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Primary 6 PSLE Science Life Cycles Quiz

Free P6 PSLE Science Life Cycles quiz, Ox Exam version, with questions, answers, and PSLE-focused practice for Singapore students.

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Primary 6 PSLE Science From Real Exams Generated by Ox Alpha Updated 2026-08-27

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Questions

Primary 6 PSLE Science Quiz - Life Cycles

Name: ______________________ Class: ________ Date: ____________ Score: ________ / 65

Duration: 60 minutes | Total Marks: 65

Instructions:

Attempt ALL 20 questions.
Section A: Questions 1-5, multiple choice, 2 marks each (10 marks).
Section B: Questions 6-10, short structured questions, 3 marks each (15 marks).
Section C: Questions 11-15, structured application questions, 4 marks each (20 marks).
Section D: Questions 16-20, extended response questions, 4 marks each (20 marks).
Write your answers clearly in the spaces provided. Marks are shown in brackets.

Section A: Multiple Choice (Questions 1-5)

Question 1.

Which of the following shows the correct order of the stages in the life cycle of a butterfly?

(a) adult → egg → larva → pupa
(b) egg → larva → pupa → adult
(c) egg → pupa → larva → adult
(d) larva → pupa → egg → adult

Your answer: ________ (2 marks)

Question 2.

In which pair does the young NOT look like the adult?

(a) chick and hen
(b) nymph and grasshopper
(c) kitten and cat
(d) tadpole and frog

Your answer: ________ (2 marks)

Question 3.

Ravi placed identical bean seeds on damp cotton wool in two covered jars. Jar X was placed on a sunny windowsill and Jar Y was placed in a dark cupboard. Both jars were in the same warm room. After 4 days, the seeds in BOTH jars had sprouted.

What can Ravi conclude?

(a) Bean seeds need light to germinate.
(b) Bean seeds do not need light to germinate.
(c) Bean seeds do not need water to germinate.
(d) Bean seeds do not need warmth to germinate.

Your answer: ________ (2 marks)

Question 4.

Which animal has a 3-stage life cycle?

(a) mosquito
(b) mealworm beetle
(c) grasshopper
(d) butterfly

Your answer: ________ (2 marks)

Question 5.

The fruit of Plant P has a fibrous husk filled with air spaces, and it can float on sea water for several weeks without rotting. How is this fruit most likely dispersed?

(a) by wind
(b) by water
(c) by animals
(d) by explosive splitting of the fruit

Your answer: ________ (2 marks)

Section B: Short Structured Questions (Questions 6-10)

Question 6.

The diagram shows the life cycle of the mosquito. Two stages have been labelled A and B.

Image pending generation: diagram for Q6.

(a) Name stages A and B. [2] (b) State one way stage B differs from the adult mosquito. [1]

Question 7.

The life cycle of a cockroach has 3 stages but the life cycle of a butterfly has 4 stages.

(a) Name the missing stage found in the butterfly's life cycle but not the cockroach's. [1] (b) How does the young cockroach (nymph) differ from the young butterfly (larva)? [2]

Question 8.

Aisha put some green bean seeds on dry cotton wool in Jar P and identical seeds on wet cotton wool in Jar Q. Both jars were kept in the same warm place. After 5 days, only the seeds in Jar Q had germinated.

(a) What conclusion can Aisha make from her experiment? [1] (b) State ONE other condition, besides water, that the seeds needed to germinate. [1] (c) Why did Aisha use identical seeds in both jars? [1]

Question 9.

The fruit of Plant Q is small, juicy and brightly coloured. Birds eat the fruit and fly away to other places, where the hard seeds pass out in their droppings unharmed.

(a) Explain how this method of dispersal benefits Plant Q. [2] (b) Name the agent of dispersal. [1]

Question 10.

Give ONE example of an animal whose young looks similar to its adult, and ONE example of an animal whose young looks very different from its adult. For each, state one similarity shared by the young and the adult. [3]

Section C: Structured Application Questions (Questions 11-15)

Question 11.

Ben kept some mealworms in a container with bran. Over several weeks he observed the mealworms change.

