Question 1

John observed two animals and recorded his observations in the table below. A tick (✓) indicates the characteristic the animals have. Based on John's observation, which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
A: Animal L lives longer than Animal K.
B: Animals K and L are insects that cannot fly.
C: The young of Animals K and L live in water.

Accepted Answer

B. C only. The table only shows that eggs of both K and L are laid in water, so their young hatch and live in water (C correct). There is no data on lifespan (A cannot be concluded) and K is not shown to have six legs, so it cannot be confirmed as an insect (B cannot be concluded). Only C is supported.

Question 2

The diagram shows four living things (tree, fern, climbing plant, mushroom). Study the flowchart below. What could questions X and Y be?

Accepted Answer

B. X: Able to make its own food?  Y: Reproduce from seeds?. Both outputs (tree and fern) are green plants that make their own food, so X='Able to make its own food?' gives Yes for both. Then Y must separate them: a tree reproduces from seeds (Yes → tree) while a fern reproduces from spores (No → fern), so Y='Reproduce from seeds?'.

Question 3

The following table gives information on four plants, W, X, Y and Z, based on two characteristics. A tick (✓) shows that the plant has the characteristic. From the information above, where do plants W, X, Y and Z belong in the following classification table?

Accepted Answer

C. W:D  X:A  Y:C  Z:B. 'Bears fruit' indicates a flowering plant. W: no fruit + grows on land → non-flowering, on land = D. X: bears fruit + not on land (in water) → flowering, in water = A. Y: neither tick → non-flowering, in water = C. Z: bears fruit + grows on land → flowering, on land = B. So W=D, X=A, Y=C, Z=B.

Question 4

The arrows in the diagram show the path taken by a substance through a plant. Which one of the following substances follows this path?

Accepted Answer

A. water. The arrows show the substance entering through the roots, moving up the stem and exiting from the leaves. This is the path of water: absorbed by roots, transported up the stem, and lost from the leaves through transpiration.

Question 5

The diagram below shows how blood travels in a human body. Which organ does the part labelled X represent?

Accepted Answer

B. lungs. Blood entering X is rich in carbon dioxide (solid line) and blood leaving X is rich in oxygen (dashed line). The organ that takes in carbon-dioxide-rich blood and returns oxygen-rich blood is the lungs. (Y, which pumps blood to all parts, is the heart.)

Question 6

The table below shows some information on three cells, X, Y and Z. A tick (✓) indicates the presence of the part of a cell. Where are cells X, Y and Z likely to be found?

Accepted Answer

D. X:leaf  Y:root  Z:cheek. Cell X has nucleus + chloroplast + cell wall → a plant cell that photosynthesises → leaf. Cell Y has nucleus + cell wall but no chloroplast → plant cell that does not photosynthesise → root. Cell Z has only a nucleus → animal cell → cheek. So X=leaf, Y=root, Z=cheek.

Question 7

Billy found a fruit as shown below. He wants to find out whether this fruit disperses its seeds by animals. He plans to do the following:
A: Place it in water to see if it floats.
B: Open it to see if it has small seeds.
C: Open it to see if it is fleshy and juicy.
D: Examine it to see if it has a smooth skin.
Which of the above plans are useful to his investigation?

Accepted Answer

B. B and C only. Fruits dispersed by animals (by being eaten) are typically fleshy and juicy and contain many small seeds that pass through the animal. So checking for small seeds (B) and whether it is fleshy and juicy (C) are useful. Floating (A) tests water dispersal, and a smooth skin (D) is not a feature linked to animal dispersal.

Question 8

Which of the following are examples of interactions between living and non-living things in an environment?
A: A cow feeding on grass.
B: A plant making food using sunlight.
C: An earthworm making a tunnel in muddy soil.
D: A fish taking in dissolved oxygen from the water.

Accepted Answer

D. B, C and D only. B (plant and sunlight), C (earthworm and soil) and D (fish and dissolved oxygen/water) are all interactions between a living thing and a non-living thing. A (cow feeding on grass) is an interaction between two living things, so it is excluded.

