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Primary 5 Science Light Quiz

Free P5 Science Light quiz, Ox Exam version, with questions, answers, and syllabus-aligned practice for Singapore students.

These static practice materials are generated from the site's syllabus and paper-generation workflow, with source and model context shown so students and parents can evaluate the material before use.

Primary 5 Science From Real Exams Generated by Ox Alpha Updated 2026-08-27

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Questions

Primary 5 Science Quiz - Light

Name: ______________________ Class: ____________ Date: ______________

Score: __________ / 48 Duration: 50 minutes Total Marks: 48

Instructions:

Answer ALL 20 questions.
For Section A, write the number of the correct option in the brackets provided.
The marks for each question are shown in brackets [ ].
Write your answers clearly in the spaces given.

Section A: Multiple-Choice Questions (Questions 1 to 5, 10 marks)

Each question carries 2 marks. Write the number of the correct option in the brackets.

Question 1.

Which one of the following is a natural source of light?

(1) Torch
(2) Candle flame
(3) The Sun
(4) Street lamp

Answer: ( ________ ) [2]

Question 2.

The Moon looks bright in the night sky. This is because the Moon ______________.

(1) gives out its own light
(2) reflects light from the Sun
(3) makes its own heat that glows
(4) reflects light from street lamps only

Answer: ( ________ ) [2]

Question 3.

Which statement about light is correct?

(1) Light bends around corners on its own to reach our eyes.
(2) Light travels in straight lines.
(3) Light can pass through every material.
(4) Light can only travel when a mirror is present.

Answer: ( ________ ) [2]

Question 4.

Amir can see his storybook on the desk. The storybook does not give out its own light. Why can Amir see the storybook?

(1) His eyes give out light that shines on the book.
(2) The book glows in the dark.
(3) Light from the lamp bounces off the book into his eyes.
(4) The book absorbs all the light that falls on it.

Answer: ( ________ ) [2]

Question 5.

A torch shines at a ball and casts a shadow on a screen, as shown. The ball and screen stay in place while the torch is moved closer to the ball. What happens to the shadow on the screen?

(1) It becomes smaller.
(2) It becomes bigger.
(3) It stays the same size.
(4) It disappears completely.

Image pending generation: diagram for Q5.

Answer: ( ________ ) [2]

Section B: Short-Answer Questions (Questions 6 to 10, 10 marks)

Question 6.

Give one example of a man-made source of light.

Answer: ______________________________________________ [1]

Question 7.

Fill in each blank with a suitable word.

(a) Light travels in ________________ lines. [1]

(b) We can see an object only when light from the object enters our ________________. [1]

Question 8.

Complete the table below by putting a tick (✓) in the correct column for each object.

Object	Gives out its own light	Does not give out its own light
Firefly
Wooden chair
Burning candle
Mirror

[2]

Question 9.

A cat is sitting behind a tall wall. Ben is standing on the other side of the wall and cannot see the cat. Explain why Ben cannot see the cat. [2]

Question 10.

Ravi shines a torch at an object. A dark shadow is formed on the screen behind the object.

(a) What does this tell you about the object? [1]

(b) Ravi moves the torch further away from the object. What happens to the size of the shadow on the screen? [1]

Section C: Structured Questions (Questions 11 to 20, 28 marks)

Question 11.

Sort the following into the correct groups in the table: lightning, glow stick, bonfire, traffic light

Natural source of light	Man-made source of light

[2]

Question 12.

Mei looks into a mirror and sees her own face. Explain how she is able to see herself in the mirror. [2]

Question 13.

Ali measured the length of his shadow at different times of the day.

At 8 a.m., his shadow was very long.
At 12 noon, his shadow was very short.

Explain why the length of his shadow changed during the day. [3]

Question 14.

Complete the table by writing transparent, translucent, or opaque for each material.

Material	Type of material
Clear glass
Frosted glass
Cardboard

[3]

Question 15.

A submarine uses a periscope with two mirrors inside to see above the water. Explain how light from a ship above the water reaches the sailor's eye inside the submarine. [3]

Question 16.

A boy is hiding behind a building. You are standing on the other side of the building and cannot see him. Use the property of light to explain why. [2]

Question 17.

Four cards with holes in the middle are arranged in a line. A candle is placed behind the first card. A pupil looks through the hole of the last card and can see the candle flame only when all four holes are in a straight line. What does this experiment show about light? Explain your answer. [3]

Question 18.

At night, a firefly can be seen glowing in the dark garden, but a garden bench nearby cannot be seen until a lamp is switched on. Explain the difference between the firefly and the bench in terms of light. [3]

Question 19.

Three windows are made of different materials: clear glass, frosted glass, and wood. State what a person outside would see through each window when a bright lamp is shining inside the room. [4]

Question 20.

