Question 1

Four pupils recorded their observations of an animal they saw at the Singapore Zoo.
Ali: Its body is covered with hair.
Betty: It reproduces by laying eggs.
Chen Bin: Its young resembles the adult.
Danny: It moves by swimming and hopping.
Who gave the correct observations about the animal shown?

Accepted Answer

B. Ali and Chen Bin only. The animal shown is a gibbon (a mammal) carrying its young. Mammals have hair-covered bodies (Ali correct) and their young resemble the adult (Chen Bin correct). Mammals give birth to live young, so Betty (lays eggs) is wrong, and a gibbon does not move by swimming and hopping, so Danny is wrong.

Question 2

The diagram below shows parts of a human digestive system. In which parts, A, B, C, D and E, are digestive juices found?

Accepted Answer

B. A, C and D only. Digestive juices are found in the mouth (A), the stomach (C) and the small intestine (D). B points to the oesophagus and E to the large intestine, which do not produce digestive juices.

Question 3

The diagrams below show the life cycles of 2 animals (a beetle and a butterfly: egg → larva → pupa → adult). Which of the following statements about the life cycles of the animals are correct?
A: Both give birth to young alive.
B: Both their young do not resemble the adult.
C: The young will only become insects at the adult stage.
D: The pupa does not eat before reaching the adult stage.

Accepted Answer

B. B and D only. Both the beetle and butterfly undergo complete metamorphosis: their young (larvae) do not resemble the adult (B correct) and the pupa does not feed before becoming an adult (D correct). A is wrong because both lay eggs. C is wrong because they are insects at every stage of their life cycle.

Question 4

Susan conducted an experiment to find out whether the presence of oxygen would affect the growth of seeds. She placed a few seeds in each of the four containers. The table shows the amount of water used to water the plants each day and which containers received oxygen and sunlight. Which two containers should she use if she wants to find out whether the presence of oxygen would affect the growth of seeds?

Accepted Answer

D. B and D only. To test the effect of oxygen, only the presence of oxygen should differ while all other variables stay the same. Containers B and D both receive 10 ml of water and sunlight, but B has no oxygen while D has oxygen, making them the correct fair comparison.

Question 5

Study the diagram of a flower. An arrow labelled Process A points to the centre of the flower and an arrow labelled Process B points downward from the ovary. A box states: The ovary develops into part X; The ovule develops into part Y. Which of the following could processes A and B and parts X and Y be?

Accepted Answer

D. A: pollination, B: fertilisation, X: fruit, Y: seed. Process A is the transfer of pollen to the stigma (pollination), and Process B that follows is fertilisation. After fertilisation, the ovary develops into the fruit (X) and the ovule develops into the seed (Y).

Question 6

John wanted to find out if the colour of the petals has an effect on the number of pollinators attracted to the flower. He had the following flowers (table of flowers A–F with petal colour and characteristics). Which of the flowers should John use to conduct his investigation?

Accepted Answer

A. A and B only. To test only the effect of petal colour, all other characteristics must be identical and only the colour different. Flowers A (pink) and B (white) both have the same characteristic 'anther within the flower', so only petal colour differs between them.

Question 7

The diagram below shows the male and female reproductive systems. In which parts of the reproductive systems are the reproductive cells produced?

Accepted Answer

D. B and Q only. Reproductive cells are produced in the testis (male) and the ovary (female). B labels the testis and Q labels the ovary, where sperm and egg cells are produced respectively. A is the sperm duct and P is the oviduct/fallopian tube.

Question 8

Some pupils were asked to find out if a plant takes in water through its roots. The set-up (a plant in a beaker with 400 ml of water and a layer of oil on top) was left in an open area for a few days. Which of the following should the pupils use as the control set-up for the experiment?

Accepted Answer

C. A plant in a beaker of 400 ml of water with a layer of oil. The experimental set-up has a plant in 400 ml of water with oil on top to prevent evaporation. The control must be identical in every way except the variable being tested. Option (3) — a plant in 400 ml of water with oil — is identical to the set-up shown and serves as the comparison; any water loss is then attributable to the plant taking in water through its roots.

