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Primary 5 Science syllabus: topics and practice questions

These are the topics and skills of Primary 5 Science in the MOE syllabus, with 76 original practice questions. Each topic below has a sample question: try it, then open the worked answer.

Cycles

Reproduction

22 practice questions

  • How plants reproduce: spores and seeds
  • Pollination, fertilisation and seed dispersal
  • Germination
  • Cells, fertilisation in humans, and traits passed on from parents

Sample question

Haikal recorded what he observed about four plants, P, Q, R and S, in the school garden.
Based on his observations, which plants reproduce by seeds?
Table: Haikal's observations. Columns: Plant, Has flowers?, Other observations. P: Has flowers? Yes, Other observations Pods form after flowering. Q: Has flowers? No, Other observations Brown dots release fine powder. R: Has flowers? Yes, Other observations Fruits form after flowering. S: Has flowers? No, Other observations Capsules release fine dust.Haikal's observationsPlantHas flowers?Other observationsPYesPods form after floweringQNoBrown dots release fine powderRYesFruits form after floweringSNoCapsules release fine dust
  1. A P and R only
  2. B Q and S only
  3. C P, Q and R only
  4. D P, R and S only
Show the answer and working

Answer: (A) P and R only

How:
P and R have flowers and form pods and fruits, which contain seeds. Q and S have no flowers; the fine powder and dust they release are spores.

Why: Flowering plants reproduce by seeds, which develop inside fruits. Plants such as ferns and mosses reproduce by spores, which are released from spore cases or capsules.

Water

17 practice questions

  • Melting, freezing, boiling and condensation (0 °C and 100 °C)
  • Evaporation and what affects its rate (wind, temperature, exposed surface area)
  • The water cycle, why water matters, and water pollution

Sample question

Look again at Nadia's results. By how many degrees Celsius did the temperature rise from 6 min to 8 min?
Table: Temperature of the ice as it was heated. Columns: Time (min), Temperature (°C). 0: Temperature (°C) −8. 1: Temperature (°C) −4. 2: Temperature (°C) 0. 3: Temperature (°C) 0. 4: Temperature (°C) 0. 5: Temperature (°C) 0. 6: Temperature (°C) 3. 7: Temperature (°C) 7. 8: Temperature (°C) 11.Temperature of the ice as it was heatedTime (min)Temperature (°C)0−81−4203040506377811
Show the answer and working

Answer: 8

How:
At 6 min the temperature was 3 °C and at 8 min it was 11 °C: 11 − 3 = 8 °C.

Why: Once all the ice had melted, the water kept gaining heat, so its temperature rose.

Systems

Respiratory and circulatory systems

15 practice questions

  • Air, and how humans, fish and plants take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide
  • Heart, blood and blood vessels; how the body systems work together
  • Water-carrying and food-carrying tubes in plants

Sample question

The flow diagram shows the path taken by oxygen from the air into the body.
Which part of the body is marked '?'
Path of oxygen. A diagram of 5 boxes. Arrows: Nose to Windpipe; Windpipe to a missing box; a missing box to Blood; Blood to All parts of the body.Path of oxygenNoseWindpipe?BloodAll parts of the body
  1. A Lungs
  2. B Heart
  3. C Stomach
  4. D Gills
Show the answer and working

Answer: (A) Lungs

How:
Air enters through the nose and passes down the windpipe into the lungs. In the lungs, oxygen passes into the blood, which carries it to all parts of the body.

Why: The respiratory system (nose, windpipe, lungs) takes in oxygen. The circulatory system (heart, blood, blood vessels) carries the oxygen to all parts of the body.

Electrical system

12 practice questions

  • Closed circuits, circuit parts, conductors and insulators
  • More batteries, more bulbs: series and parallel circuits

Sample question

Object X was placed in the gap in the circuit below. Bulb A lit up.
Which of the following could object X be?
Circuit with 2 batteries in series. Going round the loop: closed switch S, then bulb A, then a gap X.+2 batteriesS (closed)AX
  1. A A steel paper clip
  2. B A plastic straw
  3. C A rubber band
  4. D A wooden ice-cream stick
Show the answer and working

Answer: (A) A steel paper clip

How:
The bulb lit, so X completed a closed circuit. X must be an electrical conductor. Steel is a metal and a conductor; plastic, rubber and wood are insulators.

Why: Electricity flows through conductors, such as metals. Insulators, such as plastic, rubber and wood, do not allow electricity to flow, so they would leave the circuit open.

Science practices

Investigating

10 practice questions

  • Fair tests and variables
  • Read tables and graphs and draw conclusions

Sample question

Grace placed 20 seeds in each of four identical set-ups, each with damp cotton wool, and kept them at different temperatures.
How many seeds did not germinate at 40 °C?
Bar graph: Seeds that germinated after 5 days (out of 20). Vertical axis: Number of seeds. 10 °C: 2. 20 °C: 15. 30 °C: 19. 40 °C: 6.Seeds that germinated after 5 days (out of 20)02468101214161820Number of seeds10 °C20 °C30 °C40 °CTemperature
Show the answer and working

Answer: 14

How:
6 seeds germinated at 40 °C, so 20 − 6 = 14 seeds did not.

Why: Seeds need a suitable temperature to germinate. At 40 °C, most of these seeds did not germinate.

Practise all 76 Primary 5 questions

With an account, practice adapts to your child: hints one step at a time, feedback on the mistake behind a wrong answer, review of older topics and a Primary 5 mock paper.

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