P4 Science SA2 2020 — Methodist Girls | Singapore Past Year Paper

Q: Which one of the animals shown below is NOT an insect?

3. (a scorpion). Insects have 3 body parts and 6 legs. The scorpion (option 3) is an arachnid with 8 legs and is not an insect. The cricket, grasshopper and ladybird beetle are all insects.

Q: Karen kept 2 adult hamsters as pets in a cage. A month later, she noticed that there were 4 more baby hamsters. This shows that the hamster is a living thing because it can ____.

4. reproduce. The appearance of baby hamsters shows the adults produced young, which is reproduction — a characteristic of living things.

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

1. make food. Leaves carry out photosynthesis to make food for the plant. Water and minerals are absorbed by the roots.

Q: David made the following observations on the life cycle of an animal. • There are four stages in the life cycle. • The young does not look like the adult. Which animal did David observe?

2. butterfly. A butterfly has a 4-stage life cycle (egg, larva, pupa, adult) and the young (caterpillar) does not resemble the adult. Chicken has 3 stages; cockroach and grasshopper have 3 stages with young resembling the adult.

Q: Which one of the following properties is true for both air and an ice cube?

2. They take up space.. Air (a gas) and an ice cube (a solid) both have mass and take up space (have volume). Air cannot be seen and has no fixed shape or volume; an ice cube has a fixed shape, so the only common property is that they take up space.

Q: Mei placed four similar oranges in set-ups A, B, C and D at room temperature as shown below. In which set-up, A, B, C or D would mould first appear on the orange?

3. Set-up C. Mould needs moisture, air (oxygen) and warmth to grow. Set-up C provides water (moisture) and air through the wire mesh, giving the best conditions, so mould appears first. A removes moisture, B removes oxygen, D adds heat/dryness from a lit lamp.

Q: The diagram below shows a magnet brought near to a plastic block. What will happen to the plastic block?

2. It will not move.. Plastic is a non-magnetic material, so it is not attracted to the magnet and will not move.

Q: Diane is able to see the mug when the lamp is switched on. Which one of the following diagrams correctly shows how light travels for Diane to see the mug?

4. (light arrow from lamp to mug, then mug to Diane's eye). Light travels from the lamp to the mug, is reflected off the mug, and travels to Diane's eye for her to see it. Diagram 4 correctly shows light going lamp → mug → eye.

Q: Nancy used an electric iron to iron her clothes as shown below. She is able to hold the electric iron using the plastic handle because plastic is a ____.

3. poor conductor of heat. Plastic is a poor conductor of heat (a heat insulator), so it does not allow heat from the hot iron to pass to Nancy's hand, letting her hold it safely.

Q: Study the diagram below. Both objects have the same ____ for the weighing scale to be balanced.

2. mass. A balance compares mass. When the two pans are level, the objects have equal mass, even though their sizes, shapes and volumes differ.

Q1 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Which one of the animals shown below is NOT an insect?

Q2 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Karen kept 2 adult hamsters as pets in a cage. A month later, she noticed that there were 4 more baby hamsters. This shows that the hamster is a living thing because it can ____.

Q3 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

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

Q4 MCQ 2 marks

David made the following observations on the life cycle of an animal. • There are four stages in the life cycle. • The young does not look like the adult. Which animal did David observe?

Q5 MCQ 2 marks

Which one of the following properties is true for both air and an ice cube?

Q6 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Mei placed four similar oranges in set-ups A, B, C and D at room temperature as shown below. In which set-up, A, B, C or D would mould first appear on the orange?

Q7 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

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

Q8 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Diane is able to see the mug when the lamp is switched on. Which one of the following diagrams correctly shows how light travels for Diane to see the mug?

Q9 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Nancy used an electric iron to iron her clothes as shown below. She is able to hold the electric iron using the plastic handle because plastic is a ____.

Q10 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Study the diagram below. Both objects have the same ____ for the weighing scale to be balanced.

Q11 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Study the classification chart below. The diagram below shows animals R and S. Which group, A, B, C or D, do animals R and S belong to?