Question 9

Janet conducted an experiment as shown below. Set-up A contains a mushroom and Set-up B contains a plant; a data logger detects carbon dioxide. Both set-ups were placed in an area where bright light was available. The duration of the experiment was 24 hours. Which one of the following graphs shows correctly the level of carbon dioxide in each set-up?

Accepted Answer

C. Graph 3. The mushroom (A) only respires, so it releases carbon dioxide continuously and the CO2 level rises steadily over the 24 hours. The plant (B) respires at night (CO2 rises) but photosynthesises during the day, taking in CO2 faster than it releases it, so its CO2 level falls during daytime. Graph 3 shows curve A rising throughout and curve B rising then falling.

Question 10

Two identical tanks, X and Y, were set up near an open window. The hydrilla in each tank was of the same size at the beginning of the experiment. Tank X contains fish and hydrilla; tank Y contains only hydrilla. After two weeks, it was observed that the hydrilla in tank X had grown bigger than the hydrilla in tank Y. Which of the following is/are possible reason(s) for the observation?
A: The hydrilla in tank X absorbed more sunlight.
B: The hydrilla in tank X absorbed more dissolved oxygen.
C: The hydrilla in tank X absorbed more dissolved nutrients.
D: The hydrilla in tank X absorbed more dissolved carbon dioxide.

Accepted Answer

B. C and D only. Tank X has fish; tank Y does not. The fish release carbon dioxide (used by the hydrilla for photosynthesis) and produce waste that provides dissolved nutrients/mineral salts. So more dissolved nutrients (C) and more dissolved carbon dioxide (D) explain the bigger growth. Both tanks get the same sunlight (A wrong), and plants do not need to absorb more oxygen to grow (B wrong).

Question 11

Vijay conducted an experiment to find out the properties of cell membranes. He placed two animal cells, X and Y, in water containing two dissolved substances, 'Myco' and 'Zyto'. The duration of the experiment is 30 minutes. Vijay wrote the statements as shown below.
A: 'Myco' and 'Zyto' are unable to enter Cell Y.
B: Water can enter Cell Y more easily than Cell X.
C: Both Cell X and Y allow only water to move in and out.
Which of Vijay's statements are correct?

Accepted Answer

A. A and B only. After the experiment Cell X contains water, Myco and Zyto inside (its membrane lets all three pass), while Cell Y contains only water inside with Myco and Zyto remaining outside. So 'Myco' and 'Zyto' cannot enter Cell Y (A correct) and water passes into Cell Y while only water enters it (B correct). C is wrong because Cell X allowed Myco and Zyto in, not only water.

Question 12

The diagram below shows the different parts of a flower. If the black dots in the diagrams below represent pollen grains, which of the following flower(s) has/have been pollinated?

Accepted Answer

D. B, C and D only. Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains onto the stigma. The flowers that show black dots (pollen) landed on the stigma (the central structure) have been pollinated, while a flower with pollen only on its anthers has not. Flowers B, C and D show pollen on the stigma, so they have been pollinated.

Question 13

Jerrel plucked a leaf and placed it in a beaker of hot water. After some time, bubbles were seen appearing on the upper and lower surfaces of the leaf. He also observed that there were more bubbles on the lower than on the upper surface. Which of the following statements correctly explain his observation?
A: The openings in the leaf give out water.
B: Air in the leaf expands due to heat and escapes.
C: Air enters the upper surface and escapes from the lower surface.
D: There are more openings on the lower surface than on the upper surface.

Accepted Answer

B. B and D only. The bubbles are air escaping from the openings (stomata) of the leaf. Heat makes the air inside the leaf expand and escape through the stomata (B). More bubbles on the lower surface means there are more stomata on the lower surface (D). A is wrong (the bubbles are air, not water) and C is wrong (air escapes from both surfaces, it does not enter the upper surface).

Question 14

The graph below shows the amount of different coloured lights absorbed by chlorophyll during photosynthesis in plants. Two plants, X and Y, were exposed to different coloured lights. A leaf was then plucked from each plant and tested for starch. The results are shown in the table (Plant X: iodine solution remained brown; Plant Y: iodine solution turned dark blue). Which one of the following correctly identifies the coloured light that each plant was exposed to?