(a) List ALL the stages in the life cycle of the mealworm beetle, in order. [2] (b) In which stage does the mealworm beetle eat and grow the most? [1] (c) State one visible change when the pupa becomes an adult. [1]

Question 12.

Compare the life cycles of the grasshopper and the butterfly.

(a) State ONE similarity between their life cycles. [1] (b) State TWO differences between their life cycles. [2] (c) Which animal's young must moult as it grows? [1]

Question 13.

Ken wanted to find out if temperature affects how fast bean seeds germinate. He set up two trays of 20 identical bean seeds on wet paper towels. Tray A was placed in a warm incubator at 30°C and Tray B was placed in a refrigerator at 5°C.

(a) What was the variable Ken changed? [1] (b) State TWO variables he kept the same. [2] (c) State ONE observation that would show cold slows germination. [1]

Question 14.

Match each fruit to its most likely agent of dispersal. Write the letter of the correct agent beside each fruit.

Fruit	Description
Fruit W	Light, with thin papery wings
Fruit X	Fleshy, sweet, brightly coloured
Fruit Y	Dry pod that splits suddenly when touched

Agents: (a) wind (b) animals (c) explosive action [3] Which fruit above is least likely to be dispersed far from its parent by its agent? Give a reason. [1]

Question 15.

Animal L lays about 2 000 eggs at one time and does not look after them. Animal M lays about 4 eggs at one time and guards its chicks until they can fly.

(a) Explain why Animal L lays so many more eggs than Animal M. [3] (b) Give one more example of an animal that lays many eggs without caring for them. [1]

Section D: Extended Response Questions (Questions 16-20)

Question 16.

Seeds that germinate right beside the parent plant often grow poorly.

Explain why it is important for seeds to be dispersed away from the parent plant. Give TWO reasons. [4]

Question 17.

Design an experiment to find out whether light is needed for bean seeds to germinate.

Describe what you would use, what you would change and keep the same, and what you would observe. [4]

Question 18.

Some animals, such as cats and birds, look after their young. Other animals, such as frogs and most fish, do not.

Describe how the amount of parental care is linked to the number of offspring produced, and explain why this link helps the species survive. [4]

Question 19.

The coconut fruit has a thick, fibrous husk that traps air and a waterproof outer layer.

Explain how each of these features helps the coconut to be dispersed by water. [4]

Question 20.

Draw or describe the life cycle of the frog, naming every stage in order. Then state TWO ways the tadpole differs from the adult frog. [4]

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Answers

Marking Scheme - Primary 6 PSLE Science Quiz: Life Cycles (Total: 65 marks)

Section A: Multiple Choice (2 marks each)

Answer 1.

(b) egg → larva → pupa → adult

New-student note: A butterfly undergoes complete metamorphosis: it hatches from an egg into a larva (caterpillar), becomes a pupa (chrysalis), then emerges as an adult.

Answer 2.

(d) tadpole and frog

Note: The tadpole looks very different from the adult frog. Chicks, nymphs and kittens all resemble their adults.

Answer 3.

(b) Bean seeds do not need light to germinate.

Reasoning: Both jars had water and warmth; only light differed, yet both sprouted, so light is not necessary for germination.

Answer 4.

(c) grasshopper

Note: Grasshopper: egg → nymph → adult (3 stages). Mosquito, mealworm beetle and butterfly have 4-stage cycles with a pupa.

Answer 5.

(b) by water

Note: Fibrous husk with air spaces = buoyant; floating on sea water for weeks indicates water dispersal (like the coconut).

Section B: Short Structured Questions (3 marks each)

Answer 6.

(a) A: larva (wriggler); B: pupa (tumbler). [2] (b) The pupa cannot fly/has no wings and does not move about actively, while the adult mosquito has wings and can fly. [1]

Answer 7.

(a) Pupa. [1] (b) The nymph looks similar to the adult cockroach and passes through no drastic change, while the butterfly larva (caterpillar) looks completely different from the adult butterfly; only the butterfly's cycle includes a pupa stage. [2]

Answer 8.

