Primary 5 Science exam paper analysis: 2016
PaperLah has 22 Primary 5 Science exam papers from 2016, set by 10 Singapore primary schools, with 1,282 questions worth 1,752 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Plant reproduction (11%), Electricity (10%) and Changes of state and water cycle (9.7%); together the top 6 topics account for half of all marks. Heat appears in 91% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 51% of marks, and 0.1% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 58 questions and 80 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: Plant reproduction took 11% of marks in 2016 (all years: 9.9%); Electricity took 10% of marks in 2016 (all years: 11%); Changes of state and water cycle took 9.7% of marks in 2016 (all years: 8.4%).
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Plant reproduction | 11.1 | in 18 of 22 papers |
| Electricity | 10.3 | in 15 of 22 papers |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 9.7 | in 19 of 22 papers |
| Heat | 8 | in 20 of 22 papers |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 6 | in 18 of 22 papers |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 5.4 | in 15 of 22 papers |
| Matter | 5 | in 16 of 22 papers |
| Scientific investigation | 4.8 | in 20 of 22 papers |
| Plant parts and transport | 4.7 | in 15 of 22 papers |
| Magnets | 4.6 | in 16 of 22 papers |
| Cells | 4.5 | in 16 of 22 papers |
| Life cycles | 4.3 | in 18 of 22 papers |
| Light | 4.1 | in 16 of 22 papers |
| Classification | 3.2 | in 16 of 22 papers |
| Materials | 3.1 | in 14 of 22 papers |
| Digestive system | 2.3 | in 12 of 22 papers |
| Forces | 1.9 | in 8 of 22 papers |
| Photosynthesis | 1.9 | in 8 of 22 papers |
| Environment and ecosystems | 1.4 | in 7 of 22 papers |
| Human body systems | 1 | in 9 of 22 papers |
| Fungi and bacteria | 0.9 | in 7 of 22 papers |
| Energy | 0.8 | in 4 of 22 papers |
| Living and non-living things | 0.6 | in 6 of 22 papers |
| Adaptations | 0.3 | in 3 of 22 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Multiple choice 51%
- Open-ended (show working) 33%
- Short answer 10%
- Drawing or labelling 3%
- Other 2%
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| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 51.5 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 33.4 |
| Short answer | 9.6 |
| Drawing or labelling | 3.1 |
| Number answer | 1 |
| Fill in the blank | 0.9 |
| Word bank | 0.4 |
| Other | 0.1 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 8% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
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| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 45.9 |
| 2 | 45.7 |
| 3 | 0.1 |
How likely a topic comes up
The share of papers with at least one question on the topic.
Show as table
| Topic | % of papers |
|---|---|
| Heat | 90.9 |
| Scientific investigation | 90.9 |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 86.4 |
| Plant reproduction | 81.8 |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 81.8 |
| Life cycles | 81.8 |
| Magnets | 72.7 |
| Cells | 72.7 |
| Matter | 72.7 |
| Light | 72.7 |
| Classification | 72.7 |
| Electricity | 68.2 |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 68.2 |
| Plant parts and transport | 68.2 |
| Materials | 63.6 |
| Digestive system | 54.5 |
| Human body systems | 40.9 |
| Forces | 36.4 |
| Photosynthesis | 36.4 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 31.8 |
| Fungi and bacteria | 31.8 |
| Living and non-living things | 27.3 |
| Energy | 18.2 |
| Adaptations | 13.6 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 22 papers, 1,282 questions, 1,752 marks, from 10 schools.
- 6 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Plant reproduction, 11% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Heat, in 91% of papers.
- 0.1% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: Mid-Year / SA1, End-of-Year / SA2 and Weighted Assessment / CA.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 5 Science exam papers in 2016?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Plant reproduction (11%), Electricity (10%), Changes of state and water cycle (9.7%), Heat (8%) and Reproduction in humans and animals (6%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 5 Science paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 58 questions and 80 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?
22 papers from 10 schools, from these exam types: Mid-Year / SA1, End-of-Year / SA2 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 Hua · Nanyang · Pei Chun · Pei Hwa · Raffles Girls' · Red Swastika · Rosyth · Rulang · Singapore Chinese Girls' · St Hilda's · Tao Nan
Schools with Primary 5 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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