Question 1

Which statement is true about most mammals?

Accepted Answer

C. They are covered with hair.. Most mammals are characterised by being covered with hair or fur. While some mammals lay eggs (monotremes), have four legs, or can live in water, the universal trait of mammals is hair/fur covering.

Question 2

A, B and C are stages in the life cycle of a plant. Which of the following shows the correct life cycle of the plant?

Accepted Answer

D. A → C → B → A (with arrows). The correct life cycle is seed (A) → seedling (C) → mature plant with flower/fruit (B) → seed (A) again. The plant starts from a seed, germinates into a seedling, grows into a mature plant that produces flowers and seeds, completing the cycle.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

A. make food. Leaves contain chlorophyll and carry out photosynthesis, which is the process by which plants make food using sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. Roots take in water and nutrients; the stem keeps the plant upright.

Question 4

Object A was attracted to a magnet, as shown in the diagram. Object A is made of ____.

Accepted Answer

A. iron. Magnets attract magnetic materials such as iron, steel, nickel and cobalt. Wood, rubber and plastic are non-magnetic materials and would not be attracted to a magnet.

Question 5

The diagram shows a car. Glass is used to make the window because glass can ____.

Accepted Answer

D. allow light to pass through. Glass is transparent, which means it allows light to pass through. This property enables drivers and passengers to see through the window. Glass does not bend easily and does not absorb water.

Question 6

Hot water at 80 °C is mixed with water at 20 °C. What is a possible final temperature of water in the beaker?

Accepted Answer

B. 50 °C. When hot water (80 °C) is mixed with cooler water (20 °C), heat flows from the hotter water to the cooler water until they reach the same temperature. The final temperature will be between 20 °C and 80 °C, so 50 °C is a possible final temperature.

Question 7

Which one of the following is a source of light?

Accepted Answer

C. a candle flame. A source of light gives off its own light. A candle flame produces its own light. The moon and mirror only reflect light from the Sun; an apple does not produce light.

Question 8

Which one of the following properties is true for both air and water?

Accepted Answer

A. They have mass.. Both air (gas) and water (liquid) have mass. Water can be seen but air cannot. Neither has a fixed shape — they take the shape of their containers. Only gases can be compressed; liquids cannot.

Question 9

Which one of the following objects is not made of waterproof material?

Accepted Answer

B. cotton shirt. Cotton is absorbent and not waterproof — it absorbs water rather than repelling it. Metal, rubber and plastic are all waterproof materials that do not allow water to pass through.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

A. object blocks light. A shadow is formed when an opaque object blocks light from reaching a surface. The object prevents light from the lamp from reaching the area of the screen directly behind it, creating a dark area which is the shadow.

Question 11

Which part of the human digestive system contains the most amount of digested food when digestion is completed?

Accepted Answer

C. small intestine. Digestion is completed in the small intestine, where the broken-down food is absorbed into the bloodstream. The small intestine therefore contains the most digested food when digestion is complete. The large intestine deals with undigested food (water absorption).

Question 12

Andy thinks that cooling a magnet will affect the strength of the magnet. What should he do before and after cooling the magnet to make a conclusion?

Accepted Answer

D. Count the number of nails that the magnet can attract.. The strength of a magnet can be measured by the number of magnetic objects (e.g., nails) it can attract. By counting nails attracted before and after cooling, Andy can compare and conclude whether cooling affects magnet strength. Mass, colour and temperature do not measure magnetic strength.

Question 13

Study the growth of the plant below. The plant is able to reproduce at stage ____.

Accepted Answer

D. D. A plant can reproduce only when it produces flowers and fruits/seeds. Stage D shows the mature plant with fruits (tomatoes), meaning it has produced flowers and seeds and is therefore able to reproduce.

Question 14

Alex felt cold in his room. He wrapped himself with a blanket to keep himself warm. Which of the following is the heat source that helps to keep himself warm?

Accepted Answer

B. his body. Alex's own body is the heat source. The blanket is an insulator that traps the heat from his body and prevents heat loss to the surrounding cooler air. The blanket itself does not produce heat.

Question 15

Three boxes, A, B and C, of the same size are weighed using a balance as shown. Arrange the box starting with the greatest mass.

Accepted Answer

B. B, C, A. From the balances: C is heavier than A, B is heavier than C, and B is heavier than A. So in order from greatest to smallest mass: B > C > A.

Question 16

In an experiment, two plants, P and Q, were each put into a beaker containing 100 ml of water. The table below shows the amount of water left in the beaker after three days. [Table: Plant P = 80 ml left, Plant Q = 90 ml left] Which of the following statements below is a correct conclusion of the experiment?

Accepted Answer

C. Plant P absorbed more water than Plant Q through its roots.. Plant P had 100 − 80 = 20 ml absorbed, while Plant Q had 100 − 90 = 10 ml absorbed. Plant P absorbed more water than Plant Q. Plants absorb water through their roots.

Question 17

Colin used a bar magnet to attract some nails. He counted the number of nails attracted to different parts of the magnet, A, B, C and D, and plotted his results in the graph below. Which parts are the poles of the magnet?

Accepted Answer

C. B and C. The poles of a magnet are the strongest parts and attract the most magnetic objects. From the graph, parts B and C attracted the most nails, so they are the poles of the magnet.

Question 18

The graph shows the number of days of each stage in the life cycle of animal X. Based on the graph, which of the following statements about animal X is correct?

Accepted Answer

D. Animal X spends 28 days in the larval and pupal stage after it hatches.. Animal X has a four-stage life cycle (egg, larva, pupa, adult). After hatching from the egg, it spends 8 days as larva + 20 days as pupa = 28 days in the larval and pupal stages combined.

