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Primary 6 PSLE Science Semestral Assessment 2 (End of Year) Paper 1

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Questions

TuitionGoWhere Practice Paper - Science Primary 6 PSLE

School: TuitionGoWhere Secondary School (AI) Subject: Science Level: Primary 6 (PSLE) Paper: SA2 – Version 1 of 5 Duration: 60 minutes Total Marks: 50

Name: ________________________ Class: ________________________ Date: ________________________

Instructions:

Answer ALL questions.
Write your answers in the spaces provided.
For calculation questions, show your working clearly.
The number of marks allocated for each question is shown in brackets [ ].
You are advised to spend about 60 minutes on this paper.

Section A: Multiple Choice Questions (20 marks)

Questions 1–10: Choose the most correct answer (A, B, C, or D). Each question carries 2 marks.

1. Which of the following is a characteristic used to classify living things into groups?

(A) Colour of the organism (B) Number of legs (C) Habitat only (D) Size of the organism

Answer: ______________ [2]

2. The table below shows four organisms and their characteristics.

Organism	Has backbone	Lays eggs	Has feathers
P	Yes	Yes	Yes
Q	Yes	No	No
R	No	Yes	No
S	Yes	Yes	No

Which organism is most likely a bird?

(A) P (B) Q (C) R (D) S

Answer: ______________ [2]

3. Which of the following is a non-living thing?

(A) Mushroom (B) Coral (C) River (D) Fern

Answer: ______________ [2]

4. A student grouped the following organisms: Spirogyra, moss, fern. What do these organisms have in common?

(A) They all produce flowers. (B) They all reproduce by spores. (C) They all have seeds. (D) They all have roots, stems, and leaves.

Answer: ______________ [2]

5. Which of the following correctly classifies the characteristics of living and non-living things?

	Living things	Non-living things
(A)	Can grow	Cannot grow
(B)	Cannot move	Can move
(C)	Do not need water	Need water
(D)	Do not reproduce	Can reproduce

Answer: ______________ [2]

6. The diagram below shows a classification key.

                    ┌── Has feathers ─── Bird
        ┌── Has backbone ──┤
        │               └── No feathers ─── ?
        │
Start ──┤
        │               ┌── Has legs ─── Insect
        └── No backbone ──┤
                        └── No legs ─── Worm

Which organism would be classified as "?" in the key above?

(A) Bat (B) Frog (C) Chicken (D) Spider

Answer: ______________ [2]

7. Which of the following is a characteristic of mammals?

(A) They have scales. (B) They breathe through gills. (C) They feed their young with milk. (D) They lay eggs.

Answer: ______________ [2]

8. A fish and a dolphin both live in water. Why is a dolphin NOT classified as a fish?

(A) A dolphin has fins. (B) A dolphin breathes through lungs and gives birth to live young. (C) A dolphin lives in water. (D) A dolphin has a streamlined body.

Answer: ______________ [2]

9. Which of the following groups of organisms are ALL non-flowering plants?

(A) Grass, maize, orchid (B) Moss, fern, mushroom (C) Fern, moss, Pinus (D) Rose, sunflower, hibiscus

Answer: ______________ [2]

10. The table shows the classification of four animals.

Animal	Group
W	Insect
X	Fish
Y	Amphibian
Z	Reptile

Which animal most likely has moist skin and can live both on land and in water?

(A) W (B) X (C) Y (D) Z

Answer: ______________ [2]

Section B: Short-Answer Questions (20 marks)

Answer ALL questions. Write your answers in the spaces provided.

11. State two characteristics that all living things share. [2]

(a) _________________________________________________________________

(b) _________________________________________________________________

12. The diagram shows four organisms.

P: A butterfly with six legs and wings
Q: A crab with ten legs and a hard outer shell
R: A spider with eight legs
S: A centipede with many legs

(a) Which organism (P, Q, R, or S) is classified as an insect? Explain your answer. [2]

(b) Organisms Q, R, and S all belong to the group Arthropoda. State one common characteristic of arthropods. [1]

13. Complete the following classification table by filling in the blanks. [3]

Feature	Flowering plant	Non-flowering plant
Reproduction	By _____________	By _____________
Example	_____________	_____________

14. A student found an organism near a pond. It has a moist skin, four legs, lays eggs in water, and can live on land and in water.

