Question 1

Which of the following is a living thing?

Accepted Answer

A. frog. A frog is a living thing because it has all the characteristics of living things — it grows, reproduces, responds to stimuli, needs food, air and water. The spectacles, cup and book are non-living objects.

Question 2

The diagram below shows a plant. The roots help the plant to ________.

Accepted Answer

C. absorb water. The main function of roots is to absorb water and mineral salts from the soil. Leaves make food (photosynthesis), the stem helps the plant grow upright, and leaves absorb sunlight.

Question 3

Which organ system is shown in the diagram below?

Accepted Answer

D. respiratory system. The diagram shows the respiratory system — the lungs and airways branching through the chest cavity that bring oxygen into the body and remove carbon dioxide.

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

D. young plant. The life cycle of a flowering plant follows seed → young plant (seedling) → adult plant → seed. Stage Q comes after the seed and before the adult plant, so it is the young plant. 'Nymph' is part of an insect life cycle, not a plant's.

Question 5

Which animal has a larval stage in its life cycle?

Accepted Answer

C. butterfly. Butterflies undergo complete metamorphosis: egg → larva (caterpillar) → pupa → adult. Frogs have a tadpole stage, chickens go egg → chick → adult, and grasshoppers have a nymph (not larval) stage.

Question 6

The diagram shows a car. Glass is used to make part Q because glass ________.

Accepted Answer

D. allows most light to pass through. Part Q is the windscreen / window of the car. Glass is chosen because it is transparent — it allows most light to pass through so the driver can see clearly through it.

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

B. It will not move.. Plastic is a non-magnetic material, so it is not attracted by a magnet. The plastic block will remain stationary.

Question 8

Matter is anything that has mass and occupies space. Which of the following is a matter?

Accepted Answer

A. air. Air is a gas — it has mass and occupies space, so it is matter. Heat, music (sound) and a shadow are forms of energy or the absence of light; they have no mass and do not occupy space.

Question 9

The set-up below shows light shining on a wooden ball. Which one of the following would likely be seen on the screen?

Accepted Answer

C. A black circle in the centre of a white square.. The wooden ball is opaque, so it blocks the light and forms a shadow on the screen. The shadow takes the shape of the object (a circle / round shape) and appears dark on the lit (white) screen.

Question 10

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

Accepted Answer

A. a blanket. A blanket does not produce heat — it only traps body heat. A lighted bulb, a candle flame and a switched-on kettle with boiling water all give out heat, so they are sources of heat.

Question 11

Larry observed the growth of an animal and recorded his observations in the table below. Based only on the information in the table above, which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

D. The animal spends more time as a larva than an egg.. From the table: egg was laid on 5 June and hatched on 8 June (3 days as egg); larva from 8 June to 15 June (7 days). The animal spent 7 days as a larva versus 3 days as an egg, so it spent more time as a larva than an egg.

Question 12

Joe placed four slices of bread in identical plastic bags and placed them in two different locations. At the end of five days, mould was observed on the bread in set-ups B, C and D as shown below. Based on the results of the experiment, which of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

B. Mould grows the best when there is warmth and moisture.. Mould was found on the moist bread in the dark cupboard (D — warm and wet) and on the moistened bread in the fridge (B), as well as the dry bread in the dark cupboard (C). The best growth condition combines warmth (room temperature) with moisture, which is set-up D. Mould grows best where there is warmth AND moisture.

Question 13

The graph below shows the number of animal B kept in a tank over 12 months. Five animal B were put into the tank in January. No animal B was added into the tank after that. Based on the graph above, what can you conclude about animal B? X – Animal B reproduced during the 12 months. Y – There is enough food and water for animal B. Z – The height of animal B increases every 4 months.

Accepted Answer

C. X and Y only. The number of animal B increased from 5 to ~20 although none were added, so animal B reproduced (X true). For them to survive and reproduce, there must have been enough food and water (Y true). Z is false because the graph shows the NUMBER of animals, not their height.

