Primary 3 Science Diversity Quiz

Primary 3 Science Quiz - Diversity

Answer Key

Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions (10 marks)

1. (C) A potted plant
Reasoning: A potted plant is a living thing because it grows, needs water and air, and can reproduce. The other options are non-living objects.

2. (B) They need air, water, and food.
Reasoning: All living things require air, water, and food to survive. Not all living things can fly, have four legs, or are green.

3. (C) No, because it cannot reproduce.
Reasoning: Although the balloon becomes bigger when inflated, this is not true growth. The balloon cannot reproduce, respond to stimuli, or carry out life processes on its own.

4. (C) Amphibian
Reasoning: A frog is an amphibian because it can live both in water and on land. It has moist skin and lays eggs in water.

5. (C) Fern
Reasoning: A fern is a non-flowering plant. It reproduces using spores, not flowers or seeds. Rose, sunflower, and orchid are flowering plants.

6. (D) Rock
Reasoning: A rock is a non-living thing. Mushroom, mould, and yeast are all types of fungi, which are living things.

7. (B) It cannot move by itself without fuel and a driver.
Reasoning: A car moves only when fuel is supplied and a driver operates it. Living things can move by themselves using their own energy.

8. (C) Dolphin
Reasoning: A dolphin is a mammal because it breathes air through lungs, gives birth to live young, and feeds its young with milk. Crocodile, penguin, and lizard are not mammals.

9. (B) It responds to changes.
Reasoning: When a plant grows towards sunlight, it is responding to a stimulus (light). This shows that living things can respond to changes in their surroundings.

10. (B) Mushroom
Reasoning: A mushroom is a type of fungus. Moss, grass, and algae are plants.

Section B: True or False (5 marks)

11. True
Reasoning: All living things can reproduce to produce young of the same kind. This is one of the key characteristics of living things.

12. False
Reasoning: A teddy bear is a non-living thing. Although it has eyes and can be moved by a person, it cannot grow, reproduce, or carry out life processes on its own.

13. True
Reasoning: Bacteria are living things. They are tiny organisms that can grow, reproduce, and respond to their environment.

14. False
Reasoning: Non-living things cannot grow on their own. Any increase in size (such as a balloon being inflated) is due to an external action, not the object's own life processes.

15. True
Reasoning: A fish is an animal that lives in water. It breathes through gills, which take in oxygen from the water.

Section C: Classification and Short Answer (15 marks)

16. (3 marks)

(a) Living things: ant, butterfly, earthworm
(1 mark — all three correct; ½ mark if one or two correct)

(b) Non-living things: stone, watering can, plastic flower
(1 mark — all three correct; ½ mark if one or two correct)

Marking note: Each list must be complete and correct for full marks. No partial credit for mixing living and non-living items.

17. (3 marks)
Correct matches:

• Eagle → Bird
• Frog → Amphibian
• Whale → Mammal
• Snake → Reptile

(1 mark for each correct match; total 3 marks if all four are correct)

Marking note: Award 1 mark per correct line. If a student draws lines incorrectly, deduct accordingly.

18. (3 marks)
Any three of the following characteristics (1 mark each):

• Living things need air, water, and food to survive.
• Living things can grow.
• Living things can reproduce.
• Living things can move by themselves.
• Living things respond to changes in their surroundings.

Marking note: Accept any valid characteristic of living things. Do not accept vague answers like "they are alive" without further explanation.

19. (3 marks)

(1 mark for each correct classification)

Marking note: Fern is a non-flowering plant. Bee is an insect (animal). Yeast is a type of fungus.

20. (3 marks)
The student is wrong because:

(a) A robot cannot reproduce / cannot produce young of its own kind.
(b) A robot cannot grow on its own / does not carry out life processes / needs a human to program and power it.

(1 mark for each valid reason; total 3 marks if both reasons are well-explained)

Marking note: Accept any two valid reasons that explain why a robot is non-living. Common acceptable answers include: cannot reproduce, cannot grow naturally, does not need food/water/air, does not respond to stimuli on its own, is made of non-living materials.

Total: 30 marks