Primary 5 Science exam paper analysis: 2020
PaperLah has 21 Primary 5 Science exam papers from 2020, set by 13 Singapore primary schools, with 1,014 questions worth 1,398 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Electricity (13%), Plant reproduction (10%) and Changes of state and water cycle (9.9%); together the top 6 topics account for half of all marks. Plant reproduction appears in 86% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 51% of marks, and 0% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 48 questions and 67 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: Electricity took 13% of marks in 2020 (all years: 11%); Plant reproduction took 10% of marks in 2020 (all years: 9.9%); Changes of state and water cycle took 9.9% of marks in 2020 (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.
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| Topic | % of marks | Papers |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity | 13.4 | in 15 of 21 papers |
| Plant reproduction | 10.3 | in 18 of 21 papers |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 9.9 | in 16 of 21 papers |
| Plant parts and transport | 7.3 | in 16 of 21 papers |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 6.8 | in 15 of 21 papers |
| Cells | 6.3 | in 16 of 21 papers |
| Matter | 6.1 | in 18 of 21 papers |
| Heat | 5.8 | in 17 of 21 papers |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 5.4 | in 14 of 21 papers |
| Magnets | 5.1 | in 15 of 21 papers |
| Life cycles | 4.4 | in 17 of 21 papers |
| Light | 3.9 | in 14 of 21 papers |
| Scientific investigation | 3 | in 15 of 21 papers |
| Human body systems | 2.8 | in 11 of 21 papers |
| Materials | 2.7 | in 10 of 21 papers |
| Digestive system | 1.9 | in 15 of 21 papers |
| Classification | 1.8 | in 13 of 21 papers |
| Photosynthesis | 0.8 | in 3 of 21 papers |
| Living and non-living things | 0.8 | in 6 of 21 papers |
| Environment and ecosystems | 0.7 | in 6 of 21 papers |
| Fungi and bacteria | 0.5 | in 3 of 21 papers |
| Forces | 0.3 | in 2 of 21 papers |
| Mosquitoes and stagnant water | 0.1 | in 1 of 21 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Multiple choice 51%
- Open-ended (show working) 32%
- Short answer 9%
- Drawing or labelling 4%
- Other 3%
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| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 51.4 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 32.3 |
| Short answer | 9.1 |
| Drawing or labelling | 4.4 |
| Fill in the blank | 1.4 |
| Number answer | 0.5 |
| Other | 0.5 |
| Word bank | 0.4 |
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 | 41.5 |
| 2 | 48.6 |
How likely a topic comes up
The share of papers with at least one question on the topic.
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| Topic | % of papers |
|---|---|
| Plant reproduction | 85.7 |
| Matter | 85.7 |
| Heat | 81 |
| Life cycles | 81 |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 76.2 |
| Plant parts and transport | 76.2 |
| Cells | 76.2 |
| Electricity | 71.4 |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 71.4 |
| Magnets | 71.4 |
| Scientific investigation | 71.4 |
| Digestive system | 71.4 |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 66.7 |
| Light | 66.7 |
| Classification | 61.9 |
| Human body systems | 52.4 |
| Materials | 47.6 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 28.6 |
| Living and non-living things | 28.6 |
| Photosynthesis | 14.3 |
| Fungi and bacteria | 14.3 |
| Forces | 9.5 |
| Mosquitoes and stagnant water | 4.8 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 21 papers, 1,014 questions, 1,398 marks, from 13 schools.
- 6 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Electricity, 13% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Plant reproduction, in 86% of papers.
- Exam types: End-of-Year / SA2, Weighted Assessment / CA and Mid-Year / SA1.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 5 Science exam papers in 2020?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Electricity (13%), Plant reproduction (10%), Changes of state and water cycle (9.9%), Plant parts and transport (7.3%) and Respiratory and circulatory systems (6.8%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 5 Science paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 48 questions and 67 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?
21 papers from 13 schools, from these exam types: End-of-Year / SA2, Weighted Assessment / CA and Mid-Year / SA1. 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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