Primary 5 Science exam paper analysis: 2025
PaperLah has 35 Primary 5 Science exam papers from 2025, set by 12 Singapore primary schools, with 1,117 questions worth 1,446 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Changes of state and water cycle (14%), Electricity (12%) and Plant parts and transport (10%); together the top 5 topics account for half of all marks. Matter appears in 77% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 46% of marks, and 0.5% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 32 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: Changes of state and water cycle took 14% of marks in 2025 (all years: 8.4%); Electricity took 12% of marks in 2025 (all years: 11%); Plant parts and transport took 10% of marks in 2025 (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 |
|---|---|---|
| Changes of state and water cycle | 14.1 | in 26 of 35 papers |
| Electricity | 12.3 | in 15 of 35 papers |
| Plant parts and transport | 10.2 | in 21 of 35 papers |
| Plant reproduction | 10.1 | in 23 of 35 papers |
| Heat | 9 | in 23 of 35 papers |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 8 | in 19 of 35 papers |
| Matter | 7.3 | in 27 of 35 papers |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 4.7 | in 20 of 35 papers |
| Scientific investigation | 4.4 | in 23 of 35 papers |
| Life cycles | 3.9 | in 14 of 35 papers |
| Light | 3.3 | in 13 of 35 papers |
| Magnets | 2.6 | in 11 of 35 papers |
| Human body systems | 2.3 | in 12 of 35 papers |
| Materials | 2.1 | in 12 of 35 papers |
| Digestive system | 1.8 | in 11 of 35 papers |
| Classification | 1.2 | in 8 of 35 papers |
| Cells | 1 | in 4 of 35 papers |
| Environment and ecosystems | 0.6 | in 8 of 35 papers |
| Living and non-living things | 0.5 | in 5 of 35 papers |
| Photosynthesis | 0.4 | in 2 of 35 papers |
| Fungi and bacteria | 0.1 | in 2 of 35 papers |
| Adaptations | 0.1 | in 1 of 35 papers |
| Rate of flow | 0.1 | in 1 of 35 papers |
| Energy | 0.1 | in 1 of 35 papers |
| Effects of wind | 0 | in 1 of 35 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Multiple choice 46%
- Open-ended (show working) 36%
- Short answer 10%
- Drawing or labelling 5%
- Other 3%
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| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 45.8 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 36.4 |
| Short answer | 9.8 |
| Drawing or labelling | 5 |
| Fill in the blank | 1.5 |
| Number answer | 1 |
| Other | 0.6 |
| Word bank | 0.1 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 15% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
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| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 39.8 |
| 2 | 44.5 |
| 3 | 0.5 |
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 |
|---|---|
| Matter | 77.1 |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 74.3 |
| Plant reproduction | 65.7 |
| Heat | 65.7 |
| Scientific investigation | 65.7 |
| Plant parts and transport | 60 |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 57.1 |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 54.3 |
| Electricity | 42.9 |
| Life cycles | 40 |
| Light | 37.1 |
| Human body systems | 34.3 |
| Materials | 34.3 |
| Magnets | 31.4 |
| Digestive system | 31.4 |
| Classification | 22.9 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 22.9 |
| Living and non-living things | 14.3 |
| Cells | 11.4 |
| Photosynthesis | 5.7 |
| Fungi and bacteria | 5.7 |
| Adaptations | 2.9 |
| Rate of flow | 2.9 |
| Energy | 2.9 |
| Effects of wind | 2.9 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 35 papers, 1,117 questions, 1,446 marks, from 12 schools.
- 5 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Changes of state and water cycle, 14% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Matter, in 77% of papers.
- 0.5% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA and End-of-Year / SA2.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 5 Science exam papers in 2025?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Changes of state and water cycle (14%), Electricity (12%), Plant parts and transport (10%), Plant reproduction (10%) and Heat (9%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 5 Science paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 32 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?
35 papers from 12 schools, from these exam types: Weighted Assessment / CA and End-of-Year / SA2. 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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