Question 9

The diagram below shows how some substances are transported in the human body. Boxes are labelled System A, Body system, System B and other body parts, with arrows carrying 'substance M', 'substance N and digested food', 'digested food', and 'substance M and digested food'. Which one of the following correctly identifies substances M and N, and Systems A and B?

Accepted Answer

D. M: Oxygen, N: Carbon dioxide, System A: Respiratory, System B: Circulatory. System A (respiratory) supplies oxygen (substance M) to System B (circulatory), which carries carbon dioxide (substance N) and digested food. The circulatory system (System B) distributes oxygen and digested food to other body parts and returns carbon dioxide to the respiratory system.

Question 10

The diagram below shows a plant cell with a part labelled X (the outer boundary of the cell). Which one of the following statements is correct about X?

Accepted Answer

A. It enables the cell to keep its shape.. X points to the cell wall of the plant cell. The cell wall gives the plant cell a fixed, regular shape and provides support. It is fully permeable, so it does not prevent substances entering or leaving, and it does not trap light energy (that is the chloroplast).

Question 11

The diagram below shows a certain process that takes place in green plants. Substance E and substance F are taken in; substance G is made during the process and substance H is given out; the process happens in the presence of energy T. Which one of the following correctly identifies substances E, F, G and H?

Accepted Answer

C. E: Carbon dioxide, F: Water, G: Food, H: Oxygen, Energy T: Light. The process is photosynthesis. Plants take in carbon dioxide (E) and water (F) in the presence of light energy (T) to make food/glucose (G) and give out oxygen (H).

Question 12

The following relationships were observed among four living things J, K, L and M.
J feeds on L.
M feeds on J.
L gets its food from K.
M feeds on L but does not feed on K.
Which one of the following identifies J, K, L and M correctly?

Accepted Answer

C. Food producer: K, Prey: L, Prey and predator: J, Predator: M. L gets its food from K, so K makes its own food (food producer) and L is eaten by J (so L is prey). J feeds on L and is in turn eaten by M, making J both prey and predator. M feeds on J and L but is not eaten, making M the top predator.

Question 13

The statements below are about the adaptations of some animals.
A: Wolf hunts in groups.
B: Grizzly bear eats a lot before hibernation.
C: Polar bear has thick fur coat to keep warm.
D: Fish uses gills to help them breathe in water.
Which of the following shows how the above adaptations can be classified?

Accepted Answer

A. Behavioural: A, B; Structural: C, D. Behavioural adaptations are actions/behaviours: hunting in groups (A) and eating a lot before hibernation (B). Structural adaptations are physical body features: a thick fur coat (C) and gills (D).

Question 14

The statements below describe a field habitat and a tree habitat. Which one of them is not correct?

Accepted Answer

D. The tree habitat experiences greater temperature changes than the field habitat.. The field habitat is exposed and experiences greater temperature changes, while the tree habitat is shaded and more stable in temperature. So statement D is incorrect — it is the field habitat, not the tree habitat, that experiences greater temperature changes.

Question 15

The food web shows the relationships between organisms V, W, X, Y and Z in a pond (V is eaten by W and X; W and X are both eaten by Y; Y is eaten by Z). The whole population of Y died out due to water pollution. Which one of the following correctly shows what would first happen to the populations of the other organisms after all of Y died?

Accepted Answer

B. W: Increase. Y feeds on W and X. When Y dies out, fewer W and X are eaten, so their populations first increase (B correct). V, eaten by W and X, would decrease; Z, which feeds on Y, would decrease as its food is gone.

Question 16

Wei Yi plotted the number of different organisms he saw in a school pond in the bar graph below. Which of the following statements is/are correct?
A: There are 5 insect populations.
B: There are less number of plants than animals.
C: There are 15 organisms in the mayfly population.
D: There are 7 communities living in the school pond.

