Primary 5 Science exam paper analysis: 2021
PaperLah has 39 Primary 5 Science exam papers from 2021, set by 14 Singapore primary schools, with 1,571 questions worth 2,177 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Electricity (14%), Plant reproduction (11%) and Respiratory and circulatory systems (8.5%); together the top 6 topics account for half of all marks. Scientific investigation appears in 79% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 50% of marks, and 0.4% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 40 questions and 56 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 14% of marks in 2021 (all years: 11%); Plant reproduction took 11% of marks in 2021 (all years: 9.9%); Respiratory and circulatory systems took 8.5% of marks in 2021 (all years: 6.5%).
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 | 13.9 | in 25 of 39 papers |
| Plant reproduction | 10.8 | in 29 of 39 papers |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 8.5 | in 26 of 39 papers |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 8.3 | in 25 of 39 papers |
| Heat | 7.7 | in 28 of 39 papers |
| Plant parts and transport | 6.2 | in 26 of 39 papers |
| Matter | 5.8 | in 28 of 39 papers |
| Cells | 5.1 | in 24 of 39 papers |
| Scientific investigation | 4.7 | in 31 of 39 papers |
| Light | 4.5 | in 21 of 39 papers |
| Life cycles | 4.5 | in 21 of 39 papers |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 3.7 | in 23 of 39 papers |
| Magnets | 3 | in 17 of 39 papers |
| Materials | 2.4 | in 16 of 39 papers |
| Digestive system | 2.3 | in 19 of 39 papers |
| Photosynthesis | 2.3 | in 11 of 39 papers |
| Classification | 2.2 | in 15 of 39 papers |
| Human body systems | 1.9 | in 15 of 39 papers |
| Fungi and bacteria | 0.7 | in 5 of 39 papers |
| Environment and ecosystems | 0.5 | in 7 of 39 papers |
| Adaptations | 0.4 | in 5 of 39 papers |
| Acids and indicators | 0.2 | in 1 of 39 papers |
| Energy | 0.1 | in 2 of 39 papers |
| Dengue fever | 0.1 | in 1 of 39 papers |
| Changes in state of water | 0.1 | in 1 of 39 papers |
| Living and non-living things | 0.1 | in 1 of 39 papers |
| Wind and movement | 0 | in 1 of 39 papers |
| Forces | 0 | in 1 of 39 papers |
| Methods of obtaining pure water | 0 | in 1 of 39 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Multiple choice 50%
- Open-ended (show working) 31%
- Short answer 11%
- Drawing or labelling 5%
- Other 3%
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| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 50 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 31.3 |
| Short answer | 10.7 |
| Drawing or labelling | 4.5 |
| Fill in the blank | 2.2 |
| Number answer | 0.7 |
| Other | 0.4 |
| Word bank | 0.3 |
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 | 42.5 |
| 2 | 47.4 |
| 3 | 0.3 |
| 4 | 0.1 |
| 5+ | 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 |
|---|---|
| Scientific investigation | 79.5 |
| Plant reproduction | 74.4 |
| Heat | 71.8 |
| Matter | 71.8 |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 66.7 |
| Plant parts and transport | 66.7 |
| Electricity | 64.1 |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 64.1 |
| Cells | 61.5 |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 59 |
| Life cycles | 53.8 |
| Light | 53.8 |
| Digestive system | 48.7 |
| Magnets | 43.6 |
| Materials | 41 |
| Classification | 38.5 |
| Human body systems | 38.5 |
| Photosynthesis | 28.2 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 17.9 |
| Fungi and bacteria | 12.8 |
| Adaptations | 12.8 |
| Energy | 5.1 |
| Acids and indicators | 2.6 |
| Forces | 2.6 |
| Wind and movement | 2.6 |
| Methods of obtaining pure water | 2.6 |
| Dengue fever | 2.6 |
| Changes in state of water | 2.6 |
| Living and non-living things | 2.6 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 39 papers, 1,571 questions, 2,177 marks, from 14 schools.
- 6 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Electricity, 14% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Scientific investigation, in 79% of papers.
- 0.4% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA, End-of-Year / SA2, Practice paper, Other and Quiz / Review / Test.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 5 Science exam papers in 2021?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Electricity (14%), Plant reproduction (11%), Respiratory and circulatory systems (8.5%), Changes of state and water cycle (8.3%) and Heat (7.7%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 5 Science paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 40 questions and 56 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?
39 papers from 14 schools, from these exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA, End-of-Year / SA2, Practice paper, Other and Quiz / Review / Test. 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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