Accepted Answer

B. X:green  Y:red. Plant X's iodine stayed brown → no starch → no photosynthesis → it was exposed to light that chlorophyll absorbs very little of (green/yellow). Plant Y's iodine turned dark blue → starch present → photosynthesis occurred → it was exposed to light that chlorophyll absorbs well (violet/blue/orange/red). Only option B fits: X = green (low absorption), Y = red (high absorption).

Question 15

Which of the following are common properties of solids and liquids?
A: They have mass.
B: They can be compressed.
C: They have definite shape.
D: They have definite volume.

Accepted Answer

A. A and D only. Both solids and liquids have mass (A) and have a definite volume (D). They cannot be easily compressed (B is wrong). Only solids have a definite shape; liquids take the shape of their container (C is wrong). So the common properties are A and D.

Question 16

Which of the following show(s) correctly what happen(s) when a piece of ice is melting?
A: The ice gains heat.
B: The ice absorbs water vapour.
C: The temperature of the ice increases.
D: The temperature of the ice remains at 0°C.

Accepted Answer

B. A and D only. While melting, the ice gains/absorbs heat (A) but its temperature stays at 0°C until all the ice has melted (D), because the heat absorbed is used to change state rather than raise temperature. So C is wrong (temperature does not increase during melting) and B is wrong (it does not absorb water vapour).

Question 17

The diagram below shows a cooking pot with handles. Study the properties of the four materials shown below (A: bends easily, does not conduct heat; B: bends easily, conducts heat; C: does not bend, does not conduct heat; D: does not bend, conducts heat). Which materials are most suitable for making the handles and the cooking pot?

Accepted Answer

C. Handle:C  Cooking pot:D. The handle should not conduct heat (so it stays cool to hold) and should be rigid (not bend) → Material C (does not bend, does not conduct heat). The cooking pot should conduct heat well (to cook the food) and be rigid → Material D (does not bend, conducts heat). So Handle = C, Cooking pot = D.

Question 18

Ferrell placed a glass of hot water on a table with a plastic top. What could he do to cool the hot water faster?

Accepted Answer

D. Place the glass on a piece of aluminium sheet.. To cool the water faster, heat must be conducted away quickly. Aluminium is a good conductor of heat, so placing the glass on an aluminium sheet draws heat away fastest. The wooden box (A), paper (C) and ceramic plate (B) are poor conductors/insulators that slow heat loss.

Question 19

Randel drops a ball at position A of the Earth. In which direction, (1), (2), (3) or (4), will the ball move at position A of the Earth?

Accepted Answer

D. direction (4) — to the left, toward the Earth's centre. Gravity always pulls objects toward the centre of the Earth. At position A, the Earth's centre (the shaded body of the Earth) lies in the direction of arrow (4), so the ball falls in direction (4).

Question 20

Anne carried out an experiment with three metal bars, PQ, RS and TU. Each of the metal bars is of the same size. She hung each metal bar to a pole using a string and brought them close to each other. She wanted to find out which of them are magnets. The results of her experiment are shown below. Which one of the following is correct?

Accepted Answer

B. PQ: magnet  RS: not a magnet  TU: magnet. Repulsion only occurs between two magnets. When PQ and TU are brought close and one is flipped, they repel in one arrangement — so both PQ and TU are magnets. PQ and RS attract in both orientations (never repel), which means RS is only a magnetic material attracted to the magnet PQ, so RS is not a magnet. Therefore PQ = magnet, RS = not a magnet, TU = magnet.

Question 21

There are two chairs in an air-conditioned room. Li Mei touched the seat of each chair. Her hand felt cooler on the marble seat. Which one of the following reasons best explains why Li Mei's hand felt cooler on the marble seat as compared to the wooden seat?

Accepted Answer

A. More heat flowed from Li Mei's hand to the marble seat.. Marble is a better conductor of heat than wood, so heat flows more quickly from her warmer hand to the cooler marble seat. Losing heat faster makes her hand feel cooler, so A is correct. C is wrong (marble is a good conductor) and B/D contradict the observation.

Question 22

Travis set up an electrical circuit as shown in the diagram below. The bulb did not light up. What should Travis do to make the bulb light up and why?

