Primary 6 Science exam paper analysis and topic trends
PaperLah has 403 Primary 6 Science exam papers from 26 Singapore primary schools, set between 2011 and 2026, with 24,119 questions in total. The topics carrying the most marks are Forces (9%), Energy (8.2%) and Heat (7.3%); together the top 8 topics account for half of all marks. Forces appears in 95% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 52% of marks, and 0.2% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 60 questions and 81 marks.
These figures describe the school papers in PaperLah's collection, including prelims, not official PSLE papers or topic weightings. They help with planning revision; they can't predict a particular exam.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Forces | 9 | in 381 of 403 papers |
| Energy | 8.2 | in 380 of 403 papers |
| Heat | 7.3 | in 378 of 403 papers |
| Electricity | 6.9 | in 356 of 403 papers |
| Environment and ecosystems | 6.1 | in 338 of 403 papers |
| Plant reproduction | 5.2 | in 353 of 403 papers |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 4.7 | in 344 of 403 papers |
| Photosynthesis | 4.7 | in 350 of 403 papers |
| Scientific investigation | 4.6 | in 365 of 403 papers |
| Food chains and webs | 4.6 | in 298 of 403 papers |
| Matter | 4.1 | in 338 of 403 papers |
| Adaptations | 3.8 | in 264 of 403 papers |
| Light | 3.8 | in 345 of 403 papers |
| Plant parts and transport | 3.5 | in 333 of 403 papers |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 3.5 | in 323 of 403 papers |
| Magnets | 3.4 | in 337 of 403 papers |
| Life cycles | 2.9 | in 299 of 403 papers |
| Classification | 2.8 | in 302 of 403 papers |
| Cells | 2.2 | in 309 of 403 papers |
| Materials | 2.2 | in 276 of 403 papers |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 1.8 | in 256 of 403 papers |
| Digestive system | 1.7 | in 247 of 403 papers |
| Fungi and bacteria | 1 | in 155 of 403 papers |
| Human body systems | 1 | in 155 of 403 papers |
| Living and non-living things | 0.5 | in 72 of 403 papers |
| Water clarity | 0 | in 5 of 403 papers |
| Ocean zones | 0 | in 2 of 403 papers |
| Rainforest layers | 0 | in 3 of 403 papers |
| Water collection | 0 | in 3 of 403 papers |
| Effects of salt on ice | 0 | in 2 of 403 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Multiple choice 52%
- Open-ended (show working) 35%
- Short answer 8%
- Drawing or labelling 3%
- Other 3%
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| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 51.8 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 34.7 |
| Short answer | 7.5 |
| Drawing or labelling | 3.3 |
| Fill in the blank | 1.8 |
| Number answer | 0.5 |
| Other | 0.2 |
| Word bank | 0.2 |
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 | 43.7 |
| 2 | 46.3 |
| 3 | 0.2 |
| 4 | 0 |
How topics change over the years
The most-asked topics, as a share of each year's questions. Darker means asked more that year. Use it to spot topics schools are asking more often now.
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| Topic | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forces | 9.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 | 7.6 | 9.2 | 10.7 | 9.9 | 9 |
| Energy | 8.6 | 5.8 | 7.6 | 7 | 10.7 | 8.9 | 8.7 | 5.6 |
| Electricity | 6.9 | 8.1 | 7.2 | 8 | 7.5 | 7.1 | 6.6 | 8.7 |
| Heat | 8.8 | 8.7 | 7.5 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 5.2 | 7.1 | 8 |
| Plant reproduction | 5.6 | 7.2 | 5.7 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 5.9 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 7 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 5.3 | 5.7 | 6.1 |
| Photosynthesis | 4.3 | 6 | 5.7 | 4.5 | 5.9 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.9 |
| Scientific investigation | 3.4 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 6.8 | 5 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 4 |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 4.8 | 6.2 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.2 | 4.9 |
| Matter | 3.4 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.4 |
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 |
|---|---|
| Forces | 94.5 |
| Energy | 94.3 |
| Heat | 93.8 |
| Scientific investigation | 90.6 |
| Electricity | 88.3 |
| Plant reproduction | 87.6 |
| Photosynthesis | 86.8 |
| Light | 85.6 |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 85.4 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 83.9 |
| Matter | 83.9 |
| Magnets | 83.6 |
| Plant parts and transport | 82.6 |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 80.1 |
| Cells | 76.7 |
| Classification | 74.9 |
| Life cycles | 74.2 |
| Food chains and webs | 73.9 |
| Materials | 68.5 |
| Adaptations | 65.5 |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 63.5 |
| Digestive system | 61.3 |
| Human body systems | 38.5 |
| Fungi and bacteria | 38.5 |
| Living and non-living things | 17.9 |
| Water clarity | 1.2 |
| Rainforest layers | 0.7 |
| Water collection | 0.7 |
| Ocean zones | 0.5 |
| Effects of salt on ice | 0.5 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 403 papers, 24,119 questions, 32,780 marks, from 26 schools.
- 8 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Forces, 9% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Forces, in 95% of papers.
- 0.2% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: End-of-Year / SA2, Mid-Year / SA1, Prelim (P6), Weighted Assessment / CA, Quiz / Review / Test and Practice paper.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 6 Science exam papers?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics are Forces (9%), Energy (8.2%), Heat (7.3%), Electricity (6.9%) and Environment and ecosystems (6.1%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 6 Science paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 60 questions and 81 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?
403 papers from 26 schools, from these exam types: End-of-Year / SA2, Mid-Year / SA1, Prelim (P6), Weighted Assessment / CA, Quiz / Review / Test and Practice paper. 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 · Christian Brothers · Henry Park · Maha Bodhi · Maris Stella High · Methodist Girls' · Nan Hua · Nanyang · Paya Lebar Methodist Girls' · Pei Chun · Pei Hwa · Raffles Girls' · Red Swastika · River Valley · Rosyth · Singapore Chinese Girls' · Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan · St Hilda's · Tao Nan · Temasek
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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