Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a source of heat?

Accepted Answer

D. A woollen jacket. The Sun, a lighted bulb and a lighted candle all give out heat on their own. A woollen jacket does not produce heat — it only traps the body's heat to keep the wearer warm, so it is not a source of heat.

Question 2

Jonas places a metal spoon in a cup of hot coffee. The spoon becomes hotter after a while. Which one of the following explains this?

Accepted Answer

C. The spoon gains heat from the hot coffee.. Heat always flows from a hotter object to a cooler object. The hot coffee is hotter than the metal spoon, so heat flows from the coffee to the spoon. The spoon gains heat and becomes hotter.

Question 3

Which of the following is a source of light?

Accepted Answer

B. a fire. A source of light produces its own light. Fire produces its own light. The apple and the mirror only reflect light; the moon also only reflects light from the Sun.

Question 4

Matter is anything that has mass and occupies space. Which one of the following is NOT matter?

Accepted Answer

D. shadow. Air, water and stone all have mass and occupy space, so they are matter. A shadow has no mass and does not occupy space — it is only an area where light is blocked — so it is not matter.

Question 5

Which animal has a 3-stage life cycle?

Accepted Answer

C. grasshopper. A 3-stage life cycle is egg → nymph → adult. The grasshopper has this 3-stage life cycle. The beetle, butterfly and mosquito all have a 4-stage life cycle (egg → larva → pupa → adult).

Question 6

The diagram below shows a young plant. The leaf helps the plant to ____.

Accepted Answer

A. make food. The leaf is the part of a plant that makes food by photosynthesis using sunlight, water and air. The stem holds the plant upright, and the roots absorb water and nutrients from the soil.

Question 7

Which one of the following shows the correct order when food moves through some parts of the digestive system?

Accepted Answer

A. stomach → small intestine → large intestine. After food is swallowed, it goes to the stomach, then to the small intestine (where most digestion and absorption happens), then to the large intestine (where water is absorbed). So the correct order is stomach → small intestine → large intestine.

Question 8

Study the chart below. Where would you put this animal in the chart above?

Accepted Answer

C. C. The animal shown is a spider, which has 8 legs (more than 6 legs). On the chart, animals with more than 6 legs go to box C.

Question 9

In which one of the following will the two magnets push each other away?

Accepted Answer

C. Two vertical bar magnets side by side, each with S on top and N on bottom.. Like poles repel and unlike poles attract. In option C the two magnets are placed side by side with the S poles next to each other at the top and the N poles next to each other at the bottom — like poles facing like poles, so the magnets push each other away. In the other options the facing poles are unlike, so they attract.

Question 10

Jason put a wooden block into a container of water. At which position, A, B, C or D, would the block most likely to be found?

Accepted Answer

B. B. Wood is less dense than water, so a wooden block floats. Position B is at the surface of the water, partly above and partly below — this is where a floating wooden block would be found.

Question 11

Both glasses, X and Y, were stuck together as shown in the diagram below. Which of the following is the best way to separate the two glasses?

Accepted Answer

D. Place ice cubes in glass X and glass Y in a container of hot water.. To separate the stuck glasses, the inner glass (X) should contract (get smaller) and the outer glass (Y) should expand (get bigger). Placing ice cubes in glass X cools and contracts X, while placing glass Y in hot water heats and expands Y, making it easier to separate the two glasses.

Question 12

Bala had four similar cups made of different materials, K, L, M and N. He poured an equal amount of hot water at 70°C into each cup. After 15 minutes, the temperature of the water was measured and recorded in the table below. Based on the results, which material is the poorest conductor of heat?

Accepted Answer

B. L. The poorest conductor of heat allows the least heat to escape from the hot water, so the water stays hottest. Cup L has the highest temperature after 15 minutes (60°C), meaning material L allowed the least heat to escape, so it is the poorest conductor of heat.