Accepted Answer

C. Connect the wire to Z instead of Y because it closes the circuit.. The switch arm bridges contacts X and Z, but the wire from the battery is connected to the middle contact Y, which is not touched by the switch arm, leaving the circuit open. Moving the wire from Y to Z completes the conducting path through the switch arm, closing the circuit so the bulb lights up.

Question 23

Matthew has four experimental set-ups, A, B, C and D, using water in containers made of the same material. The table shows the starting conditions. Matthew wanted to investigate: X — how the rate of evaporation of water was affected by the amount of water; Y — how the rate of evaporation of water was affected by the exposed surface area. Which of the following experimental set-ups should Matthew compare to ensure a fair test?

Accepted Answer

A. X: A and B   Y: A and D. For X (amount of water), only the volume should differ: A (400 ml) vs B (300 ml) — both at 28°C and 80 cm² surface area. For Y (exposed surface area), only the surface area should differ: A (80 cm²) vs D (100 cm²) — both at 28°C and 400 ml. So X = A and B, Y = A and D.

Question 24

In the circuit below, the bulbs and batteries used are identical. All the bulbs and batteries are working properly. Which of the following switches should be closed so that only two bulbs will light up?
A: S1 and S2 only
B: S2 and S3 only
C: S2 and S4 only
D: S3 and S4 only

Accepted Answer

C. C and D only. Closing S2 and S4 (option C) powers the circuit from the lower battery through the centre bulb and one parallel bulb — exactly two bulbs light. Closing S3 and S4 (option D) does the same with the other parallel bulb — exactly two bulbs. Closing S1 and S2 (A) lights three bulbs (the right bulb plus two more), and S2 and S3 (B) leaves both batteries disconnected so no bulb lights. Hence only C and D give exactly two lit bulbs.

Question 25

Felicia kicked a ball from X to Y as shown in the diagram below. Which of the following statements are correct?
A: The mass of the ball remained the same.
B: The force exerted by Felicia moved the ball.
C: The kinetic energy of the ball increased from X to Y.
D: The potential energy of the ball increased from X to Y.

Accepted Answer

D. A, B and C only. Mass is unchanged regardless of position (A correct). Felicia's kick is a force that set the ball moving (B correct). As the ball falls from X (top of the box) to Y (ground) it speeds up, so its kinetic energy increases (C correct). Its height decreases, so its potential energy decreases, not increases — D is wrong.

Question 26

Timothy held a toy between his hands as shown below. At A, he rotated the toy by sliding his right hand forward and left hand backwards before releasing it. The toy flew from A to B and then to C before falling to the ground. Which one of the following correctly describes the energy of the toy at A, B and C?

Accepted Answer

D. A: potential and kinetic energy   B: potential and kinetic energy   C: potential and kinetic energy. At every point A, B and C the toy is moving (so it has kinetic energy) and is above the ground (so it has potential energy). At A it is just released, already moving and above the ground; at B it is rising; at C it is at the highest point but still moving forward. So at all three points it has both potential and kinetic energy.

Question 27

Four ramps, A, B, C and D, each of the same length and thickness but made of different materials, were used in an experiment. A wooden block was placed at point X of ramp A and the distance moved by the block down the ramp was recorded. The experiment was repeated with the remaining ramps, B, C and D. The results obtained are shown in the table. The experiment was carried out to find out how ____.

Accepted Answer

B. the material of the ramp affected the amount of friction between the surfaces. The only variable changed between the ramps is their material (length and thickness are kept the same, and the same wooden block is used each time). The different distances moved show how much friction each surface produces, so the experiment investigates how the material of the ramp affects friction.

Question 28

Gopal experimented with two identical springs and a string, each attached to a block of equal mass. The diagrams of each of the springs and the string before the experiment are shown below. The string broke when more than one block was hung on it. Which of the following are likely to happen?

Accepted Answer

C. B and C only. The string can only support one block (it breaks when more than one hangs from it); the springs can support more and just stretch. In B the string carries only one block, so it does not break — possible. In C the string carries two blocks (a block, a spring and another block below it) and is shown broken — possible. In A the string carries two blocks but is shown not breaking — impossible. In D the string at the top carries all three blocks but is shown not breaking — impossible. So only B and C are likely.

P6 Science SA1 2017 — Henry Park

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P6 Science SA1 2017 — Henry Park

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