Q12 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

The set-up below shows light from a torch shining on a wooden ball. Which shadow below is likely to be seen on the screen?

Q13 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Alice filled up the container below with 80 cm³ of oil and 40 cm³ of air. She then removed 10 cm³ of oil through Tap A and pumped in another 20 cm³ of air through Tap B. What is the volume of air in the container now?

Q14 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

In the experiment below, a drop of red ink is placed in the glass tube connecting two flasks, A and B. Each flask is placed in a basin of water. Which arrangement will make the drop of red ink move towards B the fastest?

Q15 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Tania dropped some ice cubes into a glass of hot chocolate and observed that the ice cubes started to melt. Tania's observation showed that the ____.

Q16 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

A cup is placed in the middle of a dark room. A torch is shone from position X first. Next, the torch is shone at position Y. The handle of the cup is facing the torch at position X. The shadows are cast onto the walls, S and T, one at a time. Which diagram below correctly shows the shadows cast onto each wall?

Q17 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Four thumbtacks were fixed at positions A, B, C and D on a metal ring using the same amount of wax. The metal ring was heated at one of the positions, W, X, Y or Z and the time taken for each thumbtack to drop was recorded in the table below. At which position was the metal ring heated?

Q18 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Shatiqah poured some water into two pots, X and Y. The pots were of the same size but made of different materials. Pot X contained 600 ml of water and pot Y contained 300 ml of water. Both pots were heated over a flame until the water boiled. Shatiqah observed that the water in both pots took the same amount of time to reach 100°C. Which of the statements below could be possible explanations for her observation? A The flame used for pot Y was stronger. B Pot X is made of a material that conducts heat faster. C The temperature of the water in pot X was higher at the start of the experiment.

Q19 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Alex wanted to find out if the type of nails used would affect the strength of an electromagnet. He prepared two set-ups as shown below but made some mistakes. Which of the following actions would help Alex correct the mistakes made in his set-ups? P Use a 5 cm steel nail in set-up B. Q Add one more battery to each set-up. R Increase the number of coils of wire in both set-ups. S Use the same number of batteries for both set-up A and set-up B.

Q20 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Devi conducted several tests on four materials, A, B, C and D. Her results are shown in the table below. Based on Devi's results, which of the following correctly identify materials A, B, C and D?

Q21 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Study the flow chart below. Which of the following is correct?

Q22 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Rahim filled a 500 cm³ container with some water. The amount of water and air in the container was both at 250 cm³. He then pumped 100 cm³ more air into the container as shown in the diagram below. Which of the following correctly describes what would happen to the volume of air and water in the container?

Q23 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Sonya carried out an experiment in a dark room. Sheets A, B, C and D are arranged in a straight line. Sheet B has a shape cut out from its center. When the torch was switched on, a bright moon-shaped patch of light could be seen on sheet C. Which of the following correctly describes the properties of the materials used to make sheets A, B, C and D?

Q24 MCQ 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Study the flow chart below. Which of the following animals can be represented by A, B and C?

Q25 Open-ended 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Look at the watch as shown below. (a) Part A is made of glass because it allows ____ to pass through so that the user can read the time. [1] (b) The material used to make part B has to be ____ so that the user can wear the watch around his wrist. [1]

Q26 Open-ended 2 marks 🖼 Visual

The diagram below shows the human digestive system with parts labelled W, X, Y and Z. Identify the part where (a) digestion first takes place : ____ [1] (b) there is no digestion : ____ [1]

Q27 Open-ended 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Ben placed two ring magnets, X and Y, through a holder as shown below. (a) The holder was made of plastic and did not attract the magnets. Plastic is a ____ material. [1] (b) Why was magnet X floating above magnet Y? Magnet Y was ____ magnet X. [1]

Q28 Open-ended 2 marks 🖼 Visual

The diagram below shows the stages in the life cycle of a plant. Choose the correct words from the box to answer the question below. [ egg seed young plant adult plant ] Name stages A and C in the life cycle of the plant. A: ____ [1] C: ____ [1]

