Primary 3 Science Diversity Quiz

Primary 3 Science Quiz - Diversity: Answer Key

Total Marks: 40 marks

Section A: Living and Non-Living Things

1. B (flowering plant) — 1 mark

Teaching note: Living things can grow, reproduce, respond, move by themselves, and need food, water, and air. A plastic bottle, glass marble, and toy robot are non-living things. They do not need food or water, and they cannot reproduce.

2. (2 marks — 1 mark per correct match)

Teaching note: Food provides energy for all life activities and materials for growth. Air (oxygen) is needed for breathing, which releases energy from food.

3. (3 marks)

(a) butterfly, mushroom, earthworm — 1 mark (all three correct; ½ mark if two correct)

(b) rock, water, plastic bag — 1 mark (all three correct; ½ mark if two correct)

(c) Fungi — 1 mark

Teaching note: Water is non-living — it does not need food, cannot reproduce, and does not grow in the way living things do. Mushrooms are fungi, not plants. Fungi cannot make their own food through photosynthesis.

4. (2 marks)

Answer: No, Lily is not correct. (1 mark)

Explanation: The balloon getting bigger is not growth. Growth in living things means increasing in size by making more body cells. The balloon only gets bigger because air is pushed into it. The balloon does not need food, water, or air to stay alive, and it cannot reproduce. (1 mark for clear explanation of why balloon is non-living)

Common mistake: Students confuse "getting bigger" with "growth." Growth in living things is a permanent increase in size due to cell division.

5. (3 marks)

(a) (2 marks — ½ mark per row, round down)

*Seedlings cannot move from place to place by themselves, though they can grow toward light.

Alternative acceptable: If seedling "move by itself" left unticked or ticked (with note about growing toward light), accept with reasonable explanation.

(b) The teddy bear does not need food, cannot grow, and cannot move by itself (it can only move when someone moves it). (1 mark for any one correct reason clearly stated)

6. (2 marks — 1 mark each)

(a) The cat runs away / jumps / turns its head / becomes alert (any appropriate response showing reaction to stimulus)

(b) The plant grows/bends toward the light / its leaves turn toward the sun (accept "bends toward light")

Teaching note: Responding to stimuli is one characteristic of living things. Plants respond to light (phototropism), water (hydrotropism), and gravity (geotropism).

7. reproduce — 1 mark

Section B: Classification of Animals

8. (2 marks)

(a) B (eagle) — 1 mark

Self-correction note: Only eagle has feathers. Penguin has feathers too but is not in this set. Based on the figure described with A-F labels, B is the eagle with feathers. If multiple animals have feathers, accept all correct letters.

(Revised for consistency with described figure: The eagle is the only bird shown with clear feathers. Bat (R in Q13) has membranous wings, not feathers.)

Corrected answer: B — 1 mark

(b) D (butterfly) — 1 mark

Teaching note: Insects have six legs and three body parts (head, thorax, abdomen). Butterflies are insects. They are different from birds, which have feathers and four limbs.

9. (2 marks)

(a) They all have wings / they can fly — 1 mark (accept "they are birds" if all are birds; accept "they have feathers")

(b) Lizard / snake / crocodile / tortoise / any other reptile — 1 mark

Teaching note: Group X shows animals with wings (birds and bat). Group Y shows reptiles with dry scaly skin and no wings. The classification is based on physical features, not behavior.

10. (3 marks)

(a) Have hair or fur / do not have feathers / do not have moist skin / do not have dry scaly skin / do not have fins and scales — 1 mark (any correct characteristic from the diagram; "have hair or fur" is the defining feature)

(b) Reptiles — 1 mark

(c) Mammals — 1 mark

Working: Follow the diagram: No feathers → no moist skin → no dry scaly skin → no fins and scales → has hair or fur → Mammals

Teaching note: Whales are mammals. They breathe air through lungs, give birth to live young, and feed their young with milk. They do not have gills like fish.

11. (2 marks — 1 mark per correct cell)

12. (2 marks)

(a) Has gills when young / lives in water when young / has moist skin / has no hair or fur — 1 mark (any correct similarity)

(b) Breathes with lungs as adult / has four legs / lives on land as adult — 1 mark (any correct similarity)

Teaching note: Amphibians like frogs have a life cycle with both aquatic and terrestrial stages. Tadpoles (young) have gills and live in water like fish. Adult frogs breathe with lungs and live on land like mammals, but they are cold-blooded and have moist skin.

13. (3 marks)

(a) Q (dolphin) — 1 mark (dolphins are fully aquatic mammals; accept R or S if student explains, but correct answer is Q as dolphin cannot live on land)

Clarification: Penguins live on land and water. Bats live on land. Snakes live on land. Dolphins live only in water.

(b) P (penguin) — 1 mark

(c) Bats have hair/fur on their bodies / bats do not have feathers / bats give birth to live young — 1 mark (any correct evidence; from picture: bat has membranous wings with visible arm/bone structure, not feathered wings)

14. (2 marks)

(1 mark each)

Section C: Classification of Plants and Fungi

15. (2 marks)

(a) W and Z — 1 mark (both needed; accept if student identifies hibiscus and grass as flowering)

(b) Y (moss) — 1 mark (or X, fern; but moss is more obviously non-seed as ferns make spores. Accept X or Y with reasonable explanation. Moss does not make seeds at all.)

Teaching note: Mosses are non-vascular plants that do not make seeds. They reproduce using spores. Ferns also use spores. Flowering plants and conifers make seeds.

16. (2 marks)

Answer should include two of the following differences: (1 mark each, maximum 2 marks)

• Fungi do not have chlorophyll / cannot make their own food (they absorb nutrients from decaying matter)
• Fungi do not have leaves, stems, or roots
• Fungi reproduce using spores, not seeds
• Fungi are not green in color

Teaching note: Plants have chlorophyll and make their own food through photosynthesis. Fungi are decomposers that break down dead organic matter.

17. (2 marks)

(a) Microscope — 1 mark

(b) Fungi — 1 mark (accept "animals" as bacteria are also in this category, but fungi is the most direct comparison)

Section D: Materials and Their Properties

18. 3 (glass cup) — 1 mark

Teaching note: Glass is transparent — it allows light to pass through. We can see through a glass cup. Wood, metal, and most plastic are opaque.

19. (2 marks)

(a) It is a good conductor of heat / it can withstand high temperatures / it is strong — 1 mark (any suitable property)

(b) Plastic is waterproof / does not absorb water / paper absorbs water and will tear — 1 mark

Teaching note: Materials are chosen based on their properties and the purpose of the object. Metal conducts heat well for cooking. Plastic repels water for rain protection.

20. Rubber — 1 mark

Working: Need flexible AND waterproof. Check table:

• Rubber: flexible ✓, waterproof ✓ → CORRECT
• Cotton: flexible ✓, waterproof ✗
• Ceramic: rigid ✗, waterproof ✓

END OF ANSWER KEY