Primary 6 Science exam paper analysis: 2021
PaperLah has 27 Primary 6 Science exam papers from 2021, set by 14 Singapore primary schools, with 1,728 questions worth 2,281 marks. The topics carrying the most marks were Forces (9.8%), Energy (8.3%) and Electricity (7.7%); together the top 8 topics account for half of all marks. Forces appears in 100% of the papers. Multiple-choice questions make up 49% of marks, and 0.2% of questions are worth 3 marks or more, which usually means showing working. A typical paper has about 64 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.
Compared with all years: Forces took 9.8% of marks in 2021 (all years: 9%); Energy took 8.3% of marks in 2021 (all years: 8.2%); Electricity took 7.7% of marks in 2021 (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 | 9.8 | in 27 of 27 papers |
| Energy | 8.3 | in 27 of 27 papers |
| Electricity | 7.7 | in 26 of 27 papers |
| Heat | 7.1 | in 27 of 27 papers |
| Plant reproduction | 5.7 | in 26 of 27 papers |
| Photosynthesis | 5.5 | in 27 of 27 papers |
| Matter | 4.8 | in 22 of 27 papers |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 4.6 | in 26 of 27 papers |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 4.5 | in 27 of 27 papers |
| Plant parts and transport | 4.3 | in 26 of 27 papers |
| Scientific investigation | 4.1 | in 25 of 27 papers |
| Light | 3.6 | in 27 of 27 papers |
| Food chains and webs | 3.2 | in 12 of 27 papers |
| Magnets | 3.1 | in 27 of 27 papers |
| Life cycles | 3 | in 25 of 27 papers |
| Materials | 2.8 | in 22 of 27 papers |
| Environment and ecosystems | 2.8 | in 17 of 27 papers |
| Classification | 2.5 | in 22 of 27 papers |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 2.2 | in 22 of 27 papers |
| Cells | 2.1 | in 24 of 27 papers |
| Digestive system | 2.1 | in 20 of 27 papers |
| Adaptations | 2.1 | in 10 of 27 papers |
| Fungi and bacteria | 1.7 | in 17 of 27 papers |
| Human body systems | 1.4 | in 14 of 27 papers |
| Living and non-living things | 0.5 | in 6 of 27 papers |
| Transport of substances | 0.1 | in 1 of 27 papers |
| Animal migration | 0 | in 1 of 27 papers |
| Water harvesting | 0 | in 1 of 27 papers |
| Wind and water currents | 0 | in 1 of 27 papers |
What a paper is made of
How children answer, as a share of marks.
- Multiple choice 49%
- Open-ended (show working) 37%
- Short answer 8%
- Drawing or labelling 4%
- Other 3%
Show as table
| Format | % of marks |
|---|---|
| Multiple choice | 48.8 |
| Open-ended (show working) | 37 |
| Short answer | 7.7 |
| Drawing or labelling | 3.6 |
| Fill in the blank | 2.2 |
| Number answer | 0.4 |
| Other | 0.2 |
| Word bank | 0.1 |
Marks per question
Share of questions worth 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5+ marks. 11% have no marks printed. Higher-mark questions usually need working.
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| Marks | % of questions |
|---|---|
| 1 | 44.7 |
| 2 | 43.9 |
| 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 |
| Energy | 100 |
| Heat | 100 |
| Photosynthesis | 100 |
| Respiratory and circulatory systems | 100 |
| Light | 100 |
| Magnets | 100 |
| Electricity | 96.3 |
| Plant reproduction | 96.3 |
| Changes of state and water cycle | 96.3 |
| Plant parts and transport | 96.3 |
| Scientific investigation | 92.6 |
| Life cycles | 92.6 |
| Cells | 88.9 |
| Matter | 81.5 |
| Materials | 81.5 |
| Classification | 81.5 |
| Reproduction in humans and animals | 81.5 |
| Digestive system | 74.1 |
| Environment and ecosystems | 63 |
| Fungi and bacteria | 63 |
| Human body systems | 51.9 |
| Food chains and webs | 44.4 |
| Adaptations | 37 |
| Living and non-living things | 22.2 |
| Animal migration | 3.7 |
| Transport of substances | 3.7 |
| Water harvesting | 3.7 |
| Wind and water currents | 3.7 |
Exam types
Which school exams these papers come from.
Key facts
- 27 papers, 1,728 questions, 2,281 marks, from 14 schools.
- 8 topics carry half of all marks.
- Most-tested topic: Forces, 9.8% of marks.
- Most common topic across papers: Forces, in 100% of papers.
- 0.2% of questions are worth 3 marks or more.
- Exam types: Prelim (P6) and Mid-Year / SA1.
Questions parents ask
What topics come up most in Primary 6 Science exam papers in 2021?
By share of marks, the most-tested topics were Forces (9.8%), Energy (8.3%), Electricity (7.7%), Heat (7.1%) and Plant reproduction (5.7%).
How many questions and marks are in a Primary 6 Science paper?
A typical paper in this set has about 64 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?
27 papers from 14 schools, from these exam types: Prelim (P6) and Mid-Year / SA1. 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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