Primary 4 Science exam paper analysis: 2021
PaperLah has 35 Primary 4 Science exam papers from 2021, set by 15 Singapore primary schools, with 1,707 questions worth 2,326 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Matter (16%), Light (14%) and Life cycles (13%); together the top 4 topics account for half of all marks. Life cycles appears in 89% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 53% of marks, and 0.4% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 49 questions and 66 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: Matter took 16% of marks in 2021 (all years: 15%); Light took 14% of marks in 2021 (all years: 13%); Life cycles took 13% 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.
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| Topic | % of marks | Papers |
|---|---|---|
| Matter | 15.7 | in 29 of 35 papers |
| Light | 13.6 | in 24 of 35 papers |
| Life cycles | 13 | in 31 of 35 papers |
| Heat | 11.8 | in 22 of 35 papers |
| Magnets | 8.6 | in 26 of 35 papers |
| Classification | 6.8 | in 26 of 35 papers |
| Plant parts and transport | 6.1 | in 28 of 35 papers |
| Materials | 6 | in 27 of 35 papers |
| Digestive system | 4.7 | in 27 of 35 papers |
| Scientific investigation | 2.5 | in 26 of 35 papers |
| Plant reproduction | 2.2 | in 13 of 35 papers |
| Human body systems | 2.2 | in 22 of 35 papers |
| Living and non-living things | 2.1 | in 20 of 35 papers |
| Fungi and bacteria | 1.5 | in 14 of 35 papers |
| Electricity | 1.4 | in 13 of 35 papers |
| Adaptations | 0.4 | in 7 of 35 papers |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 0.4 | in 7 of 35 papers |
| Environment and ecosystems | 0.2 | in 3 of 35 papers |
| Forces | 0.2 | in 3 of 35 papers |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 0.1 | in 2 of 35 papers |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 0.1 | in 2 of 35 papers |
| Mosquitoes and rainfall | 0.1 | in 1 of 35 papers |
| Energy | 0.1 | in 1 of 35 papers |
| Cycles in nature | 0 | in 1 of 35 papers |
| Capacity | 0 | in 1 of 35 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Multiple choice 53%
- Open-ended (show working) 27%
- Short answer 11%
- Fill in the blank 3%
- Other 6%
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| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 53.5 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 27 |
| Short answer | 10.6 |
| Fill in the blank | 3.3 |
| Word bank | 1.9 |
| Drawing or labelling | 1.9 |
| Number answer | 1.2 |
| Other | 0.6 |
| Cloze passage | 0.1 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 10% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
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| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 44.1 |
| 2 | 45.9 |
| 3 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Life cycles | 88.6 |
| Matter | 82.9 |
| Plant parts and transport | 80 |
| Materials | 77.1 |
| Digestive system | 77.1 |
| Magnets | 74.3 |
| Classification | 74.3 |
| Scientific investigation | 74.3 |
| Light | 68.6 |
| Heat | 62.9 |
| Human body systems | 62.9 |
| Living and non-living things | 57.1 |
| Fungi and bacteria | 40 |
| Plant reproduction | 37.1 |
| Electricity | 37.1 |
| Adaptations | 20 |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 20 |
| Forces | 8.6 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 8.6 |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 5.7 |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 5.7 |
| Mosquitoes and rainfall | 2.9 |
| Cycles in nature | 2.9 |
| Capacity | 2.9 |
| Energy | 2.9 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 35 papers, 1,707 questions, 2,326 marks, from 15 schools.
- 4 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Matter, 16% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Life cycles, in 89% of papers.
- 0.4% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: End-of-Year / SA2, Mid-Year / SA1 and Weighted Assessment / CA.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 4 Science exam papers in 2021?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Matter (16%), Light (14%), Life cycles (13%), Heat (12%) and Magnets (8.6%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 4 Science paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 49 questions and 66 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?
35 papers from 15 schools, from these exam types: End-of-Year / SA2, Mid-Year / SA1 and Weighted Assessment / CA. 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 Chiau · Nan Hua · Nanyang · Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' · Pei Chun · Pei Hwa · Raffles Girls' · Red Swastika · Rosyth · Rulang · Singapore Chinese Girls' · St Hilda's · St Joseph's · Tao Nan · Temasek
Schools with Primary 4 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.
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