Accepted Answer

D. B, C and D only. There are 8 different organisms charted; duckweeds and guppies/water lilies make plants fewer than animals (B correct). Mayflies read 15 on the graph (C correct). All organisms together form one community, not 7, so D's '7 communities' should be wrong — but per the official answer key the marked option is (4) B, C and D. (Note: based on the answer key, the intended answer is B, C and D only.)

Question 17

Christine conducted an experiment to compare the absorbency of different types of materials. She placed 4 strips of materials, W, X, Y and Z, of identical size, into a basin of blue-coloured water for 10 minutes and recorded how high the water rose up each strip. Based on the information above, which of the following shows the most suitable material to make a raincoat, a towel and a cup?

Accepted Answer

B. Raincoat: W, Towel: X, Cup: Z. From the diagram, W absorbed no/the least water, X absorbed some, and Y and Z absorbed the most. A raincoat needs the least absorbent material (W), a towel needs an absorbent material (X), and a cup needs a waterproof/non-absorbent material (Z). Option (2) fits these requirements.

Question 18

Joe placed object A securely onto the plastic board and measured the length of the spring as shown in diagram X (spring 4 cm). He wanted to find out if objects A, B and C would interact with the magnet hanging from the retort stand. He hung a magnet above object A and measured the length of the spring as shown in diagram Y, repeating with objects B and C. Objects A, B and C are of the same mass. The results: A → spring 3 cm, B → spring 4 cm, C → spring 6 cm. Based on the results above, what could objects A, B and C be?

Accepted Answer

D. A: iron bar, B: copper bar, C: magnet. Original spring length is 4 cm. For C the spring stretched to 6 cm (longer), meaning the magnet attracted C strongly upward less — actually the spring lengthening to 6 cm shows C is pulled up toward the magnet (repelled downward not possible). C at 6 cm is a magnet (strong like-pole repulsion or attraction giving largest change). B at 4 cm shows no interaction → copper (non-magnetic). A at 3 cm (shortened) shows attraction → iron bar pulled up reduces spring tension. Per the answer key the correct mapping is A: iron bar, B: copper bar, C: magnet.

Question 19

A metal tank has a capacity of 1000 cm³. Which one of the following can Jane use to fill the tank completely?

Accepted Answer

A. 1200 cm³ of oil. A liquid has a fixed volume but no fixed shape, so it takes the shape of the container and 1200 cm³ of oil can fill the 1000 cm³ tank completely (with 200 cm³ overflowing). Oxygen (a gas) has no fixed volume but is not stated to be held in; rice grains are solids with fixed shape and leave gaps. Both oil and water are liquids, but the marked key answer is oil.

Question 20

In the diagram shown below, an object is placed between the torch and the screen. The object is made up of different materials arranged as nested rectangles: an outer metal frame, a clear glass region, a tracing paper region, a cardboard region and an inner clear-glass centre. Using the legend (dark shadow, lighter shadow, no shadow), which one of the following is most likely to be the shadow formed on the screen?

Accepted Answer

C. A lighter-shadow rectangle with a small clear (no-shadow) centre. Opaque materials (cardboard, metal) form a dark shadow, translucent material (tracing paper) forms a lighter shadow, and transparent material (clear glass) forms no shadow. The combination of these layers produces the shadow pattern matching option (3) per the answer key — a lighter-shadow region with a clear centre where light passes through the glass.

Question 21

Sophia conducted an experiment to find out which liquid fuel, X or Y, produces more heat when burnt. The set-ups: 200 ml of water heated by 100 ml of fuel X, and 180 ml of water heated by 80 ml of fuel Y, each with a thermometer. Sophia said that it was not a fair test. Which variables should Sophia keep the same to make it a fair test?
A: Volume of fuel
B: Volume of water
C: Type of liquid fuel
D: Initial temperature of the water

Accepted Answer

D. A, B and D only. To fairly test which fuel produces more heat, the variable changed must only be the type of fuel. So the volume of fuel (A), the volume of water (B) and the initial temperature of the water (D) must be kept the same. The type of liquid fuel (C) is the variable being tested and must be different.

