. S gives birth to its young alive.

Accepted Answer

4. A, B and C. P lays eggs, has six legs and has wings → insect (A correct). Q lays eggs, does not have six legs but has feathers → bird (B correct). S does not lay eggs and has no scales → mammal, which gives birth to live young (C correct).

Question 12

Which of the following statements are correct? A: Ferns can make their own food. B: Mushrooms can make their own food. C: Micro-organisms cannot be seen with the naked eye. D: Bacteria do not respond to changes in the surroundings.

Accepted Answer

1. A and C only. Ferns are non-flowering plants that make their own food (A true). Mushrooms are fungi and cannot make their own food (B false). Micro-organisms are too small to be seen with the naked eye (C true). Bacteria are living things and respond to changes (D false). So only A and C are correct.

Question 13

The table below shows the characteristics of three living things X, Y and Z. Which one of the following is correctly classified as plants, animals and fungi? [Table of options with columns Plants / Animals / Fungi]

Accepted Answer

2. Plants: Y, Animals: X, Fungi: Z. Plants make their own food and do not move freely → Y. Animals cannot make their own food but can move freely → X. Fungi cannot make their own food and do not move freely → Z.

Question 14

Christine wanted to find out which material, W, X, Y or Z, is waterproof. She placed 4 similar strips of the materials, into a basin of blue-coloured water for 10 minutes. Christine recorded her observations as shown in the diagram below. Based on the information above, which of the following shows the most suitable material to make a raincoat, a bath towel and a floor tile?

Accepted Answer

4. Raincoat: W, Bath Towel: Z, Floor Tile: W. Raincoat must be waterproof → W (no water absorbed). A bath towel must absorb the most water → Z (fully absorbed water). A floor tile must be waterproof so water does not seep into the floor → W.

Question 15

The classification table shows how matter can be grouped. Which of the substances below would correctly represent A, B and C above?

Accepted Answer

3. A: Water vapour, B: Water, C: Pebble. A can be compressed → must be a gas (water vapour). B cannot be compressed and has no definite shape → liquid (water). C cannot be compressed and has a definite shape → solid (pebble).

Question 16

Mr Lim uses the following tool to dig some soil in his garden. Which material would be most suitable to make part X?

Accepted Answer

3. metal. The digging blade must be strong and hard to cut into soil without breaking or bending. Metal is the most suitable material; glass is brittle, rubber and plastic are too soft/flexible.

Question 17

Look at the diagram of a pair of rain boots below. They are used by the workers at a construction site. Which of the following properties would be important when making the rain boots? A flexible B waterproof C able to float

Accepted Answer

2. A and B only. Rain boots must be waterproof to keep the feet dry, and flexible so the wearer can walk comfortably. They do not need to be able to float.

Question 18

Jane carried out an experiment on 4 different types of materials A, B, C and D. She placed a few drops of water on each material and observed the material. Based on the information above, which of the four materials, A, B, C and D is/are suitable to be used to make hand towels?

Accepted Answer

2. A and C only. Hand towels must absorb water. A absorbs water after some time and C absorbs water immediately, so both are suitable. B and D do not absorb water.

Question 19

Samantha had four magnets, A, B, C and D, as shown below. She brought each of them 5 cm away from a box of pins and observed the number of pins attracted by each magnet. She recorded her observations in the table below. [Table: Number of pins attracted — Magnet A: 35, Magnet B: 25, Magnet C: 40, Magnet D: 30.] Based only on Samantha's results, she can conclude that ____.

Accepted Answer

4. the strength of a magnet does not depend on its size. The largest magnet (A) does not attract the most pins, and the smallest magnet (D) does not attract the fewest. The number of pins attracted does not follow magnet size, so size and strength are not related in this experiment.

Question 20

Hazid set up the experiment as shown below. Based only on Hazid's experiment, which of the following statements are likely to be correct? A Object Z is made of copper. B Object Y is a magnetic material. C Magnetism can act from a distance.

Accepted Answer

3. B and C only. Since Z and Y attracted each other, at least one is a magnet and the other a magnetic material — so B is correct (Y is a magnetic material attracted by magnet Z, or vice versa). The attraction happened without contact, showing magnetism acts from a distance (C correct). Copper is not magnetic, so A is not necessarily true.

Question 21

Four metal bars, A, B, C and D are hung from a wooden rod as shown in the diagram below. The two ends of each metal bar are marked X and Y respectively. The North pole of a bar magnet is brought near X and then Y of each metal bar. The observations made during the experiment are recorded in the table below. [Table: A — N to X: Not attracted, N to Y: Not attracted. B — N to X: Attracted, N to Y: Attracted. C — N to X: Repelled, N to Y: Attracted. D — N to X: Attracted, N to Y: Attracted.] Which one of the following conclusions about the experiment is correct?

