Primary 6 Science exam paper analysis: 2017
PaperLah has 32 Primary 6 Science exam papers from 2017, set by 15 Singapore primary schools, with 1,943 questions worth 2,723 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Forces (9.6%), Energy (7.8%) and Heat (7.6%); together the top 8 topics account for half of all marks. Forces appears in 100% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 51% of marks, and 0.2% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 61 questions and 85 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.
Compared with all years: Forces took 9.6% of marks in 2017 (all years: 9%); Energy took 7.8% of marks in 2017 (all years: 8.2%); Heat took 7.6% of marks in 2017 (all years: 7.3%).
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Forces | 9.6 | in 32 of 32 papers |
| Energy | 7.8 | in 32 of 32 papers |
| Heat | 7.6 | in 32 of 32 papers |
| Electricity | 6.5 | in 30 of 32 papers |
| Environment and ecosystems | 5.9 | in 29 of 32 papers |
| Scientific investigation | 5.9 | in 30 of 32 papers |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 5.1 | in 31 of 32 papers |
| Photosynthesis | 5.1 | in 29 of 32 papers |
| Food chains and webs | 5 | in 25 of 32 papers |
| Plant reproduction | 4.8 | in 31 of 32 papers |
| Adaptations | 4.2 | in 21 of 32 papers |
| Magnets | 3.9 | in 27 of 32 papers |
| Plant parts and transport | 3.9 | in 27 of 32 papers |
| Light | 3.8 | in 27 of 32 papers |
| Matter | 3 | in 26 of 32 papers |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 2.5 | in 25 of 32 papers |
| Life cycles | 2.4 | in 23 of 32 papers |
| Classification | 2.3 | in 24 of 32 papers |
| Cells | 2.2 | in 26 of 32 papers |
| Materials | 1.7 | in 21 of 32 papers |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 1.4 | in 21 of 32 papers |
| Digestive system | 1.3 | in 16 of 32 papers |
| Fungi and bacteria | 1.2 | in 15 of 32 papers |
| Human body systems | 0.9 | in 14 of 32 papers |
| Living and non-living things | 0.8 | in 7 of 32 papers |
| Water collection | 0.1 | in 2 of 32 papers |
| Ocean zones | 0.1 | in 1 of 32 papers |
| Health and disease | 0.1 | in 1 of 32 papers |
| Braking distance and speed | 0.1 | in 1 of 32 papers |
| Relationship between rainfall and dengue cases | 0 | in 1 of 32 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Multiple choice 51%
- Open-ended (show working) 37%
- Short answer 7%
- Drawing or labelling 3%
- Other 2%
Show as table
| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 51.3 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 36.7 |
| Short answer | 6.9 |
| Drawing or labelling | 3.4 |
| Fill in the blank | 1.4 |
| Number answer | 0.3 |
| Other | 0.1 |
| Word bank | 0 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 7% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
Show as table
| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 44.6 |
| 2 | 47.8 |
| 3 | 0.2 |
How likely a topic comes up
The share of papers with at least one question on the topic.
Show as table
| Topic | % of papers |
|---|---|
| Forces | 100 |
| Heat | 100 |
| Energy | 100 |
| Plant reproduction | 96.9 |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 96.9 |
| Electricity | 93.8 |
| Scientific investigation | 93.8 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 90.6 |
| Photosynthesis | 90.6 |
| Light | 84.4 |
| Magnets | 84.4 |
| Plant parts and transport | 84.4 |
| Matter | 81.3 |
| Cells | 81.3 |
| Food chains and webs | 78.1 |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 78.1 |
| Classification | 75 |
| Life cycles | 71.9 |
| Adaptations | 65.6 |
| Materials | 65.6 |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 65.6 |
| Digestive system | 50 |
| Fungi and bacteria | 46.9 |
| Human body systems | 43.8 |
| Living and non-living things | 21.9 |
| Water collection | 6.3 |
| Ocean zones | 3.1 |
| Health and disease | 3.1 |
| Braking distance and speed | 3.1 |
| Relationship between rainfall and dengue cases | 3.1 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 32 papers, 1,943 questions, 2,723 marks, from 15 schools.
- 8 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Forces, 9.6% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Forces, in 100% of papers.
- 0.2% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: End-of-Year / SA2, Mid-Year / SA1 and Weighted Assessment / CA.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 6 Science exam papers in 2017?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Forces (9.6%), Energy (7.8%), Heat (7.6%), Electricity (6.5%) and Environment and ecosystems (5.9%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 6 Science paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 61 questions and 85 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?
32 papers from 15 schools, from these exam types: End-of-Year / SA2, Mid-Year / SA1 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 · 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
Schools with Primary 6 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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