Primary 3 Science exam paper analysis: 2021
PaperLah has 25 Primary 3 Science exam papers from 2021, set by 9 Singapore primary schools, with 762 questions worth 1,016 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Classification (25%), Materials (17%) and Magnets (14%); together the top 3 topics account for half of all marks. Classification appears in 84% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 53% of marks, and 2.5% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 30 questions and 41 marks.
These figures describe the school papers in PaperLah's collection, not official MOE or SEAB weightings. They help with planning revision; they can't predict a particular exam.
Compared with all years: Classification took 25% of marks in 2021 (all years: 27%); Materials took 17% of marks in 2021 (all years: 17%); Magnets took 14% of marks in 2021 (all years: 11%).
Where the marks are
Topics ranked by their share of all marks. The blue ones above the line together make up half.
Show as table
| Topic | % of marks | Papers |
|---|---|---|
| Classification | 25.2 | in 21 of 25 papers |
| Materials | 17 | in 16 of 25 papers |
| Magnets | 13.7 | in 10 of 25 papers |
| Living and non-living things | 10.2 | in 17 of 25 papers |
| Plant parts and transport | 8 | in 16 of 25 papers |
| Digestive system | 7.3 | in 10 of 25 papers |
| Fungi and bacteria | 6.6 | in 12 of 25 papers |
| Human body systems | 4.3 | in 11 of 25 papers |
| Scientific investigation | 1.7 | in 8 of 25 papers |
| Electricity | 1.5 | in 7 of 25 papers |
| Life cycles | 1.2 | in 6 of 25 papers |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 0.9 | in 7 of 25 papers |
| Plant reproduction | 0.8 | in 4 of 25 papers |
| Adaptations | 0.7 | in 4 of 25 papers |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 0.5 | in 3 of 25 papers |
| Environment and ecosystems | 0.2 | in 1 of 25 papers |
| Forces | 0.2 | in 1 of 25 papers |
| Light | 0.1 | in 1 of 25 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Multiple choice 53%
- Open-ended (show working) 19%
- Short answer 17%
- Fill in the blank 4%
- Other 7%
Show as table
| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 52.6 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 19.3 |
| Short answer | 16.9 |
| Fill in the blank | 4.3 |
| Word bank | 3.8 |
| Drawing or labelling | 1.4 |
| Other | 1.3 |
| Number answer | 0.4 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 6% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
Show as table
| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 54.6 |
| 2 | 37.3 |
| 3 | 2.1 |
| 4 | 0.4 |
How likely a topic comes up
The share of papers with at least one question on the topic.
Show as table
| Topic | % of papers |
|---|---|
| Classification | 84 |
| Living and non-living things | 68 |
| Materials | 64 |
| Plant parts and transport | 64 |
| Fungi and bacteria | 48 |
| Human body systems | 44 |
| Magnets | 40 |
| Digestive system | 40 |
| Scientific investigation | 32 |
| Electricity | 28 |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 28 |
| Life cycles | 24 |
| Adaptations | 16 |
| Plant reproduction | 16 |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 12 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 4 |
| Forces | 4 |
| Light | 4 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 25 papers, 762 questions, 1,016 marks, from 9 schools.
- 3 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Classification, 25% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Classification, in 84% of papers.
- 2.5% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA, Quiz / Review / Test, End-of-Year / SA2, Other and Practice paper.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 3 Science exam papers in 2021?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Classification (25%), Materials (17%), Magnets (14%), Living and non-living things (10%) and Plant parts and transport (8%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 3 Science paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 30 questions and 41 marks. Papers vary by school and by exam (weighted assessments are shorter than mid-year and end-of-year exams).
Which exams and schools are included?
25 papers from 9 schools, from these exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA, Quiz / Review / Test, End-of-Year / SA2, Other and Practice paper. The schools are listed further down this page.
Can I download these papers?
No. PaperLah doesn't share the papers as downloads. Children practise them online one question at a time, with instant marking, and parents see which topics need work.
Schools included
ACS (Junior) · ACS (Primary) · Ai Tong · Anglo-Chinese School · CHIJ · CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' · Catholic High · Henry Park · Maha Bodhi · Maris Stella High · Methodist Girls' · Nan Hua · Nanyang · Northland · Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' · Pei Chun · Pei Hwa · Raffles Girls' · Red Swastika · River Valley · Rosyth · Rulang · Singapore Chinese Girls' · St Hilda's · Tao Nan · Temasek · Yang Zheng
Schools with Primary 3 Science papers in the collection (all years). Papers are past school assessments; PaperLah is not affiliated with MOE, SEAB or the schools.
How this analysis is made
Every question in each paper is tagged with its topic, format and marks as printed. The figures above are counts over those questions: a topic's share of marks, the share of papers that include it, and so on. Topic names come from the papers and their answer keys, so similar topics can appear under slightly different names. Only aggregate figures are shown here; the questions themselves are practised inside PaperLah.
Practise real Primary 3 Science papers
One question at a time, marked instantly, with a dashboard that shows which topics need work. Free during the beta.