Primary 6 Science exam paper analysis: 2020
PaperLah has 9 Primary 6 Science exam papers from 2020, set by 9 Singapore primary schools, with 566 questions worth 754 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Forces (10%), Heat (9%) and Electricity (8.4%); together the top 7 topics account for half of all marks. Forces appears in 100% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 48% of marks, and 0% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 63 questions and 84 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.
This page is based on 9 papers from 9 schools, so the figures may not be typical (we look for at least 10 papers from 3 schools). See all years for a fuller picture.
Compared with all years: Forces took 10% of marks in 2020 (all years: 9%); Heat took 9% of marks in 2020 (all years: 7.3%); Electricity took 8.4% of marks in 2020 (all years: 6.9%).
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 | 10.1 | in 9 of 9 papers |
| Heat | 9 | in 9 of 9 papers |
| Electricity | 8.4 | in 9 of 9 papers |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 6.9 | in 9 of 9 papers |
| Plant reproduction | 6.9 | in 9 of 9 papers |
| Photosynthesis | 6.2 | in 9 of 9 papers |
| Energy | 6 | in 8 of 9 papers |
| Matter | 5 | in 8 of 9 papers |
| Life cycles | 5 | in 9 of 9 papers |
| Plant parts and transport | 4.9 | in 9 of 9 papers |
| Magnets | 4.1 | in 9 of 9 papers |
| Light | 3.8 | in 8 of 9 papers |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 3.7 | in 8 of 9 papers |
| Scientific investigation | 3.4 | in 8 of 9 papers |
| Classification | 3.2 | in 9 of 9 papers |
| Digestive system | 3.1 | in 8 of 9 papers |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 2.8 | in 8 of 9 papers |
| Materials | 2.4 | in 8 of 9 papers |
| Cells | 2.3 | in 8 of 9 papers |
| Fungi and bacteria | 1.2 | in 5 of 9 papers |
| Human body systems | 0.7 | in 2 of 9 papers |
| Environment and ecosystems | 0.5 | in 3 of 9 papers |
| Skeleton functions | 0.3 | in 1 of 9 papers |
| Disease prevention | 0.1 | in 1 of 9 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Multiple choice 48%
- Open-ended (show working) 38%
- Short answer 9%
- Drawing or labelling 3%
- Other 2%
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| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 47.9 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 38.3 |
| Short answer | 8.8 |
| Drawing or labelling | 2.8 |
| Fill in the blank | 1.7 |
| Number answer | 0.5 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 12% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
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| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 42.9 |
| 2 | 45.4 |
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 | 100 |
| Heat | 100 |
| Electricity | 100 |
| Plant reproduction | 100 |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 100 |
| Photosynthesis | 100 |
| Plant parts and transport | 100 |
| Life cycles | 100 |
| Magnets | 100 |
| Classification | 100 |
| Energy | 88.9 |
| Matter | 88.9 |
| Scientific investigation | 88.9 |
| Light | 88.9 |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 88.9 |
| Digestive system | 88.9 |
| Materials | 88.9 |
| Cells | 88.9 |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 88.9 |
| Fungi and bacteria | 55.6 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 33.3 |
| Human body systems | 22.2 |
| Skeleton functions | 11.1 |
| Disease prevention | 11.1 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 9 papers, 566 questions, 754 marks, from 9 schools.
- 7 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Forces, 10% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Forces, in 100% of papers.
- Exam types: End-of-Year / SA2.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 6 Science exam papers in 2020?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Forces (10%), Heat (9%), Electricity (8.4%), Changes of state and water cycle (6.9%) and Plant reproduction (6.9%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 6 Science paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 63 questions and 84 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?
9 papers from 9 schools, from these exam types: 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 · 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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