(a) Classify this organism into its correct group. Give a reason for your answer. [2]

(b) Name one other organism that belongs to the same group. [1]

15. Explain why a whale is classified as a mammal and not a fish. Give two reasons. [2]

(a) _________________________________________________________________

(b) _________________________________________________________________

16. Study the classification key below and answer the questions.

                        ┌── Has wings ─── Organism X
        ┌── Has legs ───┤
        │               └── No wings ─── Organism Y
        │
Start ──┤
        └── No legs ─── Organism Z

(a) An organism has legs but no wings. Which organism (X, Y, or Z) does it match? [1]

(b) Give an example of Organism Z. [1]

17. The table below shows the characteristics of three groups of organisms.

Characteristic	Mammals	Birds	Reptiles
Body covering	Hair/Feathers/Scales	Feathers	Scales
Reproduction	Give birth / Lay eggs	Lay eggs	Lay eggs
Breathing organ	Lungs	Lungs	Lungs

(a) Using the information in the table, state one characteristic that is unique to birds. [1]

(b) A snake has scales and lays eggs. Which group does it belong to? [1]

18. State one difference between a living thing and a non-living thing. Give an example of each. [2]

	Living thing	Non-living thing
Difference	_________________________________	_________________________________
Example	_________________________________	_________________________________

Section C: Structured / Application Questions (10 marks)

Answer ALL questions. Show your reasoning clearly.

19. A nature walk was conducted in a garden. The students recorded the following organisms:

Grasshopper
Earthworm
Sparrow
Lizard
Mushroom
Rose plant

(a) Classify the organisms into living and non-living things. [2]

Living things	Non-living things

(b) Further classify the living organisms into plants and animals. [2]

Plants	Animals

(c) Among the animals, which one is a mammal, a bird, or a reptile? Classify each. [3]

20. The diagram shows a simple classification key for five organisms: A (goldfish), B (eagle), C (frog), D (grasshopper), and E (snake).

                            ┌── Has feathers ─── B
            ┌── Has backbone ──┤
            │               ├── Has moist skin ─── C
            │               ├── Has scales ─── E
            │               └── Lives in water, has scales ─── A
            │
Start ──────┤
            └── No backbone ─── D

(a) Organism D has no backbone. What group of animals does it belong to? [1]

(b) Organism C can live both in water and on land. What special term is used to describe this group of animals? [1]

(c) Explain why Organism A and Organism E are classified differently even though both have scales. [2]

— End of Paper —

Answers

TuitionGoWhere Practice Paper - Science Primary 6 PSLE

SA2 – Version 1 of 5: Answer Key

Section A: Multiple Choice Questions (20 marks)

1. (B) Number of legs [2]

Marking note: Colour, habitat, and size alone are not reliable classification characteristics. Number of body parts (e.g., legs) is a structural feature used in classification keys.

2. (A) P [2]

Marking note: Birds are characterised by having a backbone, laying eggs, AND having feathers. Only Organism P has all three.

3. (C) River [2]

Marking note: A mushroom is a fungus (living), coral is a living organism (marine animal), and a fern is a plant. A river is a body of water and is non-living.

4. (B) They all reproduce by spores. [2]

Marking note: Spirogyra (algae), moss, and fern are all non-flowering plants that reproduce by spores. They do not produce flowers or seeds. Moss does not have true roots, stems, and leaves.

5. (A) Living things: Can grow / Non-living things: Cannot grow [2]

Marking note: Growth is a key characteristic of living things. Non-living things do not grow in the biological sense.

6. (B) Frog [2]

Marking note: "?" has a backbone but no feathers. A bat has a backbone and no feathers but is a mammal (not typically a PSLE option for this branch). A frog has a backbone and no feathers and fits the amphibian group. A chicken has feathers. A spider has no backbone.

7. (C) They feed their young with milk. [2]

Marking note: This is a defining characteristic of mammals. Scales are found in reptiles and fish; gills are found in fish; most mammals do not lay eggs (except monotremes like the platypus, which is beyond P6 syllabus).

8. (B) A dolphin breathes through lungs and gives birth to live young. [2]

Marking note: Fins, living in water, and streamlined body are shared features. The key difference is that dolphins breathe through lungs (not gills) and give birth to live young (not eggs), which are mammalian characteristics.

9. (C) Fern, moss, Pinus [2]

Marking note: Fern and moss are spore-producing non-flowering plants. Pinus (pine) is a gymnosperm (non-flowering, produces cones). Mushrooms are fungi, not plants. Grass, maize, orchid, rose, sunflower, and hibiscus are all flowering plants.

10. (C) Y [2]

Marking note: Amphibians have moist skin and can live both on land and in water. Insects have exoskeletons; fish live entirely in water; reptiles have dry, scaly skin.