Accepted Answer

1. Bars B and D are made of iron.. Bar C shows repulsion at one end and attraction at the other — C is a magnet. Bars B and D are attracted at both ends — they are magnetic materials such as iron (not magnets). Bar A is neither attracted nor repelled, so it is non-magnetic. Therefore B and D are made of iron.

Question 22

Ricky drew up a flowchart as shown below to classify 5 different things. Which one of the following is correct?

Accepted Answer

3. A: sand, B: water, D: shadow, E: light. A = matter with definite shape (solid) → sand can be considered (sand grains are solid). B = matter with no definite shape but definite volume (liquid) → water. D = not matter, not a form of energy → shadow. E = not matter but a form of energy → light. Option 3 fits.

Question 23

Matthew used a hand pump to pump more air into the basketball shown below. He observed that the size of the basketball remained the same. Which of the following correctly shows the change (if any) in the mass and volume of air in the basketball?

Accepted Answer

2. mass: increase, volume: no change. More air is added so the mass of air inside increases. Because the basketball stays the same size, the volume of air is fixed (air is compressed). So mass increases but volume does not change.

Question 24

The diagram below shows 4 identical glass containers, P, Q, R and S, each containing different substances. A jug containing 1 litre of water is poured into each container at the same time. The water is poured at the same rate. Which one of the following correctly shows the order in which the water will overflow, from the fastest to the slowest?

Accepted Answer

2. R, Q, P, S. Container R already has water inside (least free space) → overflows fastest. Container Q has marbles (small solids take up much space, less free space remains) → next. Container P has table-tennis balls (large but with gaps in between) → more free space than Q. Container S contains only air, which is pushed out as water enters, so it has the most free space → overflows slowest. Order: R, Q, P, S.

Question 25

Susan's teacher set up the apparatus as shown in the diagram below. When she poured water into the funnel, it did not flow into the flask. Susan then set up the same apparatus. When she poured water into the funnel, she found that it could flow into the flask. Which one of the following had caused her result to be different from that of her teacher?

Accepted Answer

3. The stopper in Susan's set-up was loose.. In the teacher's set-up the stopper sealed the flask, trapping air inside; the trapped air prevented water from entering. With Susan's loose stopper, the trapped air could escape, allowing water to flow into the flask.

Question 26

A glass of hot water at 85°C is placed into a basin of tap water at 30°C as shown in the diagram below. What would be the temperature of the water in the glass and the temperature of the water in the basin after 5 minutes?

Accepted Answer

3. Glass: 75°C, Basin: 35°C. Heat flows from the hotter water (glass) to the cooler water (basin). The glass water becomes cooler (85°C → 75°C) and the basin water becomes warmer (30°C → 35°C) until both reach the same temperature.

Question 27

Julie placed a pot of hot soup on a table with a plastic top. If Julie wants the soup to cool down more quickly, which of the following should she do? A Keep the pot in a big wooden box. B Wrap the pot with a piece of dry cloth. C Wrap the pot with a piece of wet cloth. D Place the pot on a piece of aluminium sheet.

Accepted Answer

4. C and D. To cool down faster the soup must lose heat quickly. A wet cloth allows water to evaporate, taking heat from the soup (C). An aluminium sheet is a good conductor of heat that draws heat away from the pot (D). Wood and dry cloth are insulators (A and B trap heat).

Question 28

Raju had an experimental set-up as shown below. He wanted the ink droplet to move to the left. Which one of the following actions should he carry out?

Accepted Answer

4. Cool the water in basin A but heat the water in basin B.. Heating the air in B causes it to expand and push the droplet toward A (the left). Cooling the air in A causes it to contract and pull the droplet toward A (the left). So cool A and heat B.

Question 29

Wei Ming turns on the lamp in his room at night and saw his toy on the table as shown in the diagram below. Which one of the following correctly shows the path of light that makes it possible for Wei Ming to see the toy on the table?

Accepted Answer

2. From lamp to toy to Wei Ming. Light from the lamp travels to the toy, reflects off the toy and then enters Wei Ming's eyes, allowing him to see the toy.

Question 30

The diagrams below show three shapes, a square, a triangle and a circle, each made of a different material. The diagram below shows the side view of the three shapes hung at different positions, A, B and C. [Figure: A torch shines toward three 5 cm objects hung at positions A, B and C (A nearest the torch, C nearest the screen).] The shadows cast on the screen are shown below. [Figure: A large square shadow with a smaller solid black circle in its middle on the screen.] Which one of the following correctly shows the positions of the shapes?

Accepted Answer

2. A: square, B: circle, C: triangle. The shape nearest the torch (A) casts the largest shadow → the largest visible shadow is the outer square, so A is the square. The middle shape (B) casts the medium-sized shadow → the circle (small dark disk inside) is the only other visible shadow, so B is the circle. The triangle's shadow (C) is hidden behind/within the square's shadow because the square is larger; so C is the triangle.

P4 Science SA2 2025 — Henry Park

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