Conclusion: Water is needed for the green bean seeds to germinate (only the jar with wet cotton wool germinated). [1] Other condition: Warmth (accept air/oxygen). [1] Identical seeds were used so that water was the only variable changed, making it a fair test. [1]

Answer 9.

Benefit: Seeds are carried away from the parent plant, so seedlings do not compete with the parent or each other for sunlight, water and minerals, and the species can spread to new suitable places. [2] Agent of dispersal: Animals (birds). [1]

Answer 10.

Example (similar): kitten and cat — both have fur, four limbs, eyes and a similar body shape. [1½] Example (different): tadpole and frog — both live in/near water; both have a mouth and eyes. [1½] (Accept any reasonable pair with one valid similarity each.)

Section C: Structured Application Questions (4 marks each)

Answer 11.

(a) egg → larva (mealworm) → pupa → adult beetle. [2] (b) Larva (mealworm) stage — it eats and grows the most before becoming a pupa. [1] (c) It develops wings/hard wing cases and legs; the body changes from worm-like to a beetle form. [1]

Answer 12.

(a) Similarity: Both begin life as eggs, and both young grow and develop into adults. [1] (b) Differences: The grasshopper has a 3-stage life cycle (no pupa) while the butterfly has 4 stages; the grasshopper nymph resembles the adult while the butterfly larva does not resemble the adult. [2] (c) The grasshopper — its nymph moults (sheds its exoskeleton) as it grows. [1]

Answer 13.

(a) Temperature (30°C vs 5°C). [1] (b) Any two: number and type of seeds, amount of water/wet paper towels, light, size/type of tray. [2] (c) Fewer or no seeds germinate in Tray B, or they germinate much later than those in Tray A. [1]

Answer 14.

Fruit W: (a) wind; Fruit X: (b) animals; Fruit Y: (c) explosive action. [3] Fruit Y — explosive splitting throws the seeds only a short distance from the parent plant. [1]

Answer 15.

(a) Animal L gives no parental care, so most of its eggs and young are eaten or die; laying very many eggs increases the chance that some survive to adulthood and continue the species. [3] (b) Example: frog, most fish (e.g. goldfish), turtle, or many insects. [1]

Section D: Extended Response Questions (4 marks each)

Answer 16.

Away from the parent plant, seedlings do not compete with the parent plant (and with each other) for sunlight, water, minerals and space, so more survive. [2]
Dispersal lets the species spread to new habitats and avoids overcrowding and disease near the parent, increasing the chances that some plants grow well and reproduce. [2]

Answer 17.

Use two identical sets of bean seeds on damp cotton wool in covered jars, kept in the same warm room. Change only ONE variable — light: place Jar A in bright light and Jar B in a dark cupboard. Keep the same: type and number of seeds, amount of water, temperature and containers. Observe daily for about 5 days, counting how many seeds germinate in each jar. If seeds germinate in both jars, light is not needed for germination. [4]

Marking note: Award marks for: fair-test setup (1), one changed variable stated (1), controlled variables stated (1), observation/measurement described (1).

Answer 18.

Animals that give little or no parental care (frogs, most fish) produce very many offspring, because most eggs and young will be eaten or die; huge numbers ensure enough survive. Animals that care for their young (cats, birds) produce few offspring, because the parents protect and feed them, so most survive. This balance ensures enough young of each species reach adulthood to continue the species, without wasting energy on unnecessary offspring. [4]

Answer 19.

The fibrous husk traps air, making the fruit buoyant so it floats on sea water instead of sinking, allowing it to travel long distances. [2]
The waterproof outer layer stops sea water from soaking in and rotting or killing the seed, so it remains alive during the journey and can germinate when washed ashore. [2]

Answer 20.

Life cycle: egg (laid in water) → tadpole → froglet (young frog growing legs, tail shortens) → adult frog. [2] Tadpole vs adult (any two): lives only in water vs can live on land and in water; breathes through gills vs lungs (and skin); has a long tail vs no tail; has no legs vs four legs. [2]