Section B: Short-Answer Questions (20 marks)

11. [2 — 1 mark each]

Any two of the following (or equivalent):

(a) They can grow.
(b) They can reproduce.
(They can also: respire, move, respond to stimuli, need nutrition, excrete waste.)

Marking note: Accept any two valid characteristics of living things.

12. (a) [2] Organism P (the butterfly) is classified as an insect. [1] It has six legs, which is the defining characteristic of insects. [1]

Marking note: Students must identify P AND give the reason (six legs). Award 1 mark for correct identification and 1 mark for correct explanation.

(b) [1] Any one of the following:

They have a hard outer covering (exoskeleton).
They have jointed legs.
They have segmented bodies.

13. [3 — 1 mark per cell]

Feature	Flowering plant	Non-flowering plant
Reproduction	By seeds (inside fruits)	By spores
Example	Rose / sunflower / maize / orchid (any valid flowering plant)	Fern / moss / Pinus (any valid non-flowering plant)

Marking note: "Seeds" and "spores" must be correctly matched. Examples must be appropriate.

14. (a) [2] The organism is an amphibian. [1] It has moist skin, four legs, lays eggs in water, and can live both on land and in water, which are characteristics of amphibians. [1]

Marking note: Award 1 mark for correct classification and 1 mark for at least two supporting reasons.

(b) [1] Any one of the following: Frog / toad / newt / salamander

15. [2 — 1 mark each]

Any two of the following:

(a) A whale breathes through lungs (not gills).
(b) A whale gives birth to live young (does not lay eggs).
(c) A whale feeds its young with milk.
(d) A whale has a small amount of hair.

Marking note: Any two valid mammalian characteristics that distinguish whales from fish.

16. (a) [1] Organism Y

Marking note: The organism has legs (so it goes through the "Has legs" branch) but no wings, leading to Organism Y.

(b) [1] Any one of the following: Earthworm / snake / snail / slug / eel

Marking note: Any organism without legs. Accept any reasonable example.

17. (a) [1] Feathers are unique to birds.

Marking note: Body covering of feathers is the only feature in the table unique to birds.

(b) [1] Reptile

Marking note: Snakes have dry scales and lay eggs, which are characteristics of reptiles.

18. [2 — 1 mark for a valid difference, 1 mark for correct examples]

	Living thing	Non-living thing
Difference	Can grow / can reproduce / can respire (any valid difference)	Cannot grow / cannot reproduce / cannot respire
Example	Dog / cat / plant / human (any valid living thing)	Rock / water / chair / book (any valid non-living thing)

Marking note: The difference must be a valid biological characteristic. Examples must correctly match the category.

Section C: Structured / Application Questions (10 marks)

19. (a) [2 — 1 mark per column, all correct]

Living things	Non-living things
Grasshopper, Earthworm, Sparrow, Lizard, Mushroom, Rose plant	(None)

Marking note: All six organisms are living things. Award 2 marks if the student correctly identifies all as living and states none (or leaves blank) for non-living. Award 1 mark if one or two errors are made.

(b) [2 — 1 mark per column, all correct]

Plants	Animals
Rose plant	Grasshopper, Earthworm, Sparrow, Lizard
Mushroom*

Marking note: The rose plant is the only plant. Mushroom is a fungus — at P6 level, accept either classification (plant or separate). Award full marks if Rose is under Plants and the four animals are under Animals. Mushroom can be placed under Plants or noted separately.

(c) [3 — 1 mark each]

Sparrow → Bird (has feathers, lays eggs)
Lizard → Reptile (has scales, lays eggs)
Grasshopper → Insect (has six legs, exoskeleton)
Earthworm → Invertebrate / Worm (no backbone, no legs)

Marking note: Award 1 mark for each correct classification (any 3 of the 4 animals). Accept "invertebrate" for earthworm.

20. (a) [1] Invertebrate

Marking note: Animals without backbones are called invertebrates.

(b) [1] Amphibian

Marking note: Amphibians can live both in water and on land.

(c) [2 — 1 mark for each valid difference]

Organism A (goldfish) is a fish while Organism E (snake) is a reptile. [1] Although both have scales, a goldfish lives in water and breathes through gills, whereas a snake lives on land and breathes through lungs. [1]

Alternative acceptable answer: A goldfish is cold-blooded and lives entirely in water, while a snake lives on land. / A goldfish has fins, while a snake has legs (or no legs but moves differently).

Marking note: Award 1 mark for correctly identifying the different groups and 1 mark for a valid distinguishing reason.

— End of Answer Key —

Total: 50 marks