Question 13

The diagram below shows a rectangular metal frame. Four similar drops of wax were dripped at positions A, B, C and D of the frame. Chloe heated the metal frame at one of the points. She recorded the time taken for the wax to melt completely in the table below. Based on the results above, at which point, P, Q, R or S, was the metal frame heated?

Accepted Answer

D. S. The wax closest to the heat source melts first (shortest time). Wax D melted in 1 minute (shortest), so it is closest to the heat source. Point S is at the bottom near corner D, so the frame was heated at point S.

Question 14

Jaydan walked from point X to point Z one night, passing a lamppost at point Y as shown in the diagram below. The lamppost was the only source of light. Which of the graphs below shows how the length of his shadow changed as Jaydan walked from points X to Z?

Accepted Answer

D. Shadow length: tall at X, shortest at Y, tall at Z (lowest at Y).. A shadow is shortest when the light source is directly above the object. The lamppost is at Y, so at Y Jaydan is closest to (and right under) the light, giving the shortest shadow. At X and Z he is further from the lamppost, so his shadow is longer at both ends. Graph (4) shows tall, short, tall — matching this pattern.

Question 15

Four different materials E, F, G and H of equal size and thickness were used in the set-up as shown below. A light sensor was used to measure the amount of light that passed through each material. The results are shown in the table below. Based on the results, which material E, F, G or H is most suitable for making part X of the spectacles so that the user can see through it most clearly?

Accepted Answer

A. E. Part X is the spectacle lens, which must let the most light through so the user sees clearly. Material E allowed the most light to pass through (5400 units), so it is the most suitable. It is the most transparent.

Question 16

Study the chart below. Which of the following correctly shows animals X, Y and Z?

Accepted Answer

C. X = cockroach, Y = frog, Z = mealworm beetle. X = three-stage life cycle, young look like adult → cockroach (and grasshopper) fit this. Y = three-stage life cycle, young do not look like adult → frog (tadpole does not look like adult). Z = four-stage life cycle → mealworm beetle (or butterfly). Option (3) correctly gives X = cockroach, Y = frog, Z = mealworm beetle.

Question 17

The diagrams below show the different stages in the life cycle of plant M. Which of the following statements are correct? A. Plant M is a non-flowering plant. B. Plant M has a four-stage life cycle. C. Plant M can make its own food at X. D. Z shows the adult stage of the life cycle of plant M.

Accepted Answer

B. C and D only. Plant M has flowers (shown in stage Z), so A is wrong. The life cycle has stages W (seed) → X (young plant with leaves) → Y → Z (adult with flowers and fruits) — four stages, so B is correct. At X the plant already has leaves so it can make food, so C is correct. Z shows the mature flowering plant, the adult stage, so D is correct. Therefore B, C and D only.

Question 18

Study the set-up below. The volume of the air-tight glass container is 50 cm³. Using the air pump, 10 cm³ of air is added into the container. What is the final volume of the air in the glass container?

Accepted Answer

C. 30 cm³. The container is air-tight and has a total volume of 50 cm³. It already contains 20 cm³ of water, so the space available for air is 50 − 20 = 30 cm³. Air takes the shape and volume of its container, so no matter how much extra air is pumped in, the air will still occupy 30 cm³.

Question 19

Water was very quickly poured into a container with a funnel. The diagram below shows water had stopped flowing into the container after some time. Which of the following best explains why the water had stopped flowing?

Accepted Answer

A. The air in the container occupied space.. When water is poured in quickly, air becomes trapped inside the sealed container. Since air occupies space, there is no more room for water to enter, so water stops flowing in.

Question 20

Four objects A, B, C and D have different masses. The diagrams below show the results when two objects are placed on a balance. Based on the results, which of the following shows the correct arrangement of objects from the lightest to the heaviest?

Accepted Answer

A. B, A, C, D (lightest to heaviest). From the three balances: C is heavier than A (C side goes down); D is heavier than C (D side goes down); A is heavier than B (A side goes down). Combining: D > C > A > B. So from lightest to heaviest: B, A, C, D.