Question 14

Mary prepared the following set-ups to find out if plants take in water through their roots. The roots of the plants in set-up Q and S were tied in air-tight plastic bags at the start of the experiment before putting into the container of water. Each set-up had the same amount of water. Which of the two set-ups above should she choose to conduct a fair test?

Accepted Answer

A. P and Q. To test whether roots absorb water, the only variable that should change between set-ups is whether the roots are exposed to water or blocked. Set-ups P (uncovered, roots in water) and Q (uncovered top, roots tied in plastic bag) differ only in whether roots can access water. The other set-ups also change the cover above the plant, introducing a second variable.

Question 15

Study the classification chart below. What are A, B, C and D?

Accepted Answer

D. A=lungs, B=rib cage, C=heart, D=large intestine. A — carries out gas exchange = lungs. B — protects heart and lungs = rib cage. C — pumps blood around the body = heart. D — absorbs water from undigested food = large intestine.

Question 16

Andy ate some food during his dinner. Which line in the graph above, S, T, U or V, correctly represents the amount of undigested food as it passes through his digestive system?

Accepted Answer

B. T. Digestion begins in the mouth and continues through the gullet, stomach and small intestine, where most food is broken down and absorbed. In the large intestine, only water (not food) is absorbed. So the amount of undigested food decreases gradually through the digestive tract and stays nearly constant in the large intestine. Line T shows this pattern — gradual decrease, levelling off in the large intestine, but not reaching zero.

Question 17

Ronny wanted to find out which material, W, X or Y, is the most suitable material to make a cup. He dipped material W into a beaker containing 200ml of water for 5 minutes before removing it as shown in the diagram below. He then measured the amount of water left in the beaker and recorded it in the table below. Ronny repeated the experiment with materials X and Y. Based on the results above, which material(s) should Ronny choose to make the cup?

Accepted Answer

D. None of the materials. A cup must hold water without allowing it to seep in or out. W absorbed 200 − 134 = 66 ml of water; X absorbed 11 ml; Y absorbed all 200 ml. All three materials absorbed water, so none is waterproof and none is suitable to make a cup.

Question 18

The diagram below shows a compass. Which of the following shows the correct materials used to make parts F and G of the compass?

Accepted Answer

A. F=glass, G=metal. F (the cover over the dial) must allow the user to see the needle, so it should be transparent — glass works. G (the magnetic needle) must be a magnetic material that points to magnetic north, so it must be made of metal (e.g. iron / steel). Rubber, wood and plastic are non-magnetic.

Question 19

The diagram below shows a game. The game is to make use of object X to pick up object Y, which is attached to a paper fish. Which of the following could represent what objects X and Y are?

Accepted Answer

C. A and B only. To pick up object Y by attraction, X must be a magnet. Y can be either another magnet (opposite poles attract, A) or a magnetic material (B), both of which a magnet can attract. If X is a magnetic material (C), it cannot attract Y on its own — two magnetic materials do not attract each other.

Question 20

Elijah performed an experiment to find out how the number of turns of wire round an iron nail would affect the strength of the electromagnet. Which two of the above set-ups did he use to perform a fair test?

Accepted Answer

D. C and D. For a fair test, only the number of turns of wire should differ between set-ups; the number of batteries (current) must be the same. Set-ups C and D both have the same number of batteries (two batteries) but a different number of turns of wire round the nail, so they form the correct fair test.

Question 21

Study the diagram below. The pans are balanced because object X and object Y have the same ________.

Accepted Answer

A. mass. A pan balance compares masses. When both pans are level, the objects have the same mass. Length, shape and volume do not have to be equal for a balance to be level.

Question 22

The diagram below shows a water dispenser with an empty tank with a volume of 1000 cm³. Which of the following can be filled into the empty tank? A – 1000 cm³ of air. B – 900 cm³ of air and 100 cm³ of water. C – 1000 cm³ of air and 100 cm³ of water. D – 1000 cm³ of water and 100 cm³ of air.