Mei wants to find out which cloth, X or Y, allows less light to pass through it. She has a torch, the two cloths, and a screen. Describe how she can carry out a fair test to compare the cloths. [3]

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Answers

Primary 5 Science Quiz - Light: Answer Key

Answer 1.

(3) The Sun [2]

Answer 2.

(2) reflects light from the Sun [2]

Answer 3.

(2) Light travels in straight lines. [2]

Answer 4.

(3) Light from the lamp bounces off the book into his eyes. [2]

Answer 5.

(2) It becomes bigger. [2]

Teaching note: When the light source moves closer to the object, the beam spreads out more by the time it passes the object, so the shadow cast on the screen becomes larger.

Answer 6.

Any one man-made source, e.g. torch / candle / lamp / traffic light / television screen. [1]

Answer 7.

(a) straight [1]

(b) eyes [1]

Answer 8.

Firefly: Gives out its own light ✓
Wooden chair: Does not give out its own light ✓
Burning candle: Gives out its own light ✓
Mirror: Does not give out its own light ✓ [2]

Marking note: Award 2 marks for all four correct; award 1 mark if three are correct.

Answer 9.

Light travels in straight lines and cannot bend around the tall wall, so no light reflected from the cat can reach Ben's eyes. [2]

Marking note: 1 mark for stating light travels in straight lines/cannot bend around the wall; 1 mark for linking this to no light from the cat entering Ben's eyes.

Answer 10.

(a) The object is opaque (it does not allow light to pass through it). [1]

(b) The shadow becomes smaller. [1]

Answer 11.

Natural source of light: lightning, bonfire
Man-made source of light: glow stick, traffic light [2]

Marking note: 1 mark for each column fully correct.

Answer 12.

Light from a light source shines on Mei and bounces (reflects) off her onto the mirror. The mirror then reflects the light into her eyes, so she sees her face. [2]

Marking note: 1 mark for light reflecting off Mei onto the mirror; 1 mark for the mirror reflecting the light into her eyes.

Answer 13.

Light travels in straight lines. In the morning the Sun is low in the sky, so Ali's shadow is long. At noon the Sun is high overhead, so his shadow becomes short. The changing position of the Sun changes the shadow's length. [3]

Marking note: 1 mark for light travelling in straight lines/Sun as source; 1 mark for low Sun giving long shadow; 1 mark for high Sun giving short shadow.

Answer 14.

Clear glass: transparent
Frosted glass: translucent
Cardboard: opaque [3]

Marking note: 1 mark for each correct classification.

Answer 15.

Light from the ship enters the top of the periscope and strikes the top mirror. It reflects downwards along the tube, strikes the bottom mirror, and reflects again into the sailor's eye. The two mirrors are placed parallel, facing each other at an angle. [3]

Marking note: 1 mark for light entering the top opening and hitting the top mirror; 1 mark for reflection down the tube to the bottom mirror; 1 mark for reflection into the sailor's eye.

Answer 16.

Light travels in straight lines. It cannot bend around the building, so light reflected from the boy cannot reach my eyes. [2]

Marking note: 1 mark for the property of light; 1 mark for applying it to explain why the boy cannot be seen.

Answer 17.

It shows that light travels in straight lines. The flame can be seen only when all the holes line up so light passes straight through them to the eye; when any card is moved, the light is blocked and the flame cannot be seen. [3]

Marking note: 1 mark for conclusion (light travels in straight lines); 2 marks for explanation using the lined-up holes and blocked light.

Answer 18.

The firefly gives out its own light (it is a natural, living light source), so it can be seen in the dark. The bench does not give out its own light; it can only be seen when it reflects light from another source such as the lamp. [3]

Marking note: 1 mark for firefly as a light source giving out its own light; 1 mark for bench not giving out its own light; 1 mark for bench being visible only by reflecting lamp light.

Answer 19.

Clear glass (transparent): a clear view/image of the room and lamp can be seen.
Frosted glass (translucent): only a blurry, bright glow is seen, not a clear image.
Wood (opaque): nothing can be seen; all light is blocked. [4]

Marking note: 1 mark for identifying each material type correctly used in the explanation; 1 mark for describing what is seen through the frosted glass window (blurry glow, no clear image).

Answer 20.

Shine the torch at cloth X held in front of the screen at a fixed distance, and observe the brightness of the light/shadow on the screen. Repeat with cloth Y using the same torch, same distance between torch, cloth and screen, and same surroundings. The cloth that gives a darker shadow allows less light to pass through. Only one variable (the type of cloth) is changed. [3]

Marking note: 1 mark for a valid method of comparing light passing through each cloth; 1 mark for keeping other variables the same (fair test); 1 mark for stating how results show which cloth allows less light through.