Q29 Open-ended 2 marks 🖼 Visual

The diagram below shows the life cycle of a mosquito and a ladybird beetle. (a) State one difference between the life cycles of a mosquito and a ladybird beetle. [1] (b) Why does the ladybird beetle lay its eggs on the leaves? [1]

Q30 Structured 4 marks 🖼 Visual

Nancy poured equal amounts of hot water into two glass cups, G and H. They were left at room temperature of 30°C. Cup H has air in between layers of glass. Nancy recorded the temperature of the water in both glass cups at the start of the experiment and after 15 minutes in the table below (G: start 90°C, after 15 min 45°C; H: start 90°C, after 15 min 64°C). (a) Why did the temperature of the hot water decrease in both glass cups G and H after 15 minutes? [1] (b) Nancy observed that the temperatures of water in both glass cups G and H were different after 15 minutes. Explain her observation. [2] (c) If Nancy used metal cups instead of the glass cups for the experiment, would the decrease in temperature be faster, slower, or the same? Explain your answer. [1]

Q31 Structured 4 marks 🖼 Visual

Rajan used a pair of tongs to hold a rod made of two different types of materials over a bunsen burner. Two identical nails, A and B, were attached to the ends of the rod with the same amount of wax as shown below. Rajan heated the rod with a lit bunsen burner. He recorded the time taken for each nail to drop off from the rod (Nail A: 5 minutes; Nail B: 2 minutes). (a) Explain why the time taken for nail A to drop is longer than nail B. [2] (b) Based on the results from the table, is plastic or metal a better choice for making the base of a frying pan? Explain your answer. [2]

Q32 Structured 2 marks 🖼 Visual

The diagram below shows the layout for a shadow performance. Suyash had two toys of the same height. He created the following shadows with his toys as shown below (toy A produced a large shadow, toy B produced a smaller shadow). (a) Write the number to show the position of each toy. [1] (i) Position of toy A: ____ (ii) Position of toy B: ____ (b) Explain your answer in (a)(i). [1]

Q33 Structured 2 marks 🖼 Visual

Sulynn used object P in the set-up below to conduct an experiment. She used a light sensor to measure the amount of light on a fixed screen. She changed the position of the torch in the set-up and recorded her results at each position as shown in the table below (Light sensor reading 70 units → shadow 4 cm; 130 → 9 cm; 200 → 16 cm; 270 → 19 cm). (a) Based on the table above, what did Sulynn do to achieve the above results? [1] (b) Explain how the change Sulynn had made in (a) would cause the light sensor reading to increase. [1]

Q34 Structured 4 marks 🖼 Visual

James set up an experiment as shown below. He placed ink drops in the same position in two identical glass tubes, and inserted them into identical flasks, P and Q, containing only air. He then placed flask P into a container of hot water, and flask Q into a container of ice cubes. (a) What would he observe about the ink drops in both flasks? [1] Flask P: ____ Flask Q: ____ (b) Explain his observation of the ink drop in flask Q. [1] After three hours, James used an instrument to measure the temperature of water in the container with flask P. (c) What is the instrument called? [1] (d) What is the temperature of the water in the glass? [1] ____ °C

Q35 Structured 3 marks 🖼 Visual

Shayna had an empty glass jar with a metal lid that was tightly fitted onto it. She placed the lid in boiling water for one minute. (a) After a while, she found it easier to remove the lid. Explain why. [2] A metal bridge has gaps at both ends as shown below. (b) Explain why there are gaps on the bridge. [1]

Q36 Structured 3 marks 🖼 Visual

Jimmy put a toy soldier into a submarine made of clear plastic. There were two holes, A and B, on the submarine. When he pushed the submarine into a tank of water, the toy soldier floated upwards and bubbles were seen coming out from hole A. (a) Explain why bubbles could be seen coming out from hole A when the submarine was pushed into the water. [1] When the submarine was pushed deeper into the water, the toy soldier rose and blocked hole A completely. Jimmy observed that the water level in the submarine stopped rising. (b) Give an explanation for Jimmy's observation. [2]

P4 Science SA2 2020 — Methodist Girls

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