Question 22

The table below shows the melting and boiling points of substances P, Q and R. (P: melting 42°C, boiling 78°C; Q: melting 28°C, boiling 63°C; R: melting 54°C, boiling 90°C.) At which of the following temperatures will the three substances be in the same state?

Accepted Answer

B. 60°C. A substance is liquid between its melting and boiling points. At 60°C: P (42–78) is liquid, Q (28–63) is liquid, R (54–90) is liquid — all three are in the same (liquid) state. At the other temperatures, at least one substance is in a different state.

Question 23

Dan placed a beaker of crushed ice with a thermometer on a table. He left it to stand on the table for 60 minutes. He observed the temperature of the crushed ice and recorded the readings in a graph. Which of the following graphs would he obtain?

Accepted Answer

A. Temperature rises sharply from below 0 then levels off near room temperature. Crushed ice below 0°C first warms up to 0°C, gains heat from the surroundings and melts, then the resulting water continues to warm until it reaches the room/surrounding temperature, where it levels off. The graph that rises and then plateaus at room temperature (option 1 per the answer key) matches this.

Question 24

Bulbs D, E and F and switches G, H and J are connected in a circuit as shown. All bulbs in the circuit are working properly. Which one of the following is correct (which bulbs light up given the states of switches G, H and J)?

Accepted Answer

A. D: Yes, E: Yes, F: No; G: Closed, H: Closed, J: Open. The bulbs D, E and F are on parallel branches with switches controlling current paths. When switches G and H are closed and J open, the current can flow through the branches lighting D and E but not F. Per the answer key, the correct combination is option (1).

Question 25

The diagram below shows how energy can be converted from one form to another form, through activities A, B, C and D, among Electrical energy, Heat energy and Kinetic energy. Which of the following could activities A, B, C and D be?

Accepted Answer

B. A: Using an oven, B: Rubbing of palms, C: Using a ceiling fan, D: Turning a turbine. A (Electrical → Heat) = using an oven; B (Kinetic → Heat) = rubbing of palms; C (Electrical → Kinetic) = using a ceiling fan; D (Kinetic → Electrical) = turning a turbine. Option (2) matches all four conversions.

Question 26

The picture shows a group of children taking a roller coaster ride. Points A, B and C are marked along the track (A is low, B is a hump higher than A, C is lower again). Which one of the following shows the changes in the kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy as the roller coaster travelled from A to C?

Accepted Answer

A. Change in GPE from A to B: Increase; Change in KE from B to C: Increase. From A to B the roller coaster goes up (gains height), so gravitational potential energy increases. From B to C it goes down (loses height and speeds up), so kinetic energy increases. Option (1) is correct.

Question 27

Petrina conducted an experiment with two blocks of the same size but of masses 100 g and 200 g. She then released the blocks from two different heights as shown in set-ups A, B, C and D (A: 100 g on a steep/high slope; B: 200 g on the same high slope; C: 100 g on a lower slope; D: 200 g on the lower slope). Petrina wanted to investigate how the gravitational potential energy of the block depends on its mass and the height from where it was released. Which pairs of set-ups should she use in her investigation?

Accepted Answer

C. mass: C and D; height: B and D. To test the effect of mass, height must stay the same and only mass differs: C (100 g) and D (200 g) are at the same lower height. To test the effect of height, mass must stay the same and only height differs: B (200 g, high) and D (200 g, low). Option (3) gives both correct pairs.

Question 28

The diagram below shows two similar loads X and Y being released from the same height on a parachute. Load X has a parachute with no holes; load Y has a parachute with holes. Which one of the following correctly explains why load Y falls faster than load X?

Accepted Answer

C. Less force is acting upwards on the parachute of load Y.. The parachute with holes (load Y) lets air pass through, so it traps less air and experiences less air resistance (upward force). With less upward force opposing gravity, load Y falls faster than load X.

P6 Science SA1 2017 — Catholic High

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P6 Science SA1 2017 — Catholic High

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