Question 21

Two pupils, Ali and Peter, made the following observations about the same part of a plant. Ali: It supports the plant. Peter: It holds the leaves up so that they can get sunlight. Which part, J, K, L or M, of the plant are they observing?

Accepted Answer

C. L. The plant part that supports the plant and holds the leaves up to receive sunlight is the stem. On the diagram L points to the stem of the plant. (J = flower, K = fruit/leaves, L = stem, M = root.)

Question 22

Joanne sets up an experiment to find out if the roots of plants took in water. She wrapped the roots of plants in set-up H and K. She then placed the four plants in containers with the same amount of water as shown in the diagram below. Which of the two set-ups above should she use to conduct the experiment?

Accepted Answer

A. G and H only. For a fair test of whether the roots take in water, the only variable that should differ is the roots being wrapped or not — everything else must be kept the same. G has roots, water and no wrapping; H has roots, water and wrapping. Both G and H have roots and water, differing only in whether the roots are wrapped. So G and H should be used.

Question 23

Jenny observed the growth of a plant. At the end of each day, she recorded her observations in the table below. On which day would the plant be making food?

Accepted Answer

D. Day 8. A plant makes its own food in its leaves by photosynthesis. The table shows the plant first has leaves on Day 8 (3 leaves). Before Day 8 the plant has no leaves and so cannot make food. Therefore the plant makes food on Day 8.

Question 24

P, Q and R represent organs in a human digestive system. The graph below shows the amount of food digested in each organ. Which of the following correctly identifies organs P, Q and R?

Accepted Answer

D. P = small intestine, Q = stomach, R = mouth. The small intestine digests the most food, then the stomach, then the mouth digests the least. The graph shows P (tallest bar) > Q > R (shortest bar). So P = small intestine, Q = stomach, R = mouth.

Question 25

Jason wanted to find out whether the number of coils of wire around a rod affects the strength of an electromagnet. The table below shows the three different set-ups. Which set-ups should he use for his experiment?

Accepted Answer

A. A and C only. For a fair test of the effect of the number of coils on electromagnet strength, only the number of coils should differ — the number of batteries and the material of the rod must be kept the same. Set-ups A (3 batteries, 10 coils, iron) and C (3 batteries, 20 coils, iron) differ only in the number of coils, so A and C should be used.

Question 26

Lingling placed a pin at point X, Y and Z of a bar magnet. The mass of the heaviest pin that can be attracted at the points without dropping is shown in the table below. Which of the following can be concluded from the results? A. The North pole of the magnet is at X. B. The pin is made of a magnetic material. C. The magnetic pull at Y is weaker than the magnetic pull at Z and X.

Accepted Answer

C. B and C only. The pin is attracted to the magnet, so it must be made of a magnetic material (B correct). The heaviest pin held at Y is only 2 g but 5 g at X and Z, so the magnetic pull at Y (middle) is weaker than at X and Z (the poles) (C correct). The results cannot tell us which pole is North or South — X could be either pole — so A is not correct. Therefore B and C only.

Question 27

Study the flowchart below. Which of the following shows the correct animal groups for E, F and G?

Accepted Answer

C. E = mammal, F = bird, G = reptile. From the flowchart: E = does not lay eggs → mammals (give birth to young). F = lays eggs but does not have scales → birds (have feathers, not scales). G = lays eggs and has scales → reptiles. So E = mammal, F = bird, G = reptile.

Question 28

Firemen wear the clothing as shown when they put out fires. Based on the properties shown below, which material, A, B, C or D is most suitable for making the firemen's clothing?

Accepted Answer

C. C (strong, flexible, waterproof, poor conductor of heat). Firemen's clothing must be strong (so it doesn't tear), flexible (so they can move easily), waterproof (so water from hoses doesn't soak through), and a poor conductor of heat (so heat from the fire does not reach the body). Material C has all four required properties.

P4 Science SA2 2023 — Maha Bodhi

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