Accepted Answer

C. A, B and C only. The tank holds 1000 cm³. A fills it with 1000 cm³ air (fits exactly). B has 900+100 = 1000 cm³ total (fits). C — 100 cm³ of water displaces 100 cm³ of air; air can escape or be compressed, so the remaining 900 cm³ of air plus 100 cm³ of water = 1000 cm³ (fits). D — water cannot be compressed, so 1000 cm³ of water already fills the tank with no room for the extra 100 cm³ of air. So A, B and C only.

Question 23

Study the diagram below. A, B, C and D each represents either an object, a light source and the eyes of two observers. The arrows indicate the path of light reflected by an object from the light source into the eyes of two observers. Which of the following correctly represents the object that reflects light?

Accepted Answer

B. B. Light travels from the light source (A) to the object (B), which reflects light into the eyes of the two observers (C and D). The arrows entering B from A and leaving B towards C and D identify B as the object reflecting the light.

Question 24

The diagram below shows four pieces of chicken meat, A, B, C and D being cooked on a barbecue pit with burning charcoal. Which of the following shows the correct order in which the meat will be cooked from the fastest to the slowest?

Accepted Answer

D. D, B, A, C. The meat closest to the burning charcoal receives the most heat and cooks fastest; the meat furthest away cooks slowest. Based on the positions on the grill — D is closest to the charcoal, then B, then A, and C is furthest away — so the order is D, B, A, C.

Question 25

Carrie made a periscope using mirrors. Which property/properties of light enable Carrie to see object Q? A – Light travels in a straight line. B – Light can be reflected by a mirror. C – A shadow is formed when light is blocked.

Accepted Answer

B. A and B only. A periscope works because light from object Q travels in a straight line to the top mirror, is reflected down to the bottom mirror, and is reflected again into the eye — using both 'light travels in a straight line' (A) and 'light can be reflected by a mirror' (B). Shadow formation (C) is not involved in seeing the object.

Question 26

Tom investigated the amount of light passing through an object in a dark room and recorded the results in the table below. The amount of light detected on his third attempt was different from the other attempts. What could be the possible reason(s)? A – The torch was switched off. B – The battery in the torch has weakened. C – The light sensor was moved further away from the object.

Accepted Answer

D. B and C only. On attempts 1 and 2, the sensor read 800 units; on attempt 3, it read 300 units (lower, but not zero). A is wrong — if the torch were off, the sensor would read 0 units, not 300. A weakened battery (B) would produce a dimmer light, reducing the reading. Moving the sensor further from the object (C) would also reduce the amount of light detected. So B and C only.

Question 27

Jialing wanted to remove a metal cover fitted to the glass container, but she was not able to do so. Which of the following arrangements would allow her to easily remove the metal cover using only a basin of hot water?

Accepted Answer

B. Glass container inverted with only the metal cover submerged in hot water.. Heating only the metal cover causes it to gain heat and expand, loosening it from the glass so it can be removed. If the glass also gets heated, both expand and the cover does not loosen. The arrangement where only the metal cover is in contact with the hot water (jar inverted with the cover submerged) is the correct one.

Question 28

Timmy set up an experiment shown below. He connected two identical bottles using a glass tube which contained a drop of ink. Then, he placed one bottle in container X and the other bottle in container Y. Both containers, X and Y, contained equal amount of water at different temperatures. Which of the following would show the correct observation with different temperatures of water in containers X and Y respectively?

Accepted Answer

D. X=80°C, Y=30°C, ink moves right.. When water around bottle X is hotter (80°C), the air in bottle X gains heat and expands. The expanding air pushes the ink along the glass tube away from X — i.e. towards Y (to the right). Equal-temperature water (A) would cause no movement, and option C points the wrong direction.

P4 Science SA2 2023 — Nan Hua

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