Selected Learning Outcomes for Primary 6 Science Papers (2013)

The National Environment Agency has observed an increase in the number of Dengue cases recently. To protect yourself from dengue, it is necessary to take preventive steps regularly. Patrick’s teacher gave him a diagram on the life cycle of an Aedes mosquito. The diagram shows the egg developing into larva, pupa then into adult mosquito. Students are supposed to be able to state which stage of a mosquito’s life cycle is most difficult to kill and provide the reason. Patrick’s teacher wanted him to think of a way to control the population of Aedes mosquitoes. He suggested spreading a layer of oil on the surface of the water in order to control the population of the Aedes mosquitoes. Based on the given diagram and information given above, student has to explain why Patrick’s method is effective in controlling the population of the Aedes mosquito.

Leo took part in the Ironman Marathon Race. His heart rate and breathing rate increased during the race. Pupils have to explain why Leo’s heart rate increases during the race. There are many water points along the race. Leo took a bottle of water from one of the water points. Other than drinking the water, Leo also poured some of the water over his body to cool himself. Students are required to explain why Leo did this.

Mrs. Cheng placed 2 similar plants in identical beakers, W and X. She coated one side of all the leaves with oil for the plant in Beaker W and coated the other side of all the leaves with oil for the plant in Beaker X.  The beakers contained 1500 ml of water with a layer of oil on top.  A given table shows the volume of water in the beakers at the beginning and at the end of the experiment after a day. Based on the given results, students are expected to determine with explanation which beaker contained the plant with leaves that were coated with oil on the underside of the leaves. Mrs. Cheng realised that she needed to have a control set-up for her experiment. Students are required to draw a control set-up for the experiment and explain the purpose of the control set-up.

A given diagram shows a pond with three types of aquatic plants which are water lettuce, water lily and hydrilla. After a downpour, a large amount of soil particles was washed into the pond water which resulted in many of these soil particles being suspended in the water. The learner has to indicate which plant would be immediately affected and how.

Melissa placed a plant in a flask of water. She then left the set-up outdoors under bright sunlight where it was warm and windy for six hours as shown in the given diagram.  The diagram shows a layer of oil above the water and the flask was covered with cotton wool. The digital balance showed that the weight of the set-up decreased from 52.7 grams to 48.5 grams.  Students are expected to state the energy conversion that took place in the leaves during the experiment and to explain how the presence of the layer of oil above the water improve the validity of the results at the end of the experiment. If Melissa had placed the same set-up in a dark room which was also warm and windy, students are required to determine with reasons if the reading on the balance be more or less than the previous weight.

P613 SA2 CHS