Question 19

The diagram shows plant Z growing on the trunk of a tree. Which of the following statements are correct? A. Plant Z has a weak stem. B. Plant Z uses the trunk of the tree for support. C. Plant Z has a thick and woody stem.

Accepted Answer

A. A and B only. Plants that climb on other plants have weak stems (so cannot stand on their own) and use other plants for support. A thick and woody stem (C) would make a plant strong enough to stand on its own, so C is incorrect. Only A and B are correct.

Question 20

Ravi wants to conduct an experiment to find out which material conducts heat the best. He started the experiment with the set-up as shown. Which variables must be kept the same in order to conduct a fair test? A. Location of experiment B. Thickness of container C. Material wrapped around the container D. Temperature of water at first

Accepted Answer

C. A, B and D only. To find out which material conducts heat best, the material wrapped around the container is the variable being tested (the independent variable), so it must be CHANGED, not kept the same. Location, thickness of container and starting temperature of water must be kept the same to ensure a fair test.

Question 21

Three magnets AB, CD, EF and an iron bar PQ are arranged as shown. Which one of the following arrangements is not possible?

Accepted Answer

D. Arrangement with C-E-F-P top, A-B-Q middle, D bottom. For magnets to attract each other and connect end-to-end, opposite poles must face each other. The arrangement that places like poles next to each other (causing repulsion) is not possible. Option 4 has an arrangement where like poles would be forced together, making it impossible.

Question 22

The diagram shows a boy wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle to prevent injury. Which organ system in the human body performs a similar function as the helmet?

Accepted Answer

A. skeletal system. A helmet protects the head/brain from injury. The skeletal system (bones, including the skull) protects vital organs such as the brain and heart. Therefore, the skeletal system performs a similar protective function as the helmet.

Question 23

A boy reads a book in his room. Which of the following explains why he can read the book?

Accepted Answer

A. Light is reflected from the book to his eyes.. We see objects when light from a source bounces off the object and enters our eyes. Light from the lamp shines on the book, and the book reflects this light to the boy's eyes, allowing him to see/read it.

Question 24

The diagram shows the shadow of a tree. At what time of the day would the shadow of the tree be the longest?

Accepted Answer

D. 6 p.m.. Shadows are longest when the Sun is lowest in the sky (closest to the horizon). At 6 p.m., the Sun is near setting, so its rays hit objects at a very low angle, producing the longest shadows. At noon, the Sun is highest and shadows are shortest.

Question 25

A balloon is tied to a rock on the beach and left there under the sun at noon. Which of the following shows the change in mass and volume of the balloon after 30 minutes?

Accepted Answer

C. mass: remained the same, volume: increased. Under the sun, the air inside the balloon gains heat and expands, causing the balloon's volume to increase. However, no new air is added or removed (the balloon is sealed), so the mass remains the same.

Question 26

Julie filled a beaker with two substances, P and Q, as shown in Diagram 1. She then placed the beaker on a wooden wedge as shown in Diagram 2. What states are substances P and Q in?

Accepted Answer

C. P: liquid, Q: solid. In Diagram 2, when the beaker is tilted, P's surface remains horizontal (level) — this is a property of liquids. Q kept its original shape (did not flow when tilted) — this is a property of solids. So P is a liquid and Q is a solid.

Question 27

Three objects, A, B and C, were placed in a straight line at positions X, Y or Z, between a screen and a light source. Which of the following correctly shows the position of objects A, B and C in order to produce the shadow above?

Accepted Answer

B. X: B, Y: C, Z: A. Objects closer to the light source cast larger shadows. The triangle's point appears small at top (so B is farthest from screen = closest to torch, at X). The ring's hole is visible (C in middle, at Y, large enough to show its hole). The solid circle (A) is closest to the screen (at Z), so its shadow is smaller and forms the central solid part.

Question 28

Betty shone a lit torch on three different types of paper, A, B, and C, and measured the amount of light passing through each using a light sensor for 10 seconds. Her observations are shown in the table. [Table: Paper A = Very little light, Paper B = Some light, Paper C = Most light] Which graph shows her results correctly?

Accepted Answer

A. Horizontal lines (constant over time) with C highest, B middle, A lowest. The amount of light passing through each paper is constant over the 10 seconds — the torch shines steadily. Paper C lets the most light through (highest constant line), Paper B lets some through (middle), and Paper A lets very little through (lowest). All three are horizontal/constant lines at different heights.

Question 29

Diane tried to open a jam jar with a tight metal lid and she found it hard to do so. What could Diane do to open the metal lid without breaking the jar?

Accepted Answer

B. Heat only the metal lid. Heating only the metal lid causes the metal to expand more than the glass jar, loosening the lid so it can be twisted off. Heating the glass jar could cause it to crack. Cooling the metal would make it contract and grip tighter.

Question 30

Adrian placed an ice cube at one end of a rod made of material S. He recorded the time taken for the temperature at point 'X' on the rod to drop by 5 °C. He repeated the experiment using another rod of the same size and thickness but made of material T. His results are shown below. [Table: Material S = 25 s, Material T = 60 s] Adrian wanted to pack hot food and cold drinks in containers so that their temperatures would stay unchanged for the longest possible time. Based on the results, which material(s) would be most suitable for making the containers?

Accepted Answer

D. hot food: T, cold drinks: T. Material T took longer (60 s) for heat to travel through, meaning T is a poorer conductor (better insulator) than S. A poor conductor/good insulator is best for keeping temperatures unchanged — it prevents heat gain (for cold drinks) and heat loss (for hot food). So T is suitable for both.

P4 Science SA2 